Skegness Junior Academy

Inspection of Skegness Junior Academy Pelham Road, Skegness, Lincolnshire PE25 2QX

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The executive principal of this school is Rona Pryme. The head of school is Bradley Jacklin. This school is part of Greenwood Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Wayne Norrie, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Christine Hall. The executive principal, Rona Pryme, is responsible for this school and one other. 11 and 12 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Skegness Junior Academy is a school where care and kindness are shown in abundance by staff and pupils. Behaviour around the school is calm. Pupils play and learn together in a warm and welcoming school environment. They demonstrate a positive attitude towards their learning and live up to the high expectations that teachers have for them. Most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are encouraged to have high aspirations. The school focuses on developing essential skills that will help pupils to succeed in life beyond school. These skills include teamwork, problem-solving and creativity. Pupils take on leadership opportunities, such as being part of the school council, mini police or being eco-warriors. Pupils enjoy representing the school. They talk positively about being part of the school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying is rare. Pupils feel safe. They know who they can speak to if they have any worries or concerns. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including online. They access opportunities to develop their talents and interests beyond the classroom. These opportunities include trips and extra-curricular clubs, such as dance club, school choir and football club.

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

The school has recently redesigned, and improved, the curriculum. Across each of the broad range of subjects that pupils study, the school has identified the key knowledge that pupils need to learn. The school has acted quickly to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge, particularly with regards to reading and mathematics. For example, the school identified pupils’ engagement with mathematics and their ability to solve problems as priorities. Pupils now enthusiastically share the different approaches they take to solve problems. However, in some subjects, teachers do not consistently use strategies to help pupils recall their previous learning. In these subjects, pupils do not recall important knowledge, including subject-specific vocabulary. They do not develop a deep understanding of the important concepts they learn about.

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

The school has prioritised developing pupils’ love of reading. It has acted quickly to improve pupils’ reading skills. Pupils read regularly. They thoughtfully select from a wide range of different texts. Teachers and support staff ensure that pupils get timely support to develop their ability to read fluently. They provide personalised strategies to pupils who need extra help to learn to read. Pupils recognise the importance of reading and can talk about their favourite books and authors. They benefit from having regular opportunities to meet with authors and attend reading events. 11 and 12 March 2025

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Teachers present information clearly and check pupils’ understanding. They identify quickly pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND) and give support so that they can learn and achieve well alongside their peers.

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Despite the continued efforts of staff, some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. Staff identify pupils whose attendance has fallen below the school’s high expectations and the reasons that this is the case. They offer support and challenge to families and work with other agencies, when necessary. The school’s efforts to improve pupils’ attendance have worked, in many cases. Removing the barriers to attendance for some pupils remains a priority for the school.

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The school is determined and successful in supporting the personal development of its pupils. Staff carefully consider how they can enrich learning beyond the classroom. For example, pupils engage with activities coordinated by national theatre companies. Pupils learn about the value of being both physically and mentally healthy. While pupils recognise the importance of being respectful towards others who may be different to themselves, they do struggle to recall some of their learning about world faiths and cultures.

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Staff are very positive about the school and the support that they receive from leaders at all levels. There is a clear sense of wanting the very best for pupils from all staff. Staff feel valued and part of a team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils at the school feel safe. They know who to talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Staff know how to recognise the signs that suggest a pupil might be at risk. However, the approach to recording and undertaking actions to involve external agencies is inconsistent. There is not robust oversight of the school’s work to oversee record- keeping. This means that some minor weaknesses in record keeping exist and are not always identified.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a minority of subjects, the school does not use strategies that consistently help pupils to remember their knowledge of previous learning. When this is the case, pupils are not able to recall important knowledge, including key subject-specific vocabulary, and do not deepen their learning as well as they could. The school should ensure that pupils consistently receive high-quality guidance that helps them to know and remember more of what they have studied. 11 and 12 March 2025

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 There are some minor weaknesses in the consistency of the school’s record-keeping of possible safeguarding concerns. Some follow-up actions are not always recorded or easily found. This makes it difficult to monitor concerns and to understand what actions have been taken. The school needs to ensure the system for recording and analysing concerns about pupils is used consistently and that there is robust oversight of the system and the actions undertaken.

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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). 11 and 12 March 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Greenwood Academies Trust.  The school does not currently 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 provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 11 and 12 March 2025

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 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.  The inspectors met with the executive principal, head of school, subject leaders and members of staff. The lead inspector also met with the chair of trustees and the chief executive officer of the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, geography and art. 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.  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

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors spoke with parents and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors considered the feedback from pupils and staff to their respective Ofsted surveys.

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Roxanne Fearns-Davies, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Martyn Skinner Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 March 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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