Angel Road Junior School

Inspection of Angel Road Junior School Angel Road, Norwich NR3 3HR

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 September 2022

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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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 27 and 28 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and feel safe at Angel Road Junior School. They behave well and are kind to each other. Pupils are confident to share their own views and beliefs. They celebrate and respect each other’s differences. Pupils appreciate the high- quality pastoral support they receive. They know the importance of quickly sharing worries and concerns with adults. Pupils are very knowledgeable about how to keep safe. This includes when they are online. Bullying is rare. If it does happen, adults deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils attend school regularly. However, some pupils are absent too often. This means these pupils have some gaps in their learning. While there have been some improvements, there are more pupils persistently absent from school than should be.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They say they love the school because everyone is friendly. They enjoy learning and the many activities they get to do. They like the way teachers make learning exciting. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about trips and visitors and what this teaches them. Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. They do not achieve as well in other areas of the curriculum because teaching is more variable.

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better?

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. They have ensured that the curriculum is well sequenced so that pupils have opportunities to build on what they already know. In English and mathematics, teachers have the secure subject knowledge to teach this curriculum effectively. As a result, pupils achieve well in these areas. In other areas of the curriculum, teachers do not adapt the curriculum effectively to meet the needs of all pupils. This means, in these subjects, pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to secure newly learned knowledge. As a result, pupils have gaps in their learning. Leaders have already begun work on improving this.

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better?

Teachers routinely check what pupils already know and can do in reading and mathematics. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have provided training for teachers on how to support pupils with SEND effectively. They then monitor the impact of this training. Well- trained staff effectively support these pupils in lessons so that they also achieve well.

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better?

In subjects other than English and mathematics, there is not the same rigour to checking what pupils know and can do. As a result, there are gaps in some pupils’ knowledge, including pupils with SEND. This means pupils do not achieve as well as they should in these subjects. 27 and 28 September 2022

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Leaders have ensured that reading is central to the curriculum. Pupils love reading. They enjoy the diverse stories teachers read to them. Teachers are enthusiastic about the stories they read which develops pupils’ love of reading further. Teachers carefully match books to the sounds pupils know and can read. This helps pupils to read fluently and accurately.

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Leaders have prioritised pupils’ personal development. Pupils have a clear understanding of other cultures and faiths. Pupils are confident and proud to talk about their own beliefs. They know these will be respected by others. Pupils understand why it is important to treat people equally. They appreciate how the curriculum helps them to understand their own feelings. Pupils talk openly about learning about sadness and loss through the stories teachers read to them.

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Leaders have precisely prioritised areas for improvement. Leaders have ensured that the English and mathematics curriculums support pupils to achieve well in these subjects. Leaders have prioritised developing teachers’ subject knowledge in reading and mathematics so that these subjects are taught effectively. They have ensured there are consistent approaches to promoting good behaviour. Leaders have had success in all these areas. They have clear plans in place for the development of the wider curriculum. Governors and trustees have a secure understanding of what the school does well and what it could do better. They provide appropriate challenge and support to leaders to improve the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure there is a rigorous approach to safeguarding. Staff are well trained and have a clear understanding of risks in the local area. Staff know how to report concerns regarding pupils’ safety. They do this swiftly. Leaders work effectively with other professionals to get pupils any support needed. Leaders ensure that pupils know how to keep safe. This includes when they are online. Pupils have a secure understanding of what healthy relationships are.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure they complete all required pre-employment checks on adults in the school. Trustees monitor and hold leaders to account for safeguarding procedures in the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are inconsistencies in how the curriculum in foundation subjects is implemented. Teachers do not consistently provide opportunities for pupils to build on what they already know and can do. Leaders must ensure that teachers implement the foundation subject curriculum as it is intended so that pupils have opportunities to develop their knowledge in all areas of the curriculum. 27 and 28 September 2022

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 There is not the same rigour to checking how well pupils have learned the curriculum across foundation subjects as there is in English and mathematics. As a result, there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge which have not been identified. Leaders must ensure that teachers check carefully on pupils’ understanding in all areas of the curriculum. Teachers should use these checks to identify and address misconceptions so that pupils have a more secure understanding in all areas of the curriculum.  Leaders have successfully improved the attendance of many pupils who are persistently absent from school. However, a minority are still persistently absent and miss out on learning. Leaders must ensure that their approaches to promoting good attendance result in these pupils attending school more often.

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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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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. 27 and 28 September 2022

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School details

Website www.angelroadjunior.norfolk.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Angel Road Junior School joined Evolution Academy Trust in 2019. There is a local governing body with some powers delegated to it.  There have been significant changes in leadership since the previous inspection. The headteacher joined the school in April 2022.  Pupils and staff had to vacate the junior school site in 2021. Pupils were educated at the partner infant school and a local primary school up to July 2022. Since September 2022, all pupils have been educated on the partner infant school site.  The school uses two registered alternative provisions.  The school provides an after-school club for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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 leaders 27 and 28 September 2022

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and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, physical education, history and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised safeguarding policies, the school’s record of background checks of adults at the school and a sample of child protection files. Inspectors also had discussions with governors, leaders and staff about safeguarding practices at the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, subject leaders, staff, members of the trust, governors and pupils.  Inspectors spoke with parents as they arrived at school in the morning.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including behaviour logs, attendance records, minutes of trust meetings, pupil records, school improvement plans and school policies.  There were 24 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, that were considered alongside 13 free-text responses.  There were no responses to the pupil survey. Inspectors spoke to pupils throughout the inspection to gather their views.  There were 14 responses to the staff survey. Inspectors also spoke to staff throughout the inspection to gather their views.

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Inspection team

Michael Williams, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Bessie Owen His Majesty’s Inspector 27 and 28 September 2022

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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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