Rise Park Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, so that rates of pupils’ progress increase, by ensuring that teachers:
  • use assessment information to consistently plan activities that challenge pupils to reach even higher standards
  • set pupils challenging comprehension exercises
  • enable pupils to apply their mathematical skills to solving complex problems
  • learn from outstanding practice in the school and beyond.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by training new subject leaders, so that they can further improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, ably assisted by senior leaders and governors, has successfully tackled a range of weaknesses that they found on the school becoming an academy. They have raised considerably the expectations of staff and pupils. Almost all teachers are new to the school and there has been a change of leadership at all levels. Leaders and members of staff are enthusiastic and highly committed to driving forward improvements. Pupils highlight how much behaviour has improved because of leaders recognising and rewarding positive behaviours. Consequently, members of staff and pupils feel valued and supported to succeed.
• Leaders have established a robust system of appraisal. Challenging targets for improvement are set, which are closely matched to the school’s improvement priorities for raising attainment. Leaders make sure that they arrange suitable training to meet the development needs of each member of staff. Because of effective staff training and robust accountability for pupils’ progress, the quality of teaching is good and improving.
• Leaders work in close collaboration with the adjoining infant school. This has created opportunities for joint training, sharing of resources and leadership support. For instance, several policies and procedures, such as using the same system for tracking pupils’ progress, are the same. This arrangement is mutually beneficial. It plays a key role in supporting a smooth transition for pupils as they move from Year 2 in the infant school into Year 3 at the junior school.
• Leaders regularly review all aspects of the school’s work. As a result, they have an accurate and honest view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They use their findings to plan effective actions to tackle the weaknesses. Leaders arrange support from consultants, including from the local authority, to help members of staff to gain expertise and carry out the necessary improvements. As a result, all aspects of the school’s work continue to improve.
• Some foundation subject leaders are new to post this year. They have made a good start. They have sound ideas of how they would like to develop their subjects. They are at the early stages, however, of developing their leadership skills in supporting teachers to improve the teaching of their respective subjects and holding them to account for pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders make sure that the school meets the national curriculum requirements. Although there is a strong emphasis on English and mathematics, a good range of subjects is taught. For example, at the request of parents and pupils, leaders introduced Spanish this year in place of French. Leaders enrich the curriculum further through interesting visits such as to the Imperial War Museum, and visitors such as an author who ran a workshop to help pupils develop their writing skills. Most-able scientists visited a specialist science secondary school where they learned how to launch a rocket.
• The curriculum supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. It also promotes fundamental British values. In lessons, pupils learn to debate contentious issues in a respectful way. Pupils discuss the daily news with their teachers. Consequently, pupils are well informed about current affairs. Pupils spoke to inspectors about the forthcoming general election, for instance. They have a good understanding of how democracy works and hold clearly articulated views about the political parties.
• Additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is managed effectively. The inclusion leader makes sure that she identifies pupils’ needs at an early stage. She targets additional support well to address gaps in learning. She has trained members of staff to support pupils effectively. As a result, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making considerably faster progress this year than they did last year.
• Leaders are increasingly using the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils to good effect. Current disadvantaged pupils are making faster progress this year, across the year groups and subjects, than they did last year. Governors have recently attended training on value for money regarding the use of pupil premium funding. Consequently, they are now looking at the latest research and analysing the effectiveness of the current range of interventions in the school. They plan to use their findings to make changes to diminish differences even further.
• Leaders have used the additional physical education and sport premium funding effectively to improve participation in sports, including competitions with other schools. Last year, they targeted pupils not engaging in enough physical activity and launched a ‘Change for Life’ programme. This increased those pupils’ physical activity and helped them learn generally about healthy lifestyles. .

