Sprowston Junior School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 June 2023

Pupils say the best things about Sprowston Junior are their friends, the teachers and their lessons. Parents also speak very highly about the school and would recommend it to others. Pupils feel safe and are kept safe. Bullying happens rarely. Pupils are confident that teachers will act swiftly if anyone is unkind to them. Pupils demonstrate good behaviour in classrooms, on the playground and around the school. They respond well to teachers' high expectations for their learning. Pupils value opportunities to work with subject experts, who help to make their learning more memorable. For example, Year 5 pupils worked with a local dance teacher, which greatly enhanced their understanding of Mayan influence on Mexican dance, music and culture. Pupils enjoy participating in the wide range of clubs on offer. These include science, art, chess and various sporting activities. These opportunities help pupils to learn new skills and develop their talents. Pupils can take on roles of responsibility. Pupils feel valued and know that the ideas they share contribute to decisions made in the school. For example, members of the school council asked leaders to update the playtime resources in 'The Shed,' on the playground. These are now in place.

What the school should improve

• Interventions for a few older pupils who need to catch up with their reading are not always sharply focused on addressing gaps in their phonic knowledge and skills. These pupils do not improve their reading and writing fluency as quickly as they could. Leaders should ensure that reading support for older pupils is informed systematically by any phonics learning needs and that books chosen for these pupils are matched directly to the sounds they know, to enable them to achieve consistently well.
• In a few subjects, teachers' use of assessment to support pupils to build upon previous learning is not as effective as in most other curriculum areas. This means that, in these subjects, pupils do not make as much progress as they should. Leaders should ensure that, overall, subjects teachers check carefully on the key knowledge and skills pupils need to remember in order to learn more complex knowledge and content.

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