Thomas Jolyffe Primary School

Thomas Jolyffe Primary School

Address: Clopton Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6TE Unique reference number (URN): 125525

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Expected standard

Children in the early years make a positive start to their education. Staff know what they want children to learn and when. They plan purposeful activities that support children to learn. There is a strong focus on communication and language. Staff interact well with children to develop their vocabulary and move their learning forward. They know children well and are quick to identify and address any gaps in children’s understanding. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with other vulnerabilities.

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Early years Expected standard

Staff have established clear routines that help children learn how to behave well. Transitions between activities are calm, and children demonstrate increasing levels of independence. Children benefit from positive and caring relationships with staff. As a result, children feel safe and happy.

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Early years Expected standard

Leaders are knowledgeable and have an accurate understanding of what is working well and what needs to improve further. They have taken effective action to improve important aspects of the curriculum, such as phonics and writing. As a result, most children read with age-appropriate accuracy and can write simple words and phrases correctly. Across the curriculum, most children make secure progress from their starting points and are well prepared for learning in Year 1.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school provides a broad personal development offer that equips pupils with the knowledge and skills they need for life outside school. Pupils learn how to build and maintain healthy relationships and how to manage their feelings and emotions.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils develop respect and understanding for others. Leaders weave themes such as diversity and equality through the texts that pupils read, class discussions and assemblies. Pupils learn about a range of beliefs and cultures to help them develop a secure understanding of life in modern Britain.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders prioritise pupils’ wellbeing. They know pupils and their families well. Leaders and staff recognise when pupils need additional support for their emotional or mental wellbeing. They use a range of strategies to help these pupils, including counselling and nurture provision. This support helps pupils to engage more confidently in school life.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and in the community. For example, pupils understand the risks associated with using social media and can explain how to keep themselves safe when playing in or near water.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment opportunities. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who attend the specialist resource provision. Pupils talk positively about visits to places of interest and the range of clubs they can attend. Leaders encourage all pupils to take part in extra-curricular activities. They target some

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Needs attention

activities at specific groups of pupils to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to take part.

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Needs attention

Leaders encourage pupils to take responsibility and develop their leadership skills. For example, pupils take on roles such as school councillors, play leaders and eco-monitors, as well as helping to care for the school’s guinea pigs. Pupils are proud to contribute to the community by raising money for different charities.

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Achievement Needs attention

Over time, pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 has been below national averages in writing and mathematics. In particular, too many disadvantaged pupils have not achieved the standards they should in these subjects.

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Achievement Needs attention

Current pupils have gaps in their mathematical knowledge and skills. Leaders are not doing enough to ensure that these gaps close quickly. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not making the progress they should because teaching does not match their needs consistently well. Improvements to teaching writing are starting to make a difference. Pupils’ spelling, grammar and punctuation are increasingly accurate. However, too many pupils continue to leave the school without the knowledge and skills they need to be ready for secondary school.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils’ achievement in phonics and reading is stronger. Most pupils are able to read with age-appropriate fluency and accuracy by the end of Year 6. Pupils in the specialist resourced provision make secure progress from their starting points.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils’ attendance has been below national averages for the past 3 years. Too many disadvantaged pupils are persistently absent from school, which means they miss out on valuable learning. Leaders’ work to improve attendance has not resulted in sustained improvements for these pupils. While leaders have been successful in improving the attendance of some individual pupils, including some with special educational needs and/or disabilities, attendance overall is not improving quickly enough.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils generally behave well. Typically, they settle into lessons quickly and show positive attitudes to learning. In lessons, most pupils listen carefully. However, some pupils find it difficult to sustain their concentration because teaching does not always meet their needs. Sometimes, the behaviour of a small number of pupils can disrupt the learning of others. Staff do not have a shared understanding of how best to manage the behaviour of these pupils.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Incidents of poor behaviour are reducing. This is because leaders are providing increasingly effective support for pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour and emotions. Leaders have started to improve how they monitor and respond to incidents of poor behaviour and bullying. This is helping them to understand some of the underlying reasons for pupils' behaviour and to adapt strategies to ensure that they are effective.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have started to strengthen the curriculum and teaching. However, improvements are at an early stage, which means their impact on pupils’ learning is variable across subjects and year groups.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have adopted a structured curriculum for each subject. As a result, teachers are clear about what they want pupils to learn. However, teachers do not use their knowledge of what pupils already know and can do to adapt what they teach to meet different pupils' needs. This means that some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those with lower starting points, often complete work that is too difficult for them. Teachers do not routinely check what pupils have understood before moving on with their teaching. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning. These pupils do not receive the support they need to catch up quickly.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have prioritised the teaching of phonics and reading. The teaching of phonics is improving. In writing, staff are starting to sequence learning more logically. There is a clear focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary and on ensuring that pupils spell with age- appropriate accuracy. As a result, pupils’ writing is starting to improve. Pupils in the specialist resourced provision receive a curriculum that matches their needs. Staff in this provision make frequent checks on pupils’ progress and adapt teaching accordingly.

