Staveley Junior School

Inspection of Staveley Junior School College Avenue, Staveley, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 3XE

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 October 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 Good 24 and 25 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staveley Junior School is a vibrant and inclusive school. The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the school motto: ‘Dream, Believe, Achieve’. Staff talk to pupils about what it means to have specific learning and life goals and keep trying to achieve them. Pupils say this helps them to know the meaning and importance of being resilient.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful to each other. They talk with knowledge and understanding about difference and discrimination.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils immerse themselves in play at breaktimes. The school supports their independence with ‘outdoor play and learning’ (OPAL) activities. Pupils say they know the rules and how to be safe with equipment. They build dens, navigate large objects and organise their own games. They say this makes breaktimes exciting and helps them be creative. Behaviour during social times is good because pupils are so engaged in play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school supports pupils to lead activities in school. They have many roles such as anti-bullying ambassadors and sports leaders. Pupils thrive from these opportunities. They confidently describe how they help friendships and provide games for their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to attend Staveley Junior School.

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better?

The school ensures pupils regularly read. It has implemented a scheme that supports pupils to acquire knowledge securely and develop their skills in phonics. Also, the school uses digital reading programmes to good effect to help pupils read. Some of these are specific for pupils who have fallen behind the school’s expectations for their age and stage of development. Staff check closely how well pupils are doing and use this information to address gaps in pupils’ understanding. The school’s approach is enabling pupils to make rapid gains in their learning in reading, including those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND).

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum in a broad range of subjects. The school has sequenced it so that pupils have opportunities to revisit previous learning to help them to remember important knowledge. Nevertheless, in some subjects the curriculum is less precise about the knowledge that the school wants pupils to learn. Sometimes pupils cannot always remember everything staff have taught them. The school is focusing on ways in which it can support pupils to connect key knowledge across different subjects. This is so that pupils can deepen their understanding of concepts and knowledge across the curriculum much better. 24 and 25 October 2023

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Pupils are positive about their life at the school and their lessons. They speak with enthusiasm about a range of subjects and how adults are helping them to learn and improve.

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The school works closely with parents to try to ensure that pupils attend every day. Pupils’ attendance is improving. The school works hard to be consistent about behaviour expectations. Staff occasionally need to remind pupils to focus during lessons and move calmly around the school. Pupils respond well when these reminders happen.

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Parents and pupils value the extensive support the school provides for them. This includes pupils with SEND. Parents say this support is helping all pupils flourish. The school provides workshops that help parents to support their children’s development on a range of topics, for example on aspects such as promoting positive behaviour at home and securing their children’s health and well-being. The school provides programmes of support to pupils who struggle with their confidence. Pupils feel able to speak to adults about their concerns.

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The school promotes personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) well. The school invites visitors in to talk about being safe at school and in the community. Pupils can talk about relationships and being healthy. They can describe ways to keep themselves safe, including when learning online.

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The school ensures that pupils develop an understanding of different beliefs people have. They know the importance of respecting different cultures.

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Staff appreciate the recognition leaders have for balancing their workload. Staff value the professional development they received to help refine their teaching practice. This includes teachers early in their careers.

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Governors understand their roles and responsibilities. They check safeguarding is effective. They consider and act upon parents’ and pupils’ views about school. This helps the school prioritise strategies for improvement. For example, this has helped to shape the support the school provides for pupils with SEND. The school has systems in place to check the impact of the improvements it is making.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not yet specified all aspects of the knowledge, unique to different subject disciplines, that pupils must learn. This means that in some subjects pupils are not learning and remembering important disciplinary knowledge. The 24 and 25 October 2023

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school must ensure disciplinary knowledge is clear for each year group in each subject.

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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’ 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). 24 and 25 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Pauline Corfield

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in April 2022.  The school has had some staffing changes in the last year and the headteacher is the SEND lead on an interim basis.  The school uses one alternative provider.

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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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 24 and 25 October 2023

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and teachers in the school. They met with the chair of governors and spoke to a local authority representative.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, talked to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also considered documentation and discussed the curriculum in science, geography, history, PSHE, and religious education. Inspectors looked at books in a number of subjects.  Inspectors met with leaders responsible for the provision of pupils with SEND, behaviour, attendance and pupils’ personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, parents, staff and pupils;

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and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the day. They considered the responses to the online surveys of parents.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils. They heard pupils reading to a familiar adult.

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Inspection team

Donna Moulds, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David Carter His Majesty’s Inspector 24 and 25 October 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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