Someries Junior School

Inspection of Someries Junior School Wigmore Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 8AH

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good 12 and 13 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Someries Junior School. It is a school where pupils are happy and feel safe. Pupils learn about the school’s values of respect, responsibility, tolerance, kindness, aspiration and cooperation, and these underpin the daily life in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for every pupil to achieve their very best, regardless of their needs or background. Pupils rise to this and achieve well overall. Staff work well with parents and carers to engage them in their children’s learning. This supports pupils’ achievement across the curriculum and helps parents know how they can support their children at home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have many opportunities to join a large variety of clubs to develop their interests. These clubs are well attended, including by disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils can participate in many activities, such as cookery, gardening and different sports. This supports the pupils’ wider development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a community where diversity and differences are celebrated. Leaders organise a wide range of events, including visiting local care homes and inviting different religious leaders to school. From these opportunities, pupils learn the importance of making a positive contribution to their community.

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

Pupils enjoy reading. Reading is at the heart of the curriculum because leaders have given it a high priority across the school. They have invested heavily in books to ensure pupils have a wide range of books and genres to read. Authors and illustrators are invited into school to inspire pupils to read and write. There is a consistent approach to teaching reading which supports pupils’ learning. Any pupils who fall behind receive additional support to help them get back on track.

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

The school has developed an ambitious curriculum that helps pupils to achieve well. The curriculum maps out the knowledge and skills pupils need to learn. Learning opportunities are meaningful. They help pupils to understand, remember and build on their learning. In most subjects, teachers check what pupils know routinely and adjust the learning accordingly. However, in a minority of subjects, teachers do not always check what pupils have learned. This can lead to gaps in the pupils’ knowledge.

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

The school has systems in place to ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified accurately and promptly. The school makes appropriate adjustments that enable pupils with SEND to work alongside their peers in all areas of the curriculum. However, occasionally, pupils with SEND do not have their targets and next steps clearly identified. This makes it difficult for staff to support their learning effectively. However, pupils with SEND typically achieve well.

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

Leaders have prioritised attendance. They have effective strategies in place to support 12 and 13 November 2024

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pupils and families. As a result, attendance is high, and pupils and parents value education. There are strong relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. The large majority of pupils behave well and enjoy their learning. However, sometimes pupils can be unkind to each other. The school works effectively to address this and ensure pupils live up to the high expectations of their behaviour.

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The school’s approach to promoting pupils’ personal development has been well thought through. Pupils learn to value and respect differences. Pupils learn about life in modern British society. Visitors to school and trips support pupils’ learning of the curriculum and make it relevant. For example, the recent trip to Barton Springs supported pupils’ learning about rivers.

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Governors have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They are aware of their statutory duties and ensure these are met. Staff enjoy working in the school. They are very positive about how leaders consider well-being and workload. The school invests in its staff. Staff appreciate the continued professional development that enables them to fulfil their roles effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, next steps for pupils with SEND are not tailored fully to their needs. This hinders how well some pupils with SEND learn across the curriculum. The school should ensure staff identify next steps that meet the needs of pupils with SEND fully to better support their learning.  In some subjects, assessment of what pupils know is not as well developed as in others. In these subjects, teachers do not use checks on pupils’ understanding effectively to adapt subsequent learning. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils understanding in all subjects and use this information to adapt teaching to build on what pupils know and can do effectively.  The behaviour policy is not consistently applied by all staff across the school day. Therefore, a small minority of pupils do not always live up to the school’s high expectations for behaviour. The school should ensure that all staff have the same high

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

expectations for pupils’ behaviour and apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently.

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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. 12 and 13 November 2024

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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). 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 February 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any 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. 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, teachers and pupils. The lead inspector met with members of the board of governors, including the chair of 12 and 13 November 2024

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governors, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and modern foreign languages. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders or members of the senior leadership team, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. The lead inspector listened to pupils read to staff.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum in 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 culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors took account of a range of other information, including the school’s

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improvement plans, policies and minutes of governing body meetings.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View. They also considered responses to the surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Julie Winwood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Stanton Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 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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