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective. Governors visit the school often to gather first-hand information from members of staff and pupils, and through visiting lessons with senior leaders. They report their findings to their colleagues at each meeting. Through these activities and the detailed reports provided by the headteacher and subject leaders, governors are fully aware of all aspects of the school’s work. This enables them to both support and challenge leaders and hold them to account for the school’s performance.
• For example, last summer when outcomes in mathematics were low, governors immediately set up a committee to support and monitor planned actions to drive improvements. As a result, there has been a marked improvement this year. Equally, an assigned governor is working closely with the inclusion leader to make sure that those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make faster progress. This too has met with success.
• Governors regularly attend well-considered training, such as on safer recruitment and school finances, in order to improve their own confidence and effectiveness. They have played a key role in driving the school forward.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The designated safeguarding leaders train and regularly update all members of staff and governors with the latest guidance. As a result, all are aware of potential risks. There is a culture of vigilance and all members of staff report any signs and changes of behaviour that suggest that a pupil might be vulnerable.
• There is close liaison between the safeguarding leaders in both the infant and junior schools. This ensures that there is a smooth transition of information when the pupils change schools.
• Leaders work closely with external agencies to support pupils and their families. Pupils learn to keep safe, such as through the work of the pupil digital leaders, who train their peers about online safety. Equally, leaders arrange workshops for parents, including on basic parenting skills, so that they learn how to help their children stay safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching is good and improving. As a result, pupils are making good progress overall.
• Teachers prepare activities that capture pupils’ interests. They have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. As a result, pupils try hard, are keen to succeed and get on with their work without any fuss.
• Teachers and other adults work well together. They plan a range of activities that meet the needs of pupils and help them make good progress from their starting points, including the most able. Teachers quickly pick up misconceptions and address them. They ask pupils questions to help them think. Teachers and other adults give well-targeted support to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, they too make good progress.
• Teachers provide pupils with helpful guidance. As a result, pupils know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Teachers give pupils time to correct their work so that they can learn from their mistakes.
• The teaching of reading is effective. This year, leaders arranged training for members of staff on how to teach phonics. As a result, members of staff help pupils who have fallen behind in their basic reading skills to catch up. Pupils value the new library. They have responded well to the challenge of reading at home at least five times a week. Teaching ensures that pupils read and analyse texts of progressively increasing difficulty and variety, including non-fiction. As a result, pupils make good progress from their starting points. Pupils do not, however, have enough practice in answering more challenging questions. This inhibits some of them from making sufficient progress to reach higher standards.
• The teaching of writing is good. Pupils write for a range of purposes and audiences. They also apply their writing skills in subjects other than English. Teachers are flexible in planning writing topics that are of interest to different pupils. As a result, pupils are making good progress from their starting points. In some cases, teachers do not challenge and guide pupils to write with greater depth and sophistication. This means that some pupils do not make sufficient progress to reach the higher standards of which they are capable.
• There has been a marked improvement in the teaching of mathematics this year. The effective training and support have meant that teachers have planned learning that helps pupils across the school to make good progress in mathematics. There is a consistent and systematic approach so that work gets increasingly difficult. However, teachers do not consistently set complex and challenging problems to help more pupils make even stronger progress and gain a deeper understanding of mathematical reasoning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• As they progress through the school, pupils grow in self-confidence. This is because they learn not only to respect the views of others, but are also encouraged to articulate their own points of view. Leaders have established a culture in the classrooms where it is fine to make mistakes and learn from them. This too supports pupils to try their best without fear of ridicule and to succeed in their learning.
• Leaders offer many opportunities for promoting pupils’ physical health. The school has its own swimming pool, so all pupils swim regularly. In addition, there are many sports-related clubs and pupils take part in a range of sporting tournaments.
• Leaders promote pupils’ mental health. From time to time in lessons, teachers and pupils pause and meditate. They think about friendship or things to be grateful for, for instance. There are assemblies that promote resilience and more recently, leaders have introduced pupils to mindfulness. In addition, the school employs a part-time counsellor to support pupils, parents and members of staff who need help.
• Pupils know how to stay safe in various situations through presentations and workshops. They are very well aware of the dangers posed by the internet. Pupil digital leaders make presentations to pupils at assemblies on how to stay safe online.
• Pupils say that racism and other forms of bullying are very rare. They are confident that should it occur, members of staff will take appropriate action.
• Pupils have many opportunities to take on responsibilities. Leaders appoint them via an application, interview and voting process. Roles range from those of school councillor and eco-warrior to mini midday supervisor. Recently, digital leaders led a session for trainee teachers on the use of information technology in teaching a variety of subjects. These opportunities prepare pupils well for their future lives.
• Through creative weeks, charity events, visits to theatre companies and topics covered in the curriculum, leaders make sure that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Leaders are planning more activities to enhance pupils’ understanding of the major faiths in the UK.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils were keen to tell inspectors how the new headteacher has transformed behaviour. She consulted on a new behaviour policy with the pupils. The new policy puts much more emphasis on recognising and rewarding positive behaviour than was previously the case. Pupils have reacted very positively to these changes and incidents of poor behaviour have drastically reduced.
• Pupils enjoy learning. They are diligent and try their best in class. They happily work alone, in pairs or in groups and help each other to succeed. Disruption in lessons is rare. Equally, they behave sensibly as they move around the school and in the dining room.
• Rates of attendance are in line with national averages for primary schools. Absence and persistent absence in 2016, however, were exceptionally high for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The inclusion leader has worked closely with parents and other agencies to reverse this situation. Overall attendance for this group so far this year has gone up from 95.2% to 96.5%. Persistent absence for this group has reduced from 17.9% to 3.4%. This is a marked improvement. Leaders are not complacent. They are continuing to work towards reducing persistent absence for all pupils who do not attend regularly.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In the 2016 Year 6 tests, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standards in reading was above average, in writing broadly average and in mathematics below average. This represented broadly average progress from key stage 1 in English and below-average progress in mathematics.
• Inspection evidence confirms the leaders’ view that progress has accelerated this year for all groups of pupils in English and especially in mathematics across the year groups. This is because teaching and support have improved. As a result, overall progress of current pupils, from their varied starting points, is good in all subjects.
• In the 2016 Year 6 tests, pupils with low starting points made less progress in comparison with similar pupils nationally. Most of these pupils had special educational needs and/or disabilities, and some had poor cognitive skills. Leaders have made it a priority to strengthen support for this group of pupils. Consequently, across almost all year groups and subjects, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are now making good progress.
• In the 2016 Year 6 tests, disadvantaged pupils made slower progress and attained lower standards than their peers and other pupils nationally. A number of these disadvantaged pupils also had special educational needs and/or disabilities and were of low ability. This year, leaders increased the frequency with which they check on pupils’ progress. They therefore pick up underperformance and put in support more swiftly. All groups of pupils are making faster progress this year, but the rates of increased progress for disadvantaged pupils are greater in comparison with the rates of their peers. This means that differences are diminishing. Leaders are continuing to prioritise exploring ways to diminish further the differences in performance.
• In the 2016 Year 6 tests, most-able pupils reached similar standards in reading and mathematics, and higher standards in writing, compared with others nationally. Current most-able pupils are also making at least good progress because teachers generally give them work that is demanding. More pupils, including some of middle ability, have the potential to make rapid progress and reach greater depth. They do not because teachers do not consistently give them work that challenges them enough to meet the standards of which they are capable.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141173 Havering 10031688 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 Academy sponsor-led 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 270 Appropriate authority Chair Executive headteacher Telephone number Website Email address The local governing body and academy trust Suzanne Cross Carolyn Fox 01708 761935

