Anton Junior School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

Pupils enjoy attending this positive and welcoming school. They behave well and proudly demonstrate the school values of kindness and respect. Pupils are keen to learn and they show great care towards each other. They welcome the positive relationships they enjoy with staff. Pupils appreciate how staff take care to listen to them if they have a worry. Changes in leadership since the previous inspection have affected the quality of education. The school is determined for pupils to achieve well, but this ambition is not realised. The curriculum is not fully developed, and it is implemented inconsistently. This means that some pupils do not achieve well enough. However, the school's recent work means that staff adapt lessons skilfully to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils learn to be responsible citizens through a variety of diverse extra-curricular experiences. They relish the impressive range of leadership roles on offer, including reading and anti-bullying ambassadors. One pupil rightly described how these opportunities 'provide valuable experiences of helping others so we understand how to do this when we are older'. Pupils who are disadvantaged benefit equally well from the school's work to promote pupils' personal development.

What the school should improve

• Staff do not have the required knowledge to teach early reading. This means that pupils who struggle with their reading are not supported sufficiently well to help them to catch up. The school should ensure that all staff have the knowledge and skills they need to support those pupils at the early stages of learning to read so that they can become accurate and fluent readers quickly.
• The curriculum in foundation subjects is not fully developed. This means that pupils do not build a secure understanding in these subjects over time. The school should continue to strengthen the curriculum design and help staff to use effective teaching and assessment strategies so that pupils securely learn the intended curriculum content in the foundation subjects.
• Subject leadership is at an early stage of development. This means that leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of curriculum implementation or pupil achievement. As a result, pupils' learning in some subjects is not strong enough. The school should equip subject leaders with the skills and knowledge to support teaching staff and evaluate how well pupils are learning.
• Governors do not have a strong enough oversight of the school's work. This means that governors have not challenged leaders sufficiently, including about how well pupils at the school are achieving. Governors should develop their expertise so that they can hold leaders fully to account for the school's performance.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)