Harrington Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics further so that all groups of pupils make rapid progress by ensuring that:
  • teachers consistently use the school’s new approach to developing pupils’ mathematical reasoning skills by encouraging pupils to think more deeply
  • teachers match the learning closely to the needs of the pupils and step in swiftly when pupils are ready to move on to something more difficult
  • leaders, including governors, check frequently that all staff successfully implement the school’s strategies.
• Improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils by:
  • leaders quickly assessing the key barriers to learning when pupils join the school, making effective use of the pupil premium funding to address these needs
  • further developing the use of achievement meetings so that they focus more closely on the needs of disadvantaged pupils, ensuring that interventions are effective.
• Improve outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities by:
  • improving the skills of teaching assistants so that they provide appropriate levels of support to pupils, particularly during whole-class sessions
  • ensuring that teachers use resources well and carefully tailor the work to the needs of individual pupils so that they can learn more effectively
  • ensuring that plans to support pupils’ learning address their needs more closely and that leaders accurately check the effectiveness of the support provided.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, governors and staff know the pupils and the community very well. They all share a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. There is a mutual respect among staff and between adults and pupils.
• Positive relationships throughout the school successfully promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Teachers develop pupils’ understanding of British values, such as respecting the opinion of others, in class and during assemblies. Pupils are also prepared for life in modern Britain. They develop their understanding of democracy through the work of the school council, for example. One member of the school council said, ‘We meet after school and vote and make important decisions.’
• The school provides a broad and stimulating curriculum. During the inspection, pupils were particularly excited about being given the opportunity to taste Mayan-style food and Year 6 pupils enjoyed a trip to Wollaton Park. Pupils have the opportunity to engage in a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including learning to speak Mandarin Chinese, fencing and chess clubs. Homework clubs run on a daily basis to provide opportunities for pupils to extend their learning.
• Leaders at all levels check the quality of teaching and its effect on pupils’ learning. Leaders engage and motivate staff through effective professional development, tightly linked to the performance management process. Teachers value this training and recognise that it is making a difference to their classroom practice. Leaders readily acknowledge that there is further work to do, particularly in improving some aspects of the teaching of mathematics.
• Leaders ensure that additional government funding for primary school physical education and sport is used effectively. Specialist sports coaches work alongside teachers to improve their expertise. These coaches also provide a wide range of sports for pupils to take part in. This enthuses pupils so that an increasing number of pupils participate in sport. This has led to greater participation in competitive inter-school tournaments.
• The local authority has supported the school effectively since the last inspection, for example by providing support and training to enable middle leaders to carry out their responsibilities more effectively. External support has also effectively assisted governors to undertake the performance management of the headteacher.
• The majority of parents are supportive of the school and report that any issues raised are dealt with swiftly. The very few concerns raised by parents were not substantiated by inspectors during the inspection.
• The school’s website does not currently meet requirements on what should be published. Leaders are working with the school’s website provider to resolve the issue.
• Leaders have a clear strategy for the expenditure of the pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils. They check the progress these pupils are making frequently. They provide additional intervention where they spot that this may be needed to accelerate a pupil’s progress. This has had some success. The school’s assessment information shows that some of these pupils are making good or better than expected progress. However, disadvantaged pupils do not make consistently good progress, especially in lower key stage 2.
