Town Junior School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Town Junior School Ebrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B72 1NX

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Outcome

Town 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 Adrienne Smith. This school is part of the Broadleaf Partnership 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), Claire Pritchard, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Neil Turner.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Town Junior School has high ambition for pupils. Pupils rise to this as demonstrated by their secure curriculum knowledge. They work hard in lessons, rising to meet the high expectations of staff. As a result, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel happy and safe in school. Staff have strong relationships with pupils. Pupils demonstrate an excellent understanding of equality and equity. They are inclusive of each other and respectful of difference. They ensure that everyone feels valued. There is a real sense of community in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. As a result, pupils are attentive in lessons and focus on their learning. Behaviour around the school is calm and orderly. Pupils play well together at social times. Pupils are polite and well-mannered to each other and to visitors. In the rare instances where bullying happens, pupils trust staff to deal with it well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the wide range of roles and responsibilities they undertake. They conduct these with pride. These include being school councillors, house captains and librarians. Pupils enjoy a wide range of curriculum enrichment activities. For example, visits, residential trips and an extensive range of clubs. This supports pupils’ broader development beyond the academic. 3 and 4 June 2025

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

The school has developed a well-considered curriculum. The knowledge and skills that pupils need to know have been carefully sequenced. This helps pupils to develop an increasingly secure understanding. For example, in history, Year 4 pupils use timelines to compare the length of the Maya Civilisation with other world civilisations. Year 5 pupils talk about the importance of learning times tables. They know that this knowledge is crucial when other aspects of mathematics are studied, such as fractions and long division. Staff have the subject knowledge they need to teach the curriculum well. Teachers use well considered questions to check pupils’ understanding. Retrieval strategies are used effectively to support pupils to remember their learning.

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

The school swiftly identifies the needs of pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide support and adapt the curriculum to help the pupils achieve well.

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

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. The school has developed a challenging reading curriculum. Teachers implement this consistently across the school. They help pupils to read with increasing confidence, expression and comprehension as they progress through the school. Pupils who need additional help receive the support they need to catch up. Pupils read books that match the sounds that they know. This helps them to read with fluency and accuracy. The school encourages pupils to develop a love of reading. For example, through its well-stocked library and the playground ‘Book Burrow.’ These expose pupils to a wide variety of different books and authors. The writing curriculum is coherently sequenced. It helps pupils to develop the knowledge they need to become fluent and confident writers. Teaching supports pupils with understanding the expectations for writing in English lessons. However, when writing in

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

other subjects, the expectations for writing are not consistently as high. This means that pupils do not write with accuracy in the wider curriculum. Pupils work hard in lessons because they have the motivation to learn. Teachers’ consistent use of rewards, such as merits for Prize Day Friday, provides encouragement. Most pupils attend school regularly and on time. The school works with parents and carers to address any barriers to attendance. This work is highly effective. As a result, attendance is improving.

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

The school places a strong emphasis on pupils’ personal development. Pupils understand the importance of mental health, physical activity, healthy eating and how these impact their long-term health. The school prepares all pupils well for life in modern Britain and develops their understanding of fundamental British values, culture and diversity.

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

Staff are proud to work at the school and appreciate the many professional development opportunities they are given. The local academy committee and trustees have an accurate view of the quality of the education the school provides. However, recently, there have 3 and 4 June 2025

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been many changes to drive improvements. This has impacted on the workload and well- being of staff.

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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 approaches to support pupils’ writing skills are not always applied consistently. As a result, teachers do not ensure some pupils apply their writing skills in the wider curriculum to the same standards they do in English lessons. The school should ensure the expectations of writing are consistently high across the curriculum.  There have been many changes driving improvements over the last year. However, the school and trust have not sufficiently considered the impact of these changes on the workload and well-being of staff. The school and trust should take account of this and ensure that there is time to embed changes to support staff workload and well-being.

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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.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in January 2020. 3 and 4 June 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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 January 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust.  The headteacher also has responsibility for another school in the trust.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast- and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation of 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. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 The inspector met with members of the trust board, the local governing board, the trust’s CEO and the trust’s director of education. She also spoke with the trust’s challenge partner for the school.  During the inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, special educational needs coordinator, staff and pupils.  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 scrutinised a range of documentation, including minutes from trust and governing board meetings as well as the school’s self-evaluation and improvement

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plans.  The inspector looked at a range of information regarding behaviour. She observed the behaviour of pupils in classrooms and at social times.  The inspector considered the views of pupils and staff who responded to Ofsted’s surveys.  The inspector considered the views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View.

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Inspection team

Lynda Townsend, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 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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