Paulton Junior School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 March 2025

Paulton Junior School is a happy school, where the motto of 'learning together, learning for life' exemplifies the school's approach to pupils' personal development. Pupils understand the importance of following the school's '6 R' values in the way that they behave. For example, pupils show respectful behaviour towards each other and adults. Pupils trust adults with any worries that they have. This means that any incidents of bullying are quickly reported and not tolerated. The school has set out the intention for an ambitious curriculum. When this is delivered effectively, pupils can recall knowledge and make links to previous learning. However, this is not the experience of pupils across all areas of the curriculum. At times pupils are not sufficiently challenged to learn as well as they should and then the quality of work they produce is not high enough. The school provides pupils with a range of opportunities to explore their talents and interests. For example, pupils perform in choirs and bands. Pupils develop their understanding of what it means to be an active citizen by carrying out fundraising and community activities such as gardening and litter picking. Pupils proudly take on leadership responsibilities, being members of the student council and house captains. They enjoy a wide range of clubs offered by the school, including sport, crafts and computing. These help pupils develop their confidence.

What the school should improve

• In some subject areas, the key knowledge that pupils should learn and when they are to learn it has not been identified. As a result, the curriculum in those subjects is not enabling pupils to gain knowledge and understanding effectively. The school should ensure a well-thought-out curriculum is in place, which maps out important knowledge and enables pupils to know and remember more over time
• The curriculum is not always implemented as leaders intend. This means that activity choices do not always effectively enable pupils to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. The school should ensure that the curriculum is implemented effectively in all subjects.
• Assessment within the classroom does not help staff to accurately identify pupils' starting points or the gaps in their knowledge and understanding. This hampers teachers in helping pupils to build on or recall prior learning. The school should make sure that routine checks for understanding inform adaptations to the curriculum to help pupils achieve more highly.
• The school currently does not have sufficient systems in place to accurately monitor and review the quality of education it provides. This means that the school is unclear what is working well and where further improvements may be needed. The school should ensure that leaders at all levels, including governance, can accurately evaluate the quality of education provided so that appropriate support and challenge can be given.

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