Farnborough Road Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Farnborough Road Junior School Farnborough Road, Birkdale, Southport, Merseyside PR8 3DF

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Outcome

Farnborough Road Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to belong to this welcoming school. Pupils described their school as a happy and friendly place. They were keen to share their learning with the inspector.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and considerate. They demonstrate consistently high standards of behaviour during lessons and at social times. Pupils carry out numerous roles of responsibility around the school with diligence. These contribute well to the sense of calm and purpose evident in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ academic success. Pupils typically achieve well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, and their parents and carers, spoke highly of additional support that the school provides when this is needed. This is especially true for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils also explained that talking to staff, especially when they access the ‘Rainbow Room’, helps them to feel better if they are overwhelmed or anxious.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to make the most of the wide range of opportunities on offer, such as volunteering to help other pupils at lunchtime or exploring their class topic with further study at home. Through these and other activities, they develop new interests and talents. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about the activities that help them to build confidence and resilience. These include taking part in singing performances with other schools, sporting competitions and residential trips to outdoor activity centres.

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

The school has successfully reviewed its curriculum since the previous inspection. It is ambitious and well designed. The curriculum is well organised so that it supports teachers to design learning that builds on what pupils already know. Most of the time, teachers are 7 and 8 February 2024

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quick to identify, and then address, gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This ensures that pupils build their knowledge securely over time.

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Pupils are suitably equipped with the secure reading knowledge that they need to be able to read with fluency and accuracy. Teachers deliver the school’s reading curriculum well, making effective use of agreed approaches. They recognise when pupils need additional support to develop more secure phonics knowledge. These pupils quickly catch up with their peers due to the carefully targeted additional support that they receive.

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Pupils benefit from the well-thought-out texts that their teachers explore with them. The rich diet of contemporary and well-loved literature that pupils experience encourages them to read widely and often. Pupils make effective use of what they have read to enhance their learning across the rest of the curriculum. By the time that pupils leave Year 6, they are ready to embrace the new challenges of the key stage 3 curriculum.

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The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND well. Teachers make sure that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need to access the same curriculum as their peers. Consequently, pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to school. Disruption to learning is rare. Pupils willingly meet the high expectations set for their behaviour. Pupils who find it more difficult to manage their emotions benefit from the support of skilled staff to maintain their focus during lessons.

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Most pupils attend school regularly. The school keeps a close eye on the small number of pupils who are often absent. It takes appropriate and effective action when any pupils’ attendance begins to decline.

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The school places a high priority on pupils’ wider development. Pupils benefit from the support and encouragement that they receive to broaden their horizons. They learn about the wider world and how it may differ from the school’s local community. For example, pupils learn about different faiths and customs. They are respectful to those who may be different to themselves. However, some pupils have developed misconceptions about some of the religious beliefs and traditions that they have learned about. The school has recently introduced a new aspect of its curriculum to improve pupils’ understanding in this area. Despite this, these misunderstandings have not been spotted or corrected well enough by their teachers. This means that pupils do not know all that they should about different cultures and religions in society.

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The school has an accurate understanding of its strengths and areas for improvement. Governors provide effective challenge and support to aid the school to continuously improve. The school checks that any improvements to the curriculum do not have a negative impact on staff’s well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 7 and 8 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not have an accurate understanding of different religions and cultures. This is because their misconceptions have not been checked or addressed well enough. The school should ensure that the delivery of the curriculum enables pupils to gain an accurate understanding of different faiths and their associated beliefs and traditions.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2014.

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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 ’ 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). 7 and 8 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Iain Brodie-Browne

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School details

Website www.farnboroughroadjuniors.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 January 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.  The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. 7 and 8 February 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in English, including early reading, mathematics and religious education. She spoke with the leaders of these areas of the curriculum. She also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils.  The inspector also spoke with pupils about their learning in other subjects.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes. She observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school. She also scrutinised leaders’ records of pupils’ behaviour.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  The inspector spoke with parents as they brought their children to school.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. She also considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff. There were no responses to the online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 February 2024

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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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