Killamarsh Junior School

Inspection of Killamarsh Junior School 38 Sheffield Road, Killamarsh, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S21 2EA

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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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 Requires improvement 28 and 29 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Killamarsh Junior, pupils feel happy and well cared for. It is a friendly and welcoming place. Pupils feel safe. They talk maturely about the positive changes in behaviour such as walking very orderly through school and the reward system of points. Pupils know how adults support them in the L.E.A.R.N.E.R approach. This has helped the school to robustly address previous issues that had been highlighted as areas for improvement.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school that has experienced significant turbulence in the last few years. New leadership has resulted in recent improvements in many aspects of the school’s work. There is still more work to do in ensuring all pupils learn well across all subjects as there are clear areas of high expectations within the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school encourages pupils’ views about their school. School councillors are elected by their peers. They are passionate about helping others and their community. For example, pupils raised money for a hospital to support the treatment of other children. Pupils also support the British Legion. Pupils benefit from going on trips in the local area and further afield, for example visiting nearby Creswell Craggs to learn about the Stone Age. They also enjoy their residential experiences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers, staff and pupils all speak particularly highly of the new leadership. The community is proud of its school.

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

Pupils learn a broad curriculum that makes interesting links across different subject areas. In some subjects, such as art and design, this is developing well. In these subjects the curriculum is well sequenced, so pupils learn well over time. The school ensures the curriculum is presented in an engaging way that promotes discussion. However, staff occasionally do not create enriching learning experiences for their pupils. In some classes, checks on pupils’ understanding are not as frequent as they could be to identify any misconceptions. Staff are well trained to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These pupils have clear targets. This ensures that they progress well through the curriculum.

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

Reading is an important part of school life. Pupils celebrate reading daily and look forward to class reading for pleasure time. Adults role model positive reading skills to them. Pupils build and develop their vocabulary and are excited about the creation of the new school library.

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

Pupils learn reading skills through the effective teaching of a phonics programme. The school enables pupils to catch up quickly with gaps in their reading knowledge. The school checks previously learned sounds and build this into a spelling and handwriting sequence. Pupils often comment that reading is ‘a great way to experience other places and other lives’. 28 and 29 January 2025

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In lessons, pupils focus on their learning. They are keen to do well. Not all teachers ensure that pupils produce high-quality work. Some pupils repeatedly make spelling and punctuation errors, and some teachers do not always correct these. This means that some pupils do not develop their writing skills well.

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The school provides a well-considered curriculum beyond the academic. Pupils learn and recall topics such as consent and different types of relationships. The school seeks opportunities to develop pupils’ understanding of important issues in society. One way is through their work with Derbyshire Police about anti-social behaviours and knife crime. Pupils learn about internet safety, road safety and environmental issues. Through assemblies their achievements are celebrated with the award of certificates.

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Pupils conduct themselves well around the school. They enjoy playtimes. They make good use of the extensive outside space and the equipment that is provided by the school. Pupils of all ages play harmoniously together. If any negative behaviour does occur, staff act quickly to ensure pupils understand why it is not appropriate.

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The school has made improvements in pupils’ attendance. Through careful analysis and fast interventions, pupils now attend more regularly.

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The senior leaders are compassionate yet uncompromising in their approach. They have created a stable and happy staff team. The school is working to address previous historical issues which aim to galvanise improvements further when they can be brought to a conclusion. There is now a strong sense of a shared vision throughout the school community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is inconsistency in the delivery of the planned curriculum and the use of assessment. As a result, not all pupils learn the planned curriculum as well as they should. The school must ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently well, and that checks about pupils’ learning support the identification of the next steps in learning. This is in pursuit of enabling all pupils to know, understand and do more.  Some teachers do not always ensure that pupils produce high-quality work. They do not check that pupils spell keywords correctly or that they use correct punctuation. This means that some pupils persist with inaccurate spelling, which affects the accuracy of their writing. Teachers should ensure that pupils’ work in books is of a high quality by checking that they are spelling correctly, setting work out neatly and using correct punctuation. 28 and 29 January 2025

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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). 28 and 29 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Elisa Chesterton

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 January 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The new headteacher took up his post in September 2024.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school runs its own breakfast and after-school club.

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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. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke to the headteacher, groups of staff, groups of pupils, a member of the local authority and the chair and members of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also met with pupils and looked at their work in history, science, geography and 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

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the start of the school day. They also considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Ian Toon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Ward Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 January 2025

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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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