Westfield Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Westfield Junior School Ramsey Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire PE27 5RG

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Outcome

Westfield Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Westfield Junior School is a happy and inclusive school. The school values of ‘community, aspiration, responsibility, and excellence’ permeate school life. Pupils are polite, kind and respectful to each other and adults. They feel safe in school. Bullying is rare. When it does happen, staff deal with it effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school to see their friends and to learn. They say that teachers make learning fun. Staff have high expectations and pupils work hard to reach these. Pupils behave well. In lessons, they listen carefully and settle quickly. On the playground, pupils play happily together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in a wide range of extra-curricular experiences. These provide opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and talents. They also support pupils’ learning in lessons. In history, for example, a trip to Ely helped pupils to develop their learning about Oliver Cromwell. Pupils also take on many responsibilities which contribute to the school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents think highly of the school. They appreciate that their children feel happy and enjoy many after-school activities. A typical comment was, ‘My child loves the school, the lessons, the teachers, their friends, the clubs, and the variety of learning.’

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

Leaders have implemented a carefully considered and ambitious curriculum. This sets out the important knowledge pupils need to learn and the order in which they should learn it.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They work together to plan lessons that will help pupils to learn well. Teachers choose appropriate resources to support pupils’ learning. In mathematics, for example, pupils use practical resources and games. These help them to develop their mathematical understanding. 28 and 29 March 2023

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Teachers check how well pupils are learning regularly. This allows them to identify and address any misconceptions or gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Curriculum leaders visit lessons and talk to pupils to check how well the planned curriculum is being delivered. They use this information to make the curriculum even better.

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Leaders promote a love of reading across the school. Pupils enjoy ‘book club’ and lunchtime reading sessions in the library. Here they can choose from a wide and diverse range of both fiction and non-fiction books. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the books they have read. There is a structured approach to teaching reading. Leaders choose texts carefully to expose pupils to a range of different cultures and genres. A structured, systematic phonics programme supports pupils at the early stages of learning to read. Pupils read books that match the sounds they are learning. This helps them to develop their confidence and fluency. Any pupils falling behind receive extra support to help them catch up. A small number of staff are not yet fully trained in delivering the phonics programme. Consequently, some pupils may not be progressing as quickly as they could.

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Leaders ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified early. Skilled teachers and other adults ensure that these pupils get the right support to access the planned curriculum. Where necessary, teachers adapt the curriculum for these pupils.

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Pupils’ personal development is well supported. They enjoy a variety of school clubs. These include music, art and sport. Pupils take part in sports competitions, such as for football. These experiences help to develop pupils’ resilience. Many pupils hold positions of responsibility. These include being members of the school council or eco-council, school ambassadors and play leaders. Such opportunities help to develop pupils as responsible citizens. Pupils learn to appreciate differences. They are respectful of these and show understanding and tolerance of each other.

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Governors know the school very well. They challenge leaders, hold them to account, and fulfil their statutory duties. Staff enjoy working at Westfield and are proud to do so. They appreciate that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a strong safeguarding culture. There are clear systems in place for identifying and managing concerns. Staff know pupils and their families well. Staff receive regular and relevant training. This ensures they know how to spot the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm and how to report these. Leaders ensure that they respond appropriately and promptly to any concerns raised. They work closely with external agencies when required. Leaders ensure that all the required checks on new staff are completed and recorded. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when working online. 28 and 29 March 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A small number of staff are not fully trained in delivering the phonics programme. They are not yet experts in all aspects of teaching phonics. This means some pupils may not be progressing as quickly as they could. Leaders should implement their plans to complete training for all staff who teach phonics. This will ensure that all staff have a secure understanding of the phonics programme and are able to give the best possible support to pupils at an early stage of learning to read.

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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 an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 28 and 29 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268527 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 1 and 2 November 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken this into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history, to evaluate the quality of education. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, considered curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and scrutinised samples of pupils’ work. Other aspects of the curriculum were also scrutinised to provide further evidence for the quality of education.  The inspector observed some pupils read to staff and talked to them about their reading. She also spoke to other pupils about reading. 28 and 29 March 2023

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 The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour across the site. She met with groups of pupils to seek their views of the school. She also spoke to pupils informally in class, around the school and at breaktimes. The inspector also spoke with staff about their workload and well-being, and pupils’ behaviour.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector scrutinised the single central record and reviewed safeguarding systems. The inspector spoke with leaders, teachers, support staff, members of the governing body, and pupils to evaluate the culture of safeguarding in the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, and the subject leader for personal, social and health education. The inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair. Additionally, she held a meeting with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation during the inspection, including

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governing body minutes and school development plans.  The inspector considered the views of parents. She spoke with parents who were attending parents’ evening at the end of the school day. The inspector considered 83 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and 83 free-text comments.  The inspector spoke with staff to gather their views. She also considered 37 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspector spoke with pupils throughout the inspection to gather their views. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Joan Beale, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 March 2023

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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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