Joseph Turner Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 March 2024

This is a time of change at Joseph Turner Primary School. An inspirational leadership team, caring staff and an exciting new curriculum are driving improvements. Consequently, every day, more and more pupils are becoming 'eager to learn' and 'proud to achieve'. Across this very caring school, leaders and staff seize every opportunity to enable every child to make the greatest progress they can, regardless of circumstances beyond the school gate. The school works tenaciously to overcome any barriers that pupils may face in learning and life. Changes are happening quickly and making a positive difference. Relationships are calm, positive and often respectful. Pupils told inspectors that sometimes falling out or even bullying can happen. However, they rightly believe that staff will be there for them to sort it out. Behaviour is generally positive across all lessons and at informal times. Staff quickly help pupils who need help staying focused in lessons or regulating their emotions. A broad range of school clubs, such as coding, sports and arts and crafts, develop pupils' hobbies and interests. Pupils have opportunities such as becoming 'office angels' to offer staff that helping hand. Roles such as pupil governors develop that sense of responsibility.

What the school should improve

• Some teachers do not consistently and routinely check what pupils are learning in lessons. This means that sometimes pupils leave their lessons without having learned what was intended, and teachers are not always aware of this. The school needs to ensure that all teachers routinely and consistently check pupils' knowledge during lessons so that they know if pupils have not understood and adapt their teaching accordingly.
• Recent changes to how the impact of the curriculum is assessed across the school have not been fully implemented. This means that in some cases, although pupils' work is marked, pupils are not left clear about what they need to do to improve or given the chance to correct their errors or misconceptions. The school needs to ensure that its systems for assessment are consistently implemented so that all pupils know what they need to do to improve their work and have regular opportunities to practise the areas they need to develop further.
• In some subjects, the curriculum starts in Year 1 and does not build on what pupils have learned in the early years. In these instances, plans do not clearly define how learning links to and builds on learning from the early years. The school should ensure that in all subjects, the curriculum intent and implementation in Year 1 builds on what pupils have learned in the early years.

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