www.risepark-jun.havering.sch.uk office@risepark-jun.havering.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• Rise Park Junior School is similar in size to an average-sized primary school.
• The school became a sponsor-led academy on 1 September 2014. It is part of the Rise Park Academy Trust. When its predecessor school was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be inadequate overall.

• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is similar to that found nationally.
• An above-average proportion of pupils have special educational needs support. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is below that found nationally.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.
• The executive headteacher took up her post when the school became an academy.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 18 parts of lessons. Some of these observations were made jointly with the executive headteacher and acting deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors looked closely at the work in pupils’ books to inform further the judgements made about pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors also read with pupils.
• Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and spoke informally to other pupils in lessons and during break- and lunchtimes. Inspectors also met with school leaders.
• Meetings were held with four governors, including the chair of the governing body, and with one of the directors of the trust.
• Inspectors examined a range of documentation, such as that relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, information about how teachers’ performance is managed, and minutes of governing body meetings. They also looked at records and documentation about pupils’ behaviour and attendance, exclusions and the ways in which the school keeps pupils safe.
• Inspectors considered the 51 responses to the online questionnaire for parents. They also had informal conversations with parents in the playground. Inspectors also took account of the views of 13 members of staff and the 14 pupils who responded to the inspection questionnaire.

Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector Denise James-Mason Chris Birtles

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector