Victoria Junior School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

Pupils at Victoria Junior School value the respectful relationships they have with staff and each other. They extend a warm welcome to new arrivals who join the school. Pupils are polite and kind. They behave well in lessons and at other times of the day. Pupils attend regularly. They are happy and enjoy coming to school. Although the school has high aspirations for pupils' achievement, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school has not ensured that pupils benefit sufficiently well from the school's academic curriculum. The school provides pupils with access to many activities that help them to develop their talents and interests. These include sports and music clubs, robotics club and the choir. Trips to places of interest help to deepen pupils' understanding of the subjects that they study. For example, they visit a museum to learn about the Victorians. Pupils take part in outdoor and adventurous activities during residential stays. Visitors to the school help pupils to learn about engineering and a range of careers. Pupils make a positive contribution to their community. For example, they visit residential homes to sing and to deliver presents. Pupils become confident and independent young people.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not given sufficient thought to the most important knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that staff sometimes lack clarity about the curriculum content they should teach. This hinders pupils from building on their knowledge securely in these subjects. The school should ensure that staff are clear about what pupils should learn so that they can help pupils achieve as well as they should.
• At times, staff design activities that do not help pupils to develop sufficient depth of knowledge in the subjects that they study. This prevents some pupils from achieving well. The school should ensure that it supports staff to design learning activities that prepare pupils well for each stage of their education.
• The school's systems for checking pupils' learning do not give staff enough understanding of how well pupils are learning the curriculum. At times, pupils do not have the knowledge that they need for subsequent learning. This limits staff's ability to help pupils to catch up. The school should ensure that its assessment strategies are well matched to the knowledge that pupils should learn so that staff can accurately identify, and then address, any gaps in pupils' learning.
• In some subjects, the school does not have sufficient oversight of the impact of the curriculum. This means that the school is not as clear as it should be about how recent curriculum developments are preparing pupils for each stage of their education. The school should provide staff with the knowledge and skills they need to check if these changes are helping pupils to achieve as well as they should.

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