Wensum Junior School

Inspection of Wensum Junior School Turner Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4HB

p.1

Inspection dates: 10 and 11 October 2023

p.1

Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

p.1

Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Corrina Peachment. This school is part of the Evolution 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, Craig Avieson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Drew Whitehead. 10 and 11 October 2023

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and are well cared for. They have positive relationships with staff. Pupils know that their teachers will help them and listen to them. They are confident to share any concerns with adults.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know the school values of ‘kindness - honesty – respect’. Behaviour is getting better. However, while most try their best to follow the behaviour expectations, some do not behave well enough.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of clubs on offer after school and at lunchtime, such as archery. Some pupils benefit from taking on roles and responsibilities, such as being a school councillor. However, some of the broader work to develop pupils’ understanding of the society in which they live is at an early stage.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that leaders now expect them to work hard. Many pupils are rising to this challenge enthusiastically. More pupils are concentrating and trying hard in their lessons. However, some pupils need more support to maintain these high standards consistently.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

In some subjects, pupils do not develop a secure understanding of important facts and concepts, and the quality of education is not good enough.

p.2

better?

Changes in trust and school leadership from the beginning of the year have helped to bring about positive improvements and ensure that pupils access a broad curriculum. The school has identified what pupils should learn in each subject. However, the implementation of these plans is varied. In some subjects, the school does not check on pupils’ learning well enough, and as a result, some pupils do not make the progress they ought to.

p.2

better?

Reading is prioritised throughout the school. Phonics teaching supports pupils who struggle with reading effectively. The school has provided staff with training and guidance. Adults know which sounds to teach and when, and how, to teach them. Pupils take home appropriate books that are well matched to the sounds they are learning in class. Pupils are well supported to catch up quickly and read with increasing confidence and fluency. The school ensures pupils access high-quality and challenging texts.

p.2

better?

The school ensures that all pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified swiftly. Pupils with more complex needs are well supported. They get the resources they need to help them to achieve well. However, other pupils with SEND do not consistently receive support that is matched to their needs. This means that some pupils with SEND do not always access the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates when they are capable of doing so. 10 and 11 October 2023

p.2

3

Pupils know about the rewards and sanctions in the new behaviour policy. Most are motivated to behave by these expectations. Pupils’ behaviour is improving as a result. For example, there are fewer reports of negative behaviours. Despite this, a few pupils’ behaviour disrupts learning in lessons for others because staff do not always consistently apply school policy.

p.3

3

The school has recently put in place a curriculum to support pupils’ personal development. However, this work is at an early stage. While pupils learn about the importance of respecting others different from themselves, some struggle to apply this learning in their school and wider community. Staff are connecting experiences beyond the classroom to the wider curriculum, which is motivating pupils to learn. For example, pupils in Year 5 recently visited a local meadow, learning about looking after the environment and the impact of littering.

p.3

3

The school and trust board members know the weaknesses in the school and are working at pace to improve this. Their actions to support pupil achievement and behaviour since the beginning of the year have resulted in swift improvements. They are ambitious in their vision for the school. Staff are appreciative of leaders’ actions and ambitions and recognise that the school is on a journey. Staff are now clear about what actions are needed to ensure the school continues to improve.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the planned curriculum is not being delivered as intended and leaders do not know how well pupils are learning. As a result, pupils are missing out on learning important concepts. The school should ensure that pupils are gaining all the knowledge and understanding they need in each subject and that staff know what has not been remembered by pupils, using this information to inform teachers’ and subject leaders’ planning.  Planning and support for pupils with SEND is not consistently effective. This means that some pupils with SEND do not always access the school’s curriculum offer. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise and training needed to ensure they make appropriate adaptations to meet the needs of all pupils with SEND.  The school’s actions to improve pupils’ behaviour are not yet consistently embedded. This means that learning in class is sometimes disrupted. The school

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

should ensure that the agreed policy and procedures are consistently applied by all staff.  Aspects of the school’s work to support pupils’ personal development are new. Pupils are not as well equipped for life in modern Britain as they should be. The school needs to ensure that pupils have the knowledge, understanding and 10 and 11 October 2023

p.3

4

opportunities they need to enable them to be positive citizens in their school and wider community.

p.4

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’ is used to mean pupils with 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). 10 and 11 October 2023

p.4

School details

Date of previous inspection 16 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 In January 2023, a new CEO was appointed to the trust and a new headteacher was appointed at the school. There are several new staff and recently appointed subject leaders.  The school currently uses one unregistered alternative provider.  The school provides a breakfast and after-school club on site.

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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision.

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. 10 and 11 October 2023

p.5

6

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders and a variety of staff.  The lead inspector met with the chair of trustees, the CEO and members of the transition board of governors from the Evolution Academy Trust.  Inspectors carried out four deep dives into the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, looked at curriculum planning, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning, listened to pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at the curriculum and sampled pupils’ work in some other subjects.  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

p.6

6

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector scrutinised a range of school documentation, including transition board governor minutes, the school’s self-evaluation document, records relating to behaviour and attendance and the school’s equalities action plan.  Inspectors spoke with parents about their children’s experiences of the school. The lead inspector also considered the 22 responses to Ofsted Parent View, including 22 free-text responses, as well as 10 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. To gather pupils’ views, inspectors spoke to a range of pupils during the inspection.

p.6

Inspection team

Stephen Cloke, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Tracy Warner Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 October 2023

p.6

7

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 looked after children, 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