Newhall Community Junior School

Inspection of Newhall Community Junior School Chesterfield Avenue, Newhall, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE11 0TR

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 7 and 8 December 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Newhall School and feel safe. The school is a calm, safe and supportive place for pupils. One parent, typical of many who expressed a view, said, ‘They go into school smiling and they come out smiling.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and respectful of each other and of the staff. Most pupils focus on their work and try their best in lessons. There is a peaceful atmosphere in the school. Pupils play well together at breaktime and lunchtime. Pupils are certain that if bullying happens, staff will deal with it quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. Pupils know staff will look after them and help them to learn. The staff are committed to helping pupils become well-rounded, ‘positive people’. They encourage pupils to model the school’s values every day. Pupils learn that it is ‘good to be different’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have made lots of positive changes at the school. These include a new approach to how the curriculum is organised so that pupils learn the important knowledge they need to remember. However, in some subjects, leaders have not ensured that pupils are able to know and remember more of the key knowledge they need.

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better?

Leaders are developing an ambitious and organised curriculum. Teachers are committed to providing memorable learning experiences for pupils. Pupils are starting to build knowledge in most subjects. Pupils in a Year 6 music lesson were able to use learning from a previous lesson to help them understand the meaning of new vocabulary. In some subjects, planning to build pupils’ knowledge and skills is less well developed. In these subjects, some parts of the curriculum are missing. Where the curriculum is not carefully planned, pupils miss out on learning important knowledge and on opportunities to develop their skills. This can leave pupils confused about what they have been learning in different subjects.

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better?

Teachers check learning in most lessons through effective questioning. In this way, they identify gaps in learning and any misconceptions pupils may have. Teachers then address these. However, some pupils in some lessons do not answer questions. What they have learned is not always checked.

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better?

Leaders have prioritised reading to ensure that all pupils become fluent readers. Pupils read regularly. They enjoy daily reading lessons based on a well-structured scheme. Pupils who are at an early stage of learning to read receive support through phonics-based intervention sessions.

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better?

Sometimes, the additional needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not identified quickly enough. Some pupils’ learning needs are identified before they join the school. Support is in place for when they first 7 and 8 December 2021

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start. This is not the same for all pupils. Some pupils do not receive timely support to help them in their learning. Leaders do not accurately evaluate the impact of any support pupils with SEND receive. Therefore, leaders are not able to identify what support is having the greatest impact.

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Pupils learn about people who are different from them and learn how to respect and value everyone. Pupils are able to explain about the different religions. They know that some people do not have a faith. The work pupils complete in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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Pupils appreciate the opportunity to take on special roles at school. This includes taking on the role of ‘pupil leader’ and ‘subject ambassador’, working with teachers to make the school better.

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Leaders are committed to taking pupils out on visits so they can enjoy a wide range of experiences. When this has not been possible, they have found creative ways of bringing the outside world into the classrooms.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They value the opportunities they have to develop, including through the training they receive. They appreciate leaders’ efforts to improve their well-being and reduce their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the pupils well. They use these close relationships to quickly identify any emerging concerns. All staff receive safeguarding training and regular updates on how to keep pupils safe. They are knowledgeable about the local issues that may affect their pupils. Leaders keep accurate records and analyse concerns and behaviour logs to look for trends and patterns. They are quick to act when they are aware of a concern, involving other agencies when necessary. Those responsible for checking the safeguarding arrangements do so rigorously.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to understand and manage risks they may face, including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not identify quickly enough the additional needs of some pupils with SEND. When this is the case, there is a delay in these pupils receiving the support that they need. Leaders need to ensure that timely identification of the additional needs of pupils with SEND takes place, so that these pupils receive effective support for their learning from the start. 7 and 8 December 2021

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 Leaders do not have an accurate view of the effectiveness of the support pupils with SEND receive. As a result, they are not able to tell which support is most effective or adapt support that is less effective. Leaders should ensure that they have an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of the support pupils with SEND receive.  In some subjects, the curriculum does not provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to learn the knowledge or to develop the skills they need. Teaching does not always ensure that knowledge gaps are filled successfully. As a result, in some subjects, pupils’ understanding of the key knowledge is not as strong as it should be. Leaders should ensure that teachers know what knowledge pupils need to learn across all subjects and understand how best to support pupils so that they know and remember more.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 7 and 8 December 2021

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 February 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, geography, science and music. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 7 and 8 December 2021

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 Inspectors also looked at the curriculum plans, spoke to leaders and visited lessons for PSHE.  Inspectors heard children in different year groups read books.  Inspectors met with school leaders and representatives of the local governing body and spoke with a representative from the local authority. Inspectors spoke with the special educational needs coordinator.  Inspectors considered a wide variety of school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and the development plan.  Inspectors took note of the responses received on Ofsted Parent View and considered the results of the Ofsted staff questionnaire. Inspectors also looked at the responses to the pupil questionnaire.  To judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors read the school’s relevant policies, scrutinised the single central record, checked the school’s procedures for the safe recruitment of staff and met with the designated lead for safeguarding.

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Inspectors also spoke with staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Dave Gilkerson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ann Davey Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 December 2021

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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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