Carr Junior School

Inspection of Carr Junior School Ostman Road, Acomb, York, North Yorkshire YO26 5QA

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Victoria Kerr. This school is part of South Bank Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Mark Hassack, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ian Wiggins. 19 and 20 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Carr Junior is a welcoming school. Pupils are happy and safe. Pupils feel listened to and trust the staff to help them if they have a concern. Adults have high expectations of all pupils. Pupils embody the school motto of ’aim high, shine bright’. Relationships between staff and pupils are polite and respectful. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported throughout the school day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour around school is calm and purposeful. Staff use reflective conversations effectively to improve pupils’ behaviour. Bullying is rare. If it happens, staff deal with it quickly. Pupils have a positive attitude to learning and work well together in lessons. Pupils listen well to others and show when they agree, disagree or want to build on a point another pupil has made.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have regular opportunities to debate and discuss current affairs. Pupils participate in trust-wide events, such as ‘South Bank thinks’. This helps them to develop their knowledge of the wider world. Pupils attend a range of extra-curricular activities as part of ‘Well-being Wednesday’ afternoons. This means all pupils have access to clubs during the school day.

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better?

The school has prioritised reading throughout school. The reading curriculum improves pupils’ comprehension and fluency skills. Each class votes to contribute to the selection of text extracts they read in lessons. Pupils benefit from daily story time. The books teachers read to pupils are carefully chosen to encourage a love of reading. The school have recently placed a new reading bus on the field to encourage more reading for pleasure. The school ensures that when pupils struggle with reading, they receive extra help each day. For most pupils, this helps them to catch up quickly.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. Some subjects are taught in well- considered themes set around a ‘big idea’. These help pupils to learn about the world around them. For example, this term pupils are learning about being ‘eco- warriors’. Teachers begin lessons with a recap of what pupils have learned before. This helps pupils to build on their previous learning. In most subjects, teachers check that pupils remember what they have been taught regularly and adapt the curriculum to address any gaps in learning. However, in some subjects, there are limited opportunities for pupils to demonstrate what they understand and can do.

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better?

The school supports pupils with SEND well. Adults have high expectations. They identify pupils’ needs early. Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers. Leaders have recently established bespoke spaces, such as a new nurture provision, to support pupils with specific needs. 19 and 20 September 2023

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The school have established a positive culture of behaviour. Pupils work well together in lessons and approach challenges with a positive attitude. They listen and respond well to each other and to teachers. However, behaviour during lunch breaks and at less structured times of the day can be varied.

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The school has a sharp focus on ensuring all pupils have access to an ambitious personal development provision. Opportunities for pupils to care about the wider world are woven throughout the curriculum. The recent ‘Shine fest’ focused on promoting pupils’ positive physical and mental health. Pupils learn about equality. They talk confidently about the fundamental British values.

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Those responsible for governance provide appropriate challenge to leaders. The school benefit from the professional development provided by the trust. Staff morale is high. Leaders take staff workload into account in their decision-making. Although many parents have positive views of the school, a small group of parents do not feel that the school communicates effectively with them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s systems to check what pupils know and remember are more developed in some curriculum subjects than in others. In these subjects, teachers do not have a clear understanding of what pupils know and can do. The school should refine how they check pupils’ knowledge and understanding in these subjects, so they can quickly identify any misconceptions and plan future work accordingly.  A small number of parents feel the communication from the school could be improved. These parents do not feel that the information the school provides helps them to support their child’s education as effectively as it might. The school should continue to work with parents to increase the relevance and effectiveness of existing communication.

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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. 19 and 20 September 2023

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 19 and 20 September 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Carr Junior School converted to become an academy in May 2019 as part of the South Bank Multi-academy trust. When its predecessor school, Carr Junior School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be requires improvement overall.  The school provides a breakfast club and after-school childcare.  The school uses one registered and one unregistered alternative provision.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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. 19 and 20 September 2023

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 Inspectors spoke to senior leaders, including the chair of the board of trustees and chair of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, computing and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders about pupils’ learning in some other subjects.  Inspectors listened to a range of pupils read from different year groups.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors met with leaders about the provision for pupils with SEND and

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reviewed plans to support these pupils.  Inspectors observed behaviour at the start of the day, lunchtimes and in lessons.  Inspectors analysed the responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey, and staff survey. They reviewed answers from the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Georgina Chinaka, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Matthew Harrington His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Davie Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 September 2023

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