South Stanley Junior School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 May 2024

Pupils experience a warm sense of belonging at South Stanley Junior School. They are happy and proud of their school. The school provides pupils with very clear routines and high expectations. Leaders make sure that these routines are followed every day. As a result, the school is orderly and calm. There is very little disruption to lessons. Staff know the pupils and their families well. Pupils enjoy positive relationships with staff. Bullying rarely happens at the school. When it does, the school responds quickly to pupils' concerns. Pupils are safe. They trust the adults in school. They value the different ways their voice is heard. For example, pupils can use the 'worry box' in school to write down their concerns and a member of staff will talk to them about it. Leaders have high aspirations for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They want all pupils to 'reach for the stars'. Pupils have benefited from a range of visitors to the school who have talked to them about different careers, including a bio-medical scientist, a social worker and a chef. Pupils contribute well to their school community. They take on important roles such as school councillors, house captains and reading mentors to younger pupils.

What the school should improve

• Some of the strategies used by the school to support pupils to remember the curriculum over time are implemented inconsistently. This means that some pupils do not remember aspects of the curriculum they have been taught before as well as they should. The school should ensure that the strategies it uses to help pupils remember the curriculum over time are embedded consistently across the curriculum.
• The use of questioning in lessons is inconsistent. Teachers do not consistently check with enough rigour what pupils know and remember, or encourage pupils to think and discuss as deeply as they could. The school should ensure that the use of questioning is used consistently to check for gaps in pupils' knowledge and provide pupils with further opportunities to deepen their knowledge and skills.
• There is some variation in the effectiveness of the school's work to develop pupils' character, confidence and independence. Some pupils would benefit from additional support to develop their skills to be independent and confident in both academic and social situations. The school should further develop the ways it supports all pupils' character development, confidence and independence so that these positively influence pupils' academic and social development.

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