Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School Flatts Lane, Calverton, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG14 6JZ

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Outcome

Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Rebecca Mee. The school is part of Aspire Multi- Academy 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), Kate Watson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Peter Golightly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are welcoming, polite and respectful. They take pride in the school’s ‘Take Care’ values. The values of ‘respect, resilience, responsibility, perseverance, focus, compassion, teamwork and integrity’ are lived out daily. Pupils are happy and safe. They are grateful for the care and support given by staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for pupils’ learning. Pupils work diligently and learn well in a range of subjects. They take pride in their work and achievements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils meet the school’s raised expectations of behaviour. Classroom behaviour is positive. The school ensures that high behavioural expectations are consistently reinforced and met. Routines are well established. Pupils play sociably during breaktimes and lunchtimes. They get on well with each other. Relationships are respectful.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate many opportunities and experiences that the school provides. They cherish memorable experiences, including trips and being taught by supportive and caring staff. They appreciate leadership roles that include being play, sports, eco and reading leaders.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most parents and carers comment positively about the school. As one parent commented, reflecting the views of many, ‘I have found the staff accommodating, helpful and strive 19 and 20 March 2025

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together for the best outcome for my child.’ However, several parents expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the school’s communication.

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

The school has undergone significant change in the last year. Leaders have prioritised improving the quality of education and the school’s approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. The school has been ably supported by the trust and the governing body to bring about significant improvements. Leaders’ raised expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour are having a positive impact.

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

The school has developed a broad and balanced curriculum that matches the breadth of the national curriculum. The curriculum is suitably ambitious. The school identifies key knowledge that pupils must learn and when. For example, in mathematics, pupils gain new learning, revisit prior learning and learn to apply their learning in different situations. Pupils speak positively about and recall their learning well.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They choose appropriate activities to enable pupils to learn well. Teachers use questions to check pupils’ learning. They use assessment to check pupils’ learning over time. However, where the curriculum in some subjects is still new, the delivery of the curriculum is less consistent.

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

The school is developing a positive culture of reading. It identifies and supports pupils who are at an early stage of reading by providing targeted phonics activities. Staff enable pupils to gain the knowledge and skills needed to become fluent readers. Pupils gain confidence in reading and develop their reading and comprehension skills across a wide range of engaging texts. They become more fluent, confident readers.

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

The school has effective systems in place to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff adapt how they teach to ensure that these pupils learn the same curriculum as their peers, for example by providing appropriate resources. The school engages with a range of professionals external to the school and makes sure that pupils with SEND gain the support they need.

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

The school has continued to prioritise pupils’ personal development. The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum is structured to develop pupils’ understanding of healthy living. Pupils learn the importance of physical and mental health. They develop a mature understanding of healthy relationships. Pupils learn to understand risk and how to be safe, for example, when in the community and online. Pupils gain a mature appreciation of respect, equality and difference. They actively support others within and beyond the school. Pupils are prepared well to be active citizens both now and in the future.

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

Leaders with responsibility for governance know the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement very well. They support and challenge leaders appropriately. They are mindful of leaders’ well-being and workload. 19 and 20 March 2025

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Staff are proud to work at the school. Staff morale is positive. There is genuine team spirit of colleagues working together as a team. Staff value and recognise significant improvements to the school because of changes put in place over the last year.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not ensured that all planned subject curriculums are consistently implemented and fully embedded across the school. As a result, not all pupils achieve the intended depth and continuity of learning over time. The school should ensure that the implementation of all subject curriculums enables all pupils to know more and remember more over time.  The school’s ways of communicating with parents are not as effective as the school intends. As a result, some parents do not understand and appreciate the school’s higher expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour. Consequently, not all parents are able to fully support the school and their children’s learning. The school should ensure that its means of communicating with parents are more effective, thus enabling parents to understand the reasons for the school’s higher expectations and aspirations for pupils’ learning and behaviour.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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. 19 and 20 March 2025

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School, to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2013.

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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). 19 and 20 March 2025

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 November 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Aspire Multi-Academy trust.  The headteacher took up the substantive post in December 2024.  The chair of governors took up responsibility in September 2024.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and senior leaders. He met with representatives of the board of trustees and governing body, including both chairs. 19 and 20 March 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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 considered the views of parents who they spoke with as well as those who completed Ofsted Parent View and the free-text responses. The inspector reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for school staff.

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Inspection team

Chris Davies, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 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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