The Mount Junior Infant & Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 November 2022

This is a school built on positivity and strong relationships. Pupils show care and respect to others because adults model it to them. Pupils know they are cared for and that they can talk to adults if they need help or have any worries. They value the ethos and environment of the school. Calmness and kindness pervade the school. Pupils are taught how to recognise bullying. When bullying happens, leaders deal with it quickly and effectively. This underlies pupils' confidence and trust that adults in the school will look out for them and help them at every opportunity. Pupils move calmly and purposefully around school. Strong routines are embedded. Pupils relish this consistency. They begin their learning with enthusiasm and are keen to share their achievements. Pupils actively look for opportunities to be of service to others in their class and school. Leaders have made significant changes to the curriculum recently. These changes are making a difference. Pupils benefit from a curriculum which is carefully designed.

What the school should improve

• There are some inconsistencies in the teaching of early reading, including how lower-attaining readers with phonics gaps in key stage 2 are identified and assessed. As a result, some pupils, including pupils in key stage 2 who still have gaps in their phonic knowledge, do not learn to read quickly and fluently enough. Leaders should ensure that staff receive the most up-to-date training in the school's phonics curriculum and that the approach is regularly informed by assessment for pupils in key stage 2 still accessing phonics teaching.
• The systems and processes for leaders to strategically analyse and refine their school improvement actions are not consistently precise or rigorous. As a result, some opportunities are missed to refine teaching practice or adapt school approaches so that they have the greatest impact on pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that their monitoring systems are further developed so that they have a detailed and clear view of the precise impact of the school development actions they are taking.
• Those responsible for governance do not have formalised systems and approaches for quality assuring the curriculum and holding school leaders to account. As a result, the challenge governors are able to offer to school leaders is sometimes limited and lacks some focus. Those responsible for governance should ensure that they formalise and strategically consider their governance activities and systems to allow them to hold leaders to account and assure themselves of the quality of curriculum available to pupils.

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