Fernhurst Junior School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 March 2023

Pupils feel happy and safe at this nurturing and friendly school. The atmosphere is calm and purposeful and there is a well-established culture of learning. The school's motto, 'Together towards success', can be seen in many areas of school life. School councillors gather pupils' views to help improve the school community and raise money for charities. 'Play Leaders' and 'Teach Peace Mediators' help build a positive and caring culture. Pupils are immensely proud of their school and describe it as 'fun', 'caring' and 'fantastic'. Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils work hard in lessons. They are polite and respectful. Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and encouraging. Bullying is rare. If it does happen, pupils know they can talk to any adult and the problem will be dealt with immediately. Parents value the way that the school meets each pupil's individual needs. One parent said, 'Fernhurst is a caring, nurturing and happy school.' There are many opportunities on offer which deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding further. Pupils enjoy swimming, residential trips and activities provided by the 'Fernhurst University'. For example, they can learn how to become architects, scientists and jewellery designers.

What the school should improve

• In a very small number of foundation subjects, curriculum leaders have not identified the key content that teachers need to teach. The essential knowledge that pupils need to learn is not clear. This means that sometimes pupils do not make connections to previous learning, build knowledge systematically and remember what they have learned. Leaders need to continue to develop the curriculum so that teachers are clear on what they need to teach to enable all pupils to achieve as well as they could.

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