Telford Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Telford Junior are polite and articulate. They come to school keen and ready to learn. Pupils experience a curriculum that gives them the potential to achieve and succeed.

Learning is brought to life through a range of experiences throughout their time at the school. They attend trips to the Think Tank, the Houses of Parliament and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Pupils enjoy these opportunities.

Leaders, including those responsible for governance, have high ambitions for the pupils at Telford Junior. However, they recognise that some pupils could achieve even more.

The school's rules: 'Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Ready' are based on their twel...ve values.

Pupils behave well in lessons. They know what they should and should not do. They told inspectors that they feel very safe and that there are adults to help them if there are any problems.

They say there are disagreements between friends but bullying is rare and that staff help sort this out quickly, if it does happen.

Pupils appreciate that they have a range of clubs and activities available to them. They enjoy the chance to attend residential trips, choir, steel pans, coding, guitar, football, rowing and cooking.

As one pupil said, There are so many. We do everything.'

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum.

Teachers are enthusiastic and recap previous learning well to help pupils remember what they learned previously. In most subjects, leaders have identified the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember, and the order in which they need to learn it. Pupils develop a detailed knowledge in these subjects.

The learning taking place in some subjects is not yet fully sequenced. Leaders are continuing to refine the curriculum, so that pupils become highly skilled and knowledgeable across all subjects.

Training for staff has developed their curriculum knowledge across a range of subjects.

This is strong in mathematics and English. Effective assessment within these subjects means that staff can accurately identify gaps in pupils' learning. Plans are in place to improve this aspect across other areas of the curriculum.

At times, staff do not check that pupils know what to do. This means that some pupils do not complete the intended learning.

Pupils love the school library and look forward to their weekly visits.

They enjoy hearing their teachers read to them. Class books like 'Stone Age Boy', 'Clockwork' and the 'Executioner's Daughter', fire pupils' imaginations and links their learning in other subjects. Leaders waste no time in assessing pupils' phonics knowledge when they join the school.

Extra support and accurately matched reading books, help those that need to catch up to do so.The special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator works alongside staff and parents to identify and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND have individual targets, so that staff can identify how to support their learning.

Sometimes, these targets are not precise enough. Some parents told inspectors they felt that not all pupils achieve to their full potential. Leaders recognise this and are keen to ensure that all pupils succeed further.

They have already identified that some pupils are capable of achieving more in some subjects.

Behaviour in lessons is calm. Staff and adults have positive relationships.

Most pupils focus well and are keen to engage in their learning. The school provides high-quality pastoral support. The picture of attendance is an improving one.

Leaders prioritise pupils' well-being. They have created a curriculum which develops pupils' knowledge of how to keep safe and living in the wider world. Pupils told inspectors 'stereotypes don't exist here - you can be who you want to be.'

They have an understanding of democracy and rules and can relate these to things they experience at school.

Governors' work with school leaders has considerably strengthened since the previous inspection. Governors regularly check information and seek assurance of leaders' impact on the quality of education.

They have an accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for further development.

Staff enjoy working at this caring and inclusive school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff receive appropriate and regular training on how to keep pupils safe. This enables staff to identify and report any concerns. School leaders follow up any concerns effectively.

They work closely with outside agencies to get the help pupils and families need.

Leaders have suitable policies in place for recruitment and dealing with any allegations against staff. The safeguarding governor works with the headteacher to ensure that the school's systems for keeping pupils safe are effective and meet pupils' needs.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in school and at home. This includes the dangers they face online. Pupils are confident that staff will help them sort out problems.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum in some subjects, such as art and design and history, does not identify what pupils need to know, step-by-step across the year. When this happens, pupils are not able to develop the subject-specific knowledge and skills required to build on prior learning. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects clearly defines what leaders want pupils to learn and remember.

• In some subjects, staff do not check pupils' understanding systematically. This means some pupils are not clear about what they are expected to do. This leads to pupils achieving less well in these lessons.

Leaders should ensure that staff make learning expectations clear and check for any misconceptions when presenting work, so pupils can make the most of all of their learning time. ? Some pupils with SEND do not have precise enough targets to help staff know what support they need to do well. This means that the teaching and support that is given to pupils with SEND does not always enable them to make the progress they should.

Leaders should ensure that the ambitions they have for pupils with SEND are fully realised through precise identification of their needs and careful, well-focused teaching across the curriculum