Bishop's Waltham Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Enable at least the majority of pupils with high prior attainment to leave at the end of Year 6 having gained greater depth in their learning in reading, writing and mathematics by:
  • ensuring that all teachers set goals to stretch and challenge the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, particularly in writing
  • providing more opportunities for teachers to share and disseminate best practice and benefit from each other’s expertise.
• Further improve the quality and impact of leadership, management and governance by ensuring that:
  • monitoring activities focus more sharply on the progress made by all groups of pupils, especially the most able, the most able disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities
  • barriers to learning faced by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified swiftly and that teaching takes account of and overcomes these barriers
  • governors and senior leaders develop a sharper understanding of the revised published data regarding outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 2.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• There is a strong and effective working partnership between the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. This contributes to the unanimous view of staff who responded to the inspection questionnaire, that the school is well led and managed.
• Since the time of the last inspection, the senior leadership team has been strengthened by the addition of phase leaders and a special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). Together, leaders, managers and governors set high expectations of pupils and staff and ensure that they all share in the ambition of raising standards for all pupils. Their effectiveness is evident in the significant improvements made to the quality of teaching and learning.
• Leaders, managers and governors monitor the quality of the school’s work rigorously and tackle weaknesses decisively. As a result, they have addressed successfully the majority of areas previously identified as being in need of improvement.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher manage the performance of teachers well. They undertake regular monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning and identify strengths in teachers’ practice as well as next steps. Any areas identified as being in need of improvement are followed up during subsequent monitoring. However, monitoring does not focus enough on the progress made by different groups of pupils.
• Teachers benefit from training and constructive feedback to help them to improve their practice. They have had limited opportunities, however, to share and disseminate strong practice and benefit from each other’s expertise.
• The newly appointed SENCo has started to monitor the quality of provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities across the school. The leadership of this aspect of the school’s work has ensured that there are good links with outside agencies to provide additional support to pupils where needed. Leaders and staff identify what individuals need to learn in order to improve. They do not always identify quickly enough the