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Inclusion Needs attention

There have been recent improvements in how well leaders and staff identify pupils’ needs. Leaders work closely with parents, carers and external professionals to understand the barriers to learning and wellbeing that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities face. They use this information to create personalised plans for each pupil. However, leaders do not check closely enough to ensure that staff implement agreed strategies consistently and that pupils are making the progress they intend. Practice is stronger in the specialist resourced provision, where pupils receive support that matches their needs and staff check regularly on the progress pupils are making.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have a broad understanding of the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with other vulnerabilities. However, they do not use additional funding with enough precision to ensure that staff provide the timely and targeted support that these pupils need. This means that too many of these pupils do not attend school regularly or achieve the outcomes they are capable of.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of alternative provision. Processes in place to check on the quality of provision, or to routinely gather information about pupils’ progress, lack clarity. Leaders do not regularly evaluate how well the support that pupils receive is meeting their needs and the impact it is having on pupils' learning and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have a broad understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. However, they have been slow to identify and address some of the underlying reasons for weaknesses in pupils’ achievement. Leaders are starting to take appropriate action to improve the teaching of writing and pupils’ attendance, but many actions are still at an early stage.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Over the past 2 years, leaders have made improvements to inclusion, the management of pupils’ behaviour and the teaching of phonics. However, leaders’ actions do not always have a swift enough impact. This is because the checks that leaders make sometimes lack precision and rigour. Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the curriculum and teaching. As a result, inconsistencies in practice remain.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governors understand the school’s context. They have the knowledge and skills to support and challenge leaders effectively. However, governors do not have a secure understanding of some aspects of the school's work, for example the use and impact of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. This limits governors' ability to hold leaders to account.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Generally, staff feel that leaders support their workload and wellbeing effectively. Staff benefit from training to develop their knowledge and expertise. However, a small number of staff say that they do not always receive consistent support for managing pupils’ behaviour.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Parents and carers have mixed views. Some praise the school, but others are worried about pupils’ behaviour and provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders are working to improve these areas.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Most pupils are happy and enjoy school. They say that everyone is welcome at Thomas Jolyffe. Pupils learn to understand and respect differences. They talk confidently about different religions and have fun taking part in celebrations from different cultures, such as Christmas and Chinese New Year. Pupils know whom to speak to when they need support, and they trust adults to listen to them. They appreciate the many clubs and activities that are on offer to develop their interests. Pupils are proud to take on roles such as school councillor, where they can help make decisions to improve their school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children get off to a good start in the early years. They benefit from caring relationships with staff and settle quickly. However, too many pupils do not achieve the standards they should in writing and mathematics by the time they leave Year 6. This means that some pupils do not have the knowledge and skills they need to be ready for secondary school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils have mixed experiences. Sometimes, they receive the help they need to be successful, but sometimes they do not. Leaders are starting to make improvements, but there is still work to do.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Most pupils talk positively about their learning and are keen to come to school. In lessons, most pupils listen carefully and try their best. However, some pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. This impacts on how well they achieve across the curriculum. Sometimes pupils lose concentration and become distracted in lessons. This is because their work is either too difficult or too easy. Staff do not have consistent expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They do not have a shared understanding of how to manage incidents of poor behaviour, including bullying. As a result, some pupils do not receive the support they need to behave well.

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Next steps

Leaders should develop staff's expertise in using assessment to identify what pupils know and can do and adapt teaching and activities to match pupils' needs more closely. Leaders should ensure that gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge in writing and mathematics are addressed swiftly and consistently so that all pupils secure the skills they need to achieve well by the end of Year 6. Leaders should strengthen their oversight of strategies to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities to ensure that these pupils are making the progress they should, including oversight of the use and impact of alternative provision. Leaders and governors should ensure that pupil premium funding is used effectively to improve disadvantaged pupils' achievement in writing and mathematics and secure their regular attendance at school. Leaders should ensure that there is a consistent approach to managing pupils' behaviour,

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Next steps

including any bullying incidents, and that they support staff in implementing this approach. Leaders should make more timely and precise checks on how well the curriculum is being implemented so that weaknesses are identified and addressed quickly and effectively.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Julia Kenny.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other school leaders, staff and pupils during the inspection. They also spoke with representatives of the governing body and representatives from the local authority.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school includes a specially resourced provision for up to 8 pupils with autism. This provision opened in September 2025.

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About this inspection

The school currently makes use of 5 unregistered alternative provisions.

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Team inspectors:

Max Vlahakis, Ofsted Inspector Rachel Perks, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 30 June 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

National average: 300 Headteacher: Philippa Liversidge

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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What does this mean?

The type of Special Educational Needs provision provided at the school (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2022/23 (final) 57% 60% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (final) 69% 75% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) 78% 73% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2022/23 (final) 71% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (final) 61% 63% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 59% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 52% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 50% 61% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 18.7% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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