A Town Junior School Ofsted report has been praised the Sutton Coldfield school for boosting pupils’ expectations resulting in improved progress and results.
Town Junior School, in Ebrook Road, is now rated ‘good’ by Ofsted inspectors, raising its position from its previous ‘requires improvement’ rating after an inspection in September 2017.
Inspectors said school governors and staff are ‘ambitious’ for all pupils after visiting the Ebrook Road school in January. Lead inspector Kerry Rochester said staff have ‘high expectations of what pupils can achieve,’ and ‘pupils rise to these expectations’.
The school, which is part of the Plantsbrook Learning Trust, was praised for its teaching of core subjects, with the Ofsted report stating: “The reading, writing and mathematics curriculum is well-developed. As a result, pupils are achieving well in these subjects.”
School trips and visitors ‘bring pupils’ learning to life’ with pupils said to be ‘happy and enjoy school’. The inspector stated: “They are polite, courteous and respectful to each other and staff.”
Inspectors said ‘all aspects of the school have improved’ since the previous inspection. “An ambitious curriculum prepares pupils well for life,” the report said, with the school ‘prioritising reading’ which pupils ‘enjoyed’. Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities were ‘fully involved’ in lessons and had extra help when needed
“I am delighted for our children who now know they attend a good school, for parents who have entrusted us with their child’s education and the staff who have worked tirelessly to bring about this result,”
– Headteacher, Adrienne Smith
Safeguarding was a ‘strength’ at the school, the report added.
To improve further, the school was encouraged to boost its music, modern foreign languages and geography teaching, with teachers’ subject knowledge needing to be improved.
Headteacher, Adrienne Smith, said: “For Town Junior to now be judged as a ‘good’ school is thoroughly deserved and is recognition of all the hard work of staff, governors and our supportive families within the community.
“I am delighted for our children who now know they attend a good school, for parents who have entrusted us with their child’s education and the staff who have worked tirelessly to bring about this result.
“Our inspection was under the new Ofsted framework, which rightly places greater emphasis on the quality of education overall and endorses our approach to a connected wider curriculum. Achieving a good result in all areas also endorses the nurturing and inclusive ethos of Town Junior School that prepares our pupils for life as ‘thoughtful and responsible citizens’.
“This outcome also recognises all the improvements that have been made at the school since the last inspection in September 2017.
“It is also to be acknowledged that the links with the Learning Trust of Excellence, as well as being a member of the Plantsbrook Learning Trust, has contributed towards this good outcome in many ways, including subject specific training for teachers and leadership training for subject leaders.
“The staff and leadership team have worked incredibly hard to ensure that Town Junior School is a place where children feel happy, safe and listened-to and where they know they are cared for.”
To read the full report, click here.
For more about Town Junior, click here.