• Plans are in place that identify how funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is allocated. However, leaders do not check to ensure that the interventions and additional adult support provided help pupils to achieve well. Therefore, the use of this funding is not fully effective.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective. The chair of governors has carefully considered the different skills that governors can offer. A clear development plan to improve the effectiveness of governance is in place. Governors make regular visits to the school to improve their knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Minutes of governors’ committee meetings show that they ask questions to help them understand the progress that pupils are making.
• Governors undertake useful training that enables them to understand their responsibilities and fulfil their statutory duties effectively.
• Governors understand the rationale for how the pupil premium funding and the primary sports funding is spent. They monitor the impact of the spending through link visits and discussions with school leaders.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that all the necessary recruitment checks are carried out for new staff, governors and volunteers who start to work at the school. All staff demonstrate a clear understanding of how to keep pupils safe.
• Pupils talk knowledgably about how they are safe in school and whom they need to go to if there is an issue, safe in the knowledge that a trusted adult will support them. Parents who spoke with inspectors on the playground said that their children are safe in school.
• Leaders have ensured that staff are clear about how to raise a concern should one arise. Leaders have forged positive relationships with agencies to ensure that pupils and families get the support they need.
• Leaders and staff ensure that a safe culture is created and maintained through regular training, an open atmosphere where pupils can speak freely and the implementation of the curriculum. This includes opportunities for pupils to learn how to stay safe when they use the internet.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. There is purposeful teaching in all classes, with a clear structure to lessons. Time is used effectively to support learning.
• Teachers use their effective questioning skills to develop pupils’ understanding. They regularly ask pupils to explain their choice of vocabulary. For example, a Year 6 pupil was asked to explain the use of the word ‘diverse’ in his letter of application to become a spy.
• Teachers have established supportive relationships with the pupils. They know the pupils well and encourage them to contribute to lessons through open dialogue. As a result, pupils respond to questions confidently in class.
• Leaders at all levels check the quality of teaching regularly. They provide effective mentoring and coaching to help teachers to improve their skills. Teachers speak highly of the support and training they have received. For example, teachers have benefited from training to enable them to develop pupils’ reasoning skills and to promote pupils’ ability to think more deeply in mathematics. This is beginning to have an impact in lessons, but the approach is still not consistent across the school. Not all pupils are being consistently challenged to complete tasks that are more complex.
• Teachers use their good subject knowledge to address pupils’ misconceptions well. Teachers step in quickly and provide additional support for disadvantaged pupils. Further support is offered daily to develop knowledge, skills and understanding in mathematics for those pupils who need to catch up.
• Teachers, particularly in Years 5 and 6, have high expectations of the way that pupils present their work. Pupils take pride in their work.
• Teachers encourage pupils to use information on classroom displays to support independent learning. Pupils engage well and are on task in almost all classes. During lessons, pupils discuss their learning effectively with others.
• Pupils’ books demonstrate that they make good progress in English. Pupils have the opportunity to write across a range of subjects and teachers’ high expectations of pupils’ use of grammar, punctuation and spelling are evident across the curriculum. The rate of progress in mathematics is slower because teachers do not consistently meet the pupils’ needs and provide them with opportunities to practise and consolidate their skills.
• Teaching assistants establish supportive relationships with pupils. Not all teaching assistants provide sharp enough guidance during lessons to pupils to enable them to make the progress of which they are capable.
• The work that teachers set for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is often not tailored to meet their individual needs. This makes it difficult for them to learn as effectively as they could.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Personal development and welfare Good

