Loddon Junior School

Inspection of Loddon Junior School Kitten’s Lane, Loddon, Norwich, Norfolk NR14 6JX

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 5 and 6 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to belong to this welcoming school. They experience kindness and compassion from experienced, caring staff. They are confident staff will help them should they need it. The specially trained Year 6 peer support buddies help pupils to ‘chat through their problems’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils typically behave well during lessons and around the school’s site. The school’s core values are reflected in pupils’ positive attitudes and behaviour. Staff know their pupils well. Pupils are polite and kind to each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to make a positive contribution to their school and wider community. For example, the eco-council works hard to make pupils aware of ways to save energy, such as closing doors to conserve heating. School council members work actively with staff to put their suggestions into practice.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects pupils to achieve well. However, the school has not made sure that the quality of education is consistently strong. This means pupils do not develop their knowledge and skills routinely well in some subjects. As a result, pupils are not fully prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

The school has a broad curriculum in place across all subjects. In some subjects, the curriculum identifies the important knowledge pupils should learn. For example, in mathematics, the school has made important changes to the curriculum. Pupils use their prior knowledge to solve problems. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) describe how revisiting learning helps them ‘get ready’ for new learning in mathematics.

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

In some other subjects, the school has not identified the subject-specific knowledge pupils should learn. This makes it difficult for teachers to know exactly what should be taught and when. The school’s checks on the overall effectiveness of its curriculum are not as secure as they could be. This means the school is not clear about the areas that require the most improvement.

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

Systems to check pupils’ understanding and address misconceptions are not securely in place. As a result, pupils move on to learning new content before they have a secure understanding of prior learning. This means pupils have gaps in their understanding across the curriculum, so they do not achieve as well as they should in these subjects.

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

The school is determined to put reading at the heart of the curriculum and enhance pupils’ love of reading. Pupils have daily reading sessions which help them to improve the fluency of their reading. High-quality texts provide a stimulus for different topics. Pupils who require additional help work in small groups to get the help they need. This support helps these pupils to become more confident readers. 5 and 6 November 2024

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The school swiftly identifies pupils with SEND. Staff across the school are informed about the additional needs of pupils with SEND. They adapt learning activities so pupils progress well through the curriculum. A number of parents commented on the positive impact that the school makes on pupils with SEND, praising the support and nurture in place.

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Pupils understand people’s differences and how diversity enhances the richness of society. Values such as tolerance and respect are promoted constantly in school. The school provides effective pastoral support for pupils’ well-being. Pupils’ aspirations are nurtured and encouraged. For example, pupils describe ambitions such as becoming a professional snowboarder or working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

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The school has recently introduced a new behaviour policy, which is having a positive impact. There are a few pupils who require help to manage their emotions due to their additional needs. Staff have the same high expectations for how these pupils should behave and what they can achieve while making reasonable adjustments where appropriate.

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There has been some upheaval and recent changes to how the school is led. School staff at all levels, including governors, are focused on making improvements to pupils’ learning. Staff are supportive of one another and work together well.

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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 oversight of the delivery and impact of the curriculum is variable. There is not a systematic approach to identifying where improvement is needed. This means the school does not have an accurate picture of standards across the curriculum. The school should ensure that it evaluates the effectiveness of the curriculum and how it is taught in all subjects so it can identify the areas that require the most improvement.  In some subjects in the wider curriculum, there is a lack of clarity about what pupils need to learn and when they need to learn it. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure the subject knowledge that pupils should learn is identified precisely and appropriately sequenced in all subjects to build effectively on what pupils have learned before.  The school has not ensured that pupils’ understanding is routinely checked so that any

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

misconceptions are identified swiftly. This means that, across the curriculum, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and are not fully ready to learn new content. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils’ learning and understanding carefully and address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge promptly. 5 and 6 November 2024

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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). 5 and 6 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.loddonprimaryfederation.co.uk

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 Loddon Junior School is part of the Loddon Primary Federation.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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. 5 and 6 November 2024

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors reviewed other curriculum areas and spoke to leaders about these subjects, including personal, social and health education.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 held meetings with the acting headteacher, senior leaders and members of the governing body, including the chair.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation provided, such as minutes of governor

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meetings, the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement documents and information relating to pupils’ attendance and behaviour.  Inspectors spent time speaking to pupils, including at lunchtime. Inspectors also took account of responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey.  Inspectors gathered parents’ views by reviewing responses to Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors gathered staff members’ views by speaking with them and considering responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jo Nutbeam, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracy Warner Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 November 2024

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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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