Concord Junior Academy

Inspection of Concord Junior Academy Fife Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S9 1NR

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 6 and 7 June 2023

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Concord Junior Academy is calm and welcoming. Pupils feel happy and safe. Staff invest in pupils. Relationships are nurturing. This supports pupils if they have concerns or worries. Pupils say the best thing about the school is the teachers. Pupils state, ‘Teachers are kind and help us when we struggle.’

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high ambitions for pupils. Leaders ensure that there is a wide range of opportunities to develop their interests. This includes clubs about robotics, pottery and street dance. Recently, the school football team competed at Wembley Stadium in a national championship final.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupil behaviour. Staff support pupils to make the right choices. They behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils are polite and respectful.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that bullying does happen, but adults in school always sort it out. Pupils learn how to stay safe and know how to keep themselves safe while online.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

The school experiences high pupil mobility. As a result, pupils join and leave the school at different points of the year. Leaders acknowledge this. Pupils new to the school settle in quickly. These pupils are well supported by extra sessions, a skilled pastoral team and strong relationships with staff and pupils.

p.2

better?

Leaders focus sharply on improving pupils’ ability to read. When pupils struggle with reading, they receive extra help. Pupils access fluency and comprehension support programmes. This ensures they can catch up and quickly access learning alongside their peers. Pupils complete daily reading skills lessons. These lessons are effective in supporting pupils to develop new vocabulary.

p.2

better?

Leaders have made changes across the curriculum. In some subjects, they have identified crucial knowledge they want pupils to know and remember. These changes are at different stages of development in different subjects. Reading and history are the furthest along in the journey. As a result, pupils learn more in these subjects. Teachers teach lessons that are carefully sequenced. In some subjects, such as history, teachers ask pupils to recall, remember and review prior learning at the beginning of lessons. This helps pupils to build on what they already know. However, sometimes leaders do not check how well the curriculum is being implemented.

p.2

better?

Teachers use the local authority’s approach to teaching personal, social and health education. At times, changes are made to personalise lessons for the pupils that attend this school. Pupils learn about British values in lessons and assemblies. Pupils can clearly articulate and apply their understanding. They respect and tolerate others. However, pupils’ awareness and understanding of different faiths and religions is underdeveloped. In some cases, pupils are unable to name different 6 and 7 June 2023

p.2

3

religions. When pupils talked about different religions to inspectors, this included several misconceptions and inaccuracies.

p.3

3

School leaders engage with support offered by the multi-academy trust leaders. This support is helping the school’s subject leaders check how successfully the new curriculum is being taught. This checking is not yet fully in place across all subjects. As a result, the teaching of subjects, such as science, is inconsistent. Pupils are not always supported to make links to prior learning. They are not able to build and develop new knowledge as effectively as they could.

p.3

3

Leaders have a clear vision for staff. This includes investing in staff and supporting their workload. Staff say that they are empowered by the executive principal. They say that documents and training help them to be more efficient and effective teachers. Leaders have created a culture of trust and collaboration. Teachers openly share effective practice and act on feedback. This includes filming and reviewing their teaching.

p.3

3

Governance is a strength. Governors check to make sure that the information the school provides is accurate. This ensures trustees and governors can challenge and support leaders to improve the school.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

Leaders have established a strong safeguarding culture. Staff and governors receive regular training. All staff recognise the signs that could indicate pupils are suffering from harm. Leaders take appropriate action in a thorough and timely manner. This includes keeping detailed records and reporting concerns. Leaders work well with a range of agencies to ensure that pupils and their families receive the support that they need. Leaders analyse incidents. They use this to make changes to the curriculum. This ensures that pupils are supported appropriately when needed.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Subject leaders are not currently accurately checking the implementation of the newly developed curriculum. As a result, there is some variability in teaching, including in science. Leaders need to ensure that systems of checking the quality of teaching are embedded to ensure that learning across the curriculum is consistent and even more effective.  Teachers are not supporting pupils to remember and apply their understanding of different faiths and religions. As a result, some pupils are not able to talk about different faiths and religions. Teachers need to ensure that lessons develop pupils’ understanding of different faiths and religions so that they are better prepared for life in modern Britain. 6 and 7 June 2023

p.3

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.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

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

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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. 6 and 7 June 2023

p.4

School details

Principal Kelly Howes (Executive Principal)

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 20 May 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The headteacher was appointed in February 2023.

p.5

Information about this inspection

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

p.5

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.  The lead inspector held meetings with the executive principal, trustees, governors and representatives of the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding and special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and history. As part of the deep dives, inspectors visited lessons, listened to pupils 6 and 7 June 2023

p.5

6

read, reviewed curriculum plans and spoke with curriculum leaders, pupils and teachers.  Inspectors visited lessons and observed pupils at various times of the school day.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for pupils, staff and parents. This included any free-text responses.

p.6

Inspection team

Andrew Yeomans, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Lynne Selkirk Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 June 2023

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7