Michael Drayton Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Michael Drayton Junior School The Woodlands, Hartshill, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV10 0SZ

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Outcome

Michael Drayton Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Michael Drayton Junior School pupils receive a well-rounded education. The curriculum prepares them well for secondary school and life beyond school. In this large school, pupils are well looked after. Leaders and staff create the conditions for pupils to become independent and responsible. Parents and carers are positive about the school. They particularly like the fact that staff encourage pupils to ‘do their best whilst not feeling pressured’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take part in a range of trips and visits that are part of the curriculum. Every day there are lots of extra-curricular activities for pupils to choose from, and almost all pupils make the most of them. These range from music groups to horse riding and sailing. In the ‘wildlife area’, pupils grow fruit and vegetables. They also care for chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told me that bullying is not an issue in the school. Staff and parents said the same. Pupils told me that they know who to talk to if bullying does occur. Pupils act responsibly and play their part in making sure that bullying does not happen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They trust and respect staff. Teachers encourage pupils to collaborate and help each other in lessons. Routines are well established. The school has a pleasant and friendly atmosphere.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders’ aim is to ‘develop the whole child’. The curriculum they have designed is broad. Pupils study a wide range of subjects in depth. For each subject, teachers plan varied learning activities. They make sure that pupils understand the relevance of what they learn. For example, in history, they learn about how events of the past have shaped their present life. They visit places of interest, such as ‘Tudor World’ in Stratford-upon-Avon. In mathematics, teachers introduce new topics with practical activities to capture their imagination. Teachers deliberately revisit topics that pupils have studied before. This helps 26–27 February 2020

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pupils to remember what they have learned previously. They then use this to help them learn new knowledge and apply their skills.

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Leaders know that over the past two years some pupils have not made as much progress in reading as they could have done. They are implementing new ways of improving reading skills. Teachers do a rigorous assessment of pupils’ reading abilities when they start in Year 3. Pupils who need it get extra phonics lessons to help them catch up. Members of staff have received training to make sure that these lessons are successful. Teachers are developing new ways of teaching reading comprehension in all year groups. All classes have ‘drop everything and read’ sessions each week. Pupils in each year group take part in a competition to read and understand up to 50 books. Pupils are keen to see their names on the reading competition display board. These new strategies are starting to work but because they are so new, they are not embedded yet.

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Leaders make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow the full curriculum. Teachers and support staff work together to adapt learning activities. They plan appropriate interventions so that pupils with SEND get the same opportunities as others.

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Pupils and parents value the breadth of experiences the school provides. Pupils told me how much they enjoy the wildlife area. The trip to France in Year 5 is very popular. A highlight of this year will be the school choir performing in Wembley in March. The school has 10 active ‘pupil groups’. They are a key feature of the school life. They contribute to reading, playground safety, eco-school, online safety, and community cohesion. Pupils learn to understand and respect others’ faiths and beliefs. They have philosophy lessons where they learn to develop their critical thinking.

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Leaders want to improve pupils’ transition from Year 2 to Year 3. They are keen to provide a successful start for all pupils when they join the school. They are working with some of their feeder schools to develop a more effective induction programme for pupils in the summer term.

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The school is highly organised and well led. Leaders and staff work well together, and staff enjoy working at the school. Staff are united and adopt a consistent approach to their work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that staff receive regular training and are aware of their duty of care. They update policies regularly and check that these policies are implemented consistently. Staff are confident about identifying and referring pupils who may be vulnerable. Leaders work well with external agencies to support pupils at risk, as well as their families.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to adopt safe behaviours in their everyday life. They learn about road safety as well as how to avoid risks when using the internet and social media. They also have talks from the police about risks outside school. 26–27 February 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Over the last two years, outcomes in key stage 2 reading and mathematics tests have been low for some pupils. Recently, progress in mathematics has improved following the introduction of new methods of teaching. Leaders are also implementing new approaches to the way reading is taught in Year 3, and the way reading skills are developed across the years. Leaders should embed these new approaches to secure further improvement in reading, especially for those who start with low reading ability when they join the school.  Some pupils get off to a slow start in Year 3. This affects their progress throughout key stage 2. Leaders have plans to improve the induction process this year with a particular focus on pupils with SEND. Leaders should ensure that the transition process from key stage 1 to key stage 2 is improved to provide pupils with a better start in Year 3.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 6–7 April 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 26–27 February 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10132693 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6–7 April 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is expanding and has currently five classes in Years 3 and 4, and four in Years 5 and 6.

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Information about this inspection

 I held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteachers, the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and interim headteacher. I also met with the chair and vice-chair of the governing body and four governors.  I focused on reading, history and mathematics during this inspection. I met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, scrutinised pupils’ work and spoke with teachers and pupils.  To inspect safeguarding, I checked that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records, including the single central record, are detailed and of high quality. I discussed policies and case studies with the designated safeguarding leads. I talked to teachers, teaching assistants and lunchtime supervisors about the safeguarding training they had, and how they put this training into practice as part of their duties. I checked that the site is safe. 26–27 February 2020

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 I observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes. I talked to parents at the start of the school day and considered the 79 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 78 responses to the free-text facility that were received during the inspection. I also considered 42 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Patrick Amieli, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26–27 February 2020

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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