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pastoral care is a strength of the school. Leaders use their in-depth understanding of the needs of the pupils to ensure that they are ready to learn. Pupils say that ‘teachers are everywhere’ and that there is always somebody to help you ‘even if you are just sad’.
• Pupils are proud of their school and speak positively about it. They value the indoor and outdoor facilities and use them carefully. The playground is free from litter.
• Pupils are caring and respectful of each other. They show a commitment to helping each other to learn and are supported effectively by teachers to do this. Most pupils engage eagerly in their learning. When they have the opportunity to discuss their learning, they are supportive in the way they challenge each other’s thinking.
• The majority of parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire expressed the view that the pupils are happy and well looked after. Pupils echoed this.
• Parents are largely supportive of the school and the opportunities pupils receive. For example, one parent reported, ‘My shy boy has now developed into a confident bright young boy.’
• Pupils have the opportunity to learn about a range of religions and cultures. Pupils spoke respectfully about people whose lifestyles and beliefs are different from their own. This was also demonstrated when teachers provided them with a quiet time to reflect during the assembly.
• Leaders promote pupils’ social, moral, cultural and spiritual development well. For example, pupils learned from a visiting parent how to wear a turban correctly. Pupils are encouraged to be reflective and responsible and to make a positive contribution to the community. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils show respect towards their teachers, and are keen to please. The majority of pupils listen attentively and remain on task during lessons. Leaders are helping pupils to develop a thirst for learning through the introduction of a new programme focused on promoting the important skills of resilience, commitment and dedication.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave well in class, around school and at playtimes. Pupils speak enthusiastically about the school’s reward system and the positive impact this has had on behaviour in the school.
• Playtimes are a positive experience for pupils, who play well together with the confidence that bullying will not be tolerated and that, if it ever did occur, it would be dealt with swiftly. Pupils spoke clearly about the appropriate sanctions for unacceptable behaviour that leaders implement.
• The school’s behaviour records show that bullying incidents are low and there have been no exclusions since the last inspection.
• Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying. They talk confidently about how to stay safe when they are using modern technology. They also speak knowledgably about the risks associated with people they do not know.
• Pupils’ attendance is in line with the national average. School data for this year shows an improving picture, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. This is because leaders have wasted no time in acting on concerns and successfully working with families to improve their children’s rates of attendance. Pupils are punctual to their lessons.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Published information shows that by the end of 2016, more pupils in Year 6 achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined than was seen nationally. In addition, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher level was more than double the national average, indicating that the most able pupils achieve well.
• An effective programme of staff training has raised teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve. As a result, the majority of pupils are now working at the standards expected for their age.
• Pupils of all abilities use their knowledge of phonics to tackle new words and read confidently. Pupils in Year 6 read fluently and talked enthusiastically to inspectors about their enjoyment of reading and the high expectations that teachers have for them to read regularly at home.
• A scrutiny of pupils’ books showed that pupils across the school make particularly strong progress in writing. This is because teachers provide them with opportunities to apply the skills they have learned effectively when they write across a range of subjects. Progress in mathematics is more variable, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Leaders generally make effective use of achievement meetings, every half term, to identify pupils who need additional support to catch up. Leaders put plans in place for these pupils with interventions designed to accelerate progress. Pupils’ rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics, while improving, are still variable across the school. Current assessment information shows that pupils in Years 5 and 6 make better progress than those in Years 3 and 4. These meetings are not focused enough on disadvantaged pupils.
• The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is too variable across the school. This is because they are not consistently well supported. Not all teachers make effective use of resources to help pupils understand the ideas that are being taught. Sometimes teachers provide pupils with work that is too difficult for them.
• As disadvantaged pupils move through the school there is evidence of increased rates of progress and a greater proportion who are achieving expected standards. In younger classes, these pupils do not make consistently good progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 112582 Derbyshire 10031171 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Junior School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 227 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Richard Tidmarsh Rachael Wilmot 0115 973 2963

www.harrington.derbyshire.sch.uk headteacher@harrington.derbyshire.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 24–25 June 2015

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of specified information about on its website in almost all aspects.
• This is an average-sized junior school and pupils are taught in single-year classes.
• Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for support through pupil premium funding is above that found nationally. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is also above the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum standards for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The local authority has provided a range of support to the school since the last inspection, which has included the training of middle leaders to increase their accountability and facilitating teachers to observe effective practice within the school.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed a range of learning in nine lessons. A joint learning walk took place with the headteacher. The inspectors looked at pupils’ work, listened to pupils read, talked with pupils about their lessons and listened to their views about school life.
• Inspectors scrutinised a selection of pupils’ books. Year 6 books were scrutinised jointly with the headteacher.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, two teachers, senior and middle leaders, representatives of the governing body and local authority representatives who have been supporting the school.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including assessment information, incident logs and records relating to safeguarding.
• Inspectors spoke informally with parents, and considered the 39 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey. Comments made via the free-text option were also taken into account.
• The school did not send out the pupil or staff questionnaires.

Inspection team

Donna Chambers, lead inspector Andrew Lakatos

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector