Eton Park Junior Academy

Inspection of Eton Park Junior: A de Ferrers Trust Academy Masefield Crescent, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE14 2SG

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 January 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 17 and 18 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Eton Park Junior School is a happy place to be. Pupils thrive because they are well cared for. Staff work hard to get the best out of pupils. They help pupils to be ready for their next steps and for life beyond Eton Park.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that Eton Park makes them feel like they ‘don’t have to try to be like someone else; I can just be me’. Feeling included is important to the pupils. Pupils also understand the importance of learning. Most demonstrate a determination to do well. Pupils are polite and enjoy sharing their achievements. They ‘work hard, be kind and choose wisely’, showing the school’s values in all they do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop good learning habits. Their focus leads to a calm and productive learning environment. Pupils understand what bullying is and what it is not. When bullying occurs, pupils seek support from adults who help them to resolve their concerns. Pupils feel safe because staff look after them well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trips, for example to Tutbury Castle and a Roman fort, together with time spent in their newly designed library, enrich pupils’ experiences. These help to bring the curriculum to life. Expectations are high for positive relationships. Pupils respond well to these expectations.

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better?

Leaders are driving improvements at the school. Since the previous inspection, all staff, including governors, have raised expectations. There is a strong sense of teamwork and a determination to do what is right for the pupils. Pupils feel the impact of these changes. The vast majority believe that they are cared for, and that their wider needs are met.

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better?

Leaders give reading a high priority. Teachers focus on helping pupils to read fluently and understand what they have read. As a result, most pupils are beginning to improve their ability to read. Teachers read aloud to pupils each day. They select high-quality literature to expand pupils’ vocabulary. Pupils can talk confidently about books by less well-known authors and share why they enjoy them. Pupils who fall behind with their reading receive the help they need to catch up.

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better?

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. In history, for example, pupils deepen their understanding of invasion by comparing how this has affected the area around them and the wider country. This helps pupils to understand the significance of historic events.

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better?

Most teachers help pupils to understand what to remember from previous lessons. They then adapt their teaching so that new learning builds on what pupils have learned before, which helps pupils to expand their knowledge over time. However, not all teachers understand what pupils have actually learned in different subjects, so do not always adapt their lessons to support pupils who need it. This is 17 and 18 January 2023 particularly the case in mathematics, where some pupils struggle to recall the most important number facts that leaders expect them to learn. Teachers do not consistently ensure that all pupils embed new learning into their long-term memory before moving on, which prevents those pupils from being able to solve more complex mathematical problems later on.

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better?

Leaders rightly expect pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to learn the same curriculum as their peers. Leaders know the pupils and their individual needs. They use specialist reports from external agencies to help pupils to access learning. However, sometimes the targets that pupils with SEND are set do not link to pupils’ specific needs, so learning is not adapted or planned as well as it could be.

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better?

Leaders’ work to develop pupils’ personal development is effective. Leaders provide a wide range of opportunities to engage pupils beyond the classroom. Many pupils attend clubs such as art, computing and martial arts. Pupils relish the chance to be pupil leaders. These pupils take a lead role in making decisions to improve their school. They take responsibility for making improvements at their school and consider how they can help protect their school environment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including governors, have created a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are trained well to notice and report any signs of concern. Leaders respond swiftly to support pupils and families in need of help. Leaders carry out the required checks on the suitability of staff to work with pupils.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that the curriculum helps pupils learn to understand age- appropriate risks, including online safety and healthy relationships. Pupils know that adults will listen to them, and act, if they have any concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some lessons, teachers do not always consider the individual needs of pupils with SEND. Learning plans do not always reflect the reasons why pupils struggle. This means that some pupils continue to find new learning challenging. Leaders should support teachers to adapt the curriculum effectively, to ensure that all groups of pupils, including those with SEND, learn the important planned knowledge.  Some teachers do not use assessment information well enough to ensure that pupils have learned what they intended them to. Where this happens, teachers do not adapt their teaching as needed. Leaders should ensure that all teaching 17 and 18 January 2023 staff routinely check pupils’ understanding and adapt their teaching accordingly to embed that new knowledge in pupils’ long-term memory.  In mathematics, some pupils are unable to recall number facts quickly. Leaders have not checked pupils have understood these important facts before they move

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

on in their learning. This prevents pupils from being able to solve mathematical problems independently. Leaders should make sure that all children can recall these facts fluently and are supported to keep up with the curriculum.

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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. 17 and 18 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10256930 Type of school Junior school

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School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 9 and 10 April 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The executive principal also oversees Lansdowne Infant Academy.

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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 and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the executive principal, school staff and two governors. The lead inspector held a meeting with the interim chief executive of the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 17 and 18 January 2023  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 read to an adult.  The lead inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding documentation, including safeguarding checks carried out on staff working at the school. Inspectors talked

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Information about this inspection

to governors, staff and pupils about how the school keeps everyone safe.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how leaders support their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including a small number of free-text comments, and responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Antony Bradshaw, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Janet Tibbits Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 January 2023 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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