Foljambe Primary School

Inspection of Foljambe Primary School Foljambe Drive, Rotherham S65 4HQ

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Jackie Heydon. This school is part of Wickersley 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), Helen O'Brien, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Stephen Calvert. 10 and 11 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this inclusive and welcoming school. They value the time that they spend with their teachers and how adults help them to develop. Pupils know that staff care for them and want them to achieve well. This helps pupils to feel safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive a variable standard of education. The school’s ambition for pupils to achieve highly is not realised consistently. Despite some improvements, too few pupils reach the standards that they are capable of, including in national assessments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils. Through ‘the Foljambe way’ it teaches them to be respectful, confident and aspirational members of its community. Pupils understand how this helps them to ‘become a better person’. They apply this knowledge well in how they behave towards others over their time in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with a rich set of experiences to enhance their education. Many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, enjoy clubs such as street dancing or craft club. Some, such as the school’s playground leaders, hold positions of responsibility and support others. The school uses opportunities such as the Year 6 residential visit to broaden pupils’ horizons.

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

New school leaders, with the support of the trust, have acted effectively to stabilise the school following a period of significant turbulence. This has resulted in clear improvements being made to some aspects of the school’s work. For example, pupils’ absence and incidents of poor behaviour have both reduced rapidly in recent months. Despite this, pupils do not receive a quality of education that supports them to achieve as well as they should. Actions that the school has taken to address this are still embedding. Consequently, pupils’ achievement remains too low.

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

The school has made changes to the curriculum in recent years. It is well considered and suitably ambitious. The school has structured pupils’ learning so that it builds logically from the early years to Year 6. Teachers receive training to support them to teach the curriculum effectively. However, there is some variability in how well the curriculum is delivered. Pupils have gaps in their knowledge as a result of historic weaknesses in the school’s curriculum. Current teaching does not ensure that these are closed rapidly in order that pupils catch up consistently. As a result, some pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as they should.

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

The school has prioritised support for the most vulnerable pupils. Those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified accurately. The school works with external professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to provide help to pupils who need it. Pupils in the school’s ‘Magna Lane’ provision are well supported. Staff know them well and meet their needs effectively. However, in lessons elsewhere in the school, the experience of pupils with SEND, and their peers, is not so strong. 10 and 11 June 2025

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Pupils enjoy reading. Older pupils talk knowledgeably about the books that they read in class. Staff in the early years read regularly with children. They choose texts carefully that link with children’s learning or promote their understanding of the world. Younger pupils begin learning phonics straight away. Some pupils in the early stages of learning to read do not secure the phonics knowledge that they need as quickly as they could. As a result, these pupils lack fluency in their reading and take longer than they should to become proficient readers.

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Through its personal, social and health education curriculum, the school teaches pupils important knowledge that they need to keep safe and healthy. Pupils have a secure understanding of important concepts including consent. Leaders have prioritised pupils learning about how to manage risks in the community, such as water safety. Where appropriate, the school works with external professionals to support pupils’ mental health and well-being.

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Pupils respond well to the school’s expectations for their behaviour. They treat one another with kindness. At social times, pupils play well together. In lessons, most pupils focus well on their learning. The school has not consistently ensured that pupils are resilient to challenges. Where staff do not support pupils effectively to complete challenging tasks, pupils struggle to maintain high standards of behaviour.

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The trust has provided significant additional support to the school during recent changes. Leaders hold an accurate view of the school and understand the changes that are required. Staff feel well supported and empowered to bring these about. Despite this, many initiatives are new and the impact of these is not currently evident. The trust has not supported the school’s governing board enough to scrutinise the impact of the school’s work as fully as it could over time. This limits how effectively it is able to challenge and support the school to bring about improvements for pupils.

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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 secured a consistently effective approach to teaching the curriculum. Pupils’ experience in lessons is variable. Some pupils, including those with SEND, do not gain the knowledge that they need and behaviour is affected where pupils find work too challenging. The school should ensure that teachers’ implementation of the curriculum supports pupils to learn the curriculum consistently well.  Teaching does not ensure that gaps in pupils’ knowledge, including from earlier stages in the curriculum, are closed consistently. This limits how well pupils are able to access 10 and 11 June 2025

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new learning and progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that teaching addresses pupils’ gaps in knowledge and supports pupils to catch up rapidly.  Over time, the trust has not supported the school’s governing board to scrutinise the impact of the school’s work fully. This limits its ability to hold leaders to account and to ensure that necessary improvements, such as in the outcomes that pupils achieve, are brought about swiftly. The trust should ensure that the governing board challenges and supports the school consistently well to bring about improvements in the interests of pupils.

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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). 10 and 11 June 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Wickersley Partnership Trust.  Many teachers and school leaders are new to post in recent terms. This includes the school’s assistant headteacher and headteacher. The headteacher was appointed to her role in January 2024.  This is the first inspection since the school opened in September 2022. For approximately 3 terms following that, pupils were educated at another site while the current premises were built. Pupils moved to the current site at the end of the 2022/23 academic year.  The school operates a resourced provision for pupils with SEND called Magna Lane. This provides education for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Most pupils attending the provision have an education health and care plan. 10 places are commissioned through the Rotherham local authority and 10 are commissioned by the trust. Pupils are either single registered at this school or are dual registered with this

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Information about this school

school and their home school. 10 and 11 June 2025

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 The school does not use any alternative provisions. A small number of pupils attend a resourced provision for pupils with SEND at another school in the trust.

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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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  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.  The lead inspector met with members of the trust board, the local governing board and the trust’s CEO.  During the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher and assistant headteacher. They also met with other leaders, including those responsible for safeguarding, behaviour, attendance, early years provision and personal development.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. 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 looked at a range of documentation regarding the support pupils with SEND receive. They looked at the quality of the provision for pupils with SEND in lessons.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including minutes from governing board meetings as well as the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans.  Inspectors looked at a range of information regarding behaviour. They observed the behaviour of pupils in classrooms and at social times.  The views of pupils and staff who responded to Ofsted’s surveys were considered.  Inspectors considered the views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s online

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Thomas Wraith, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Kerry Partington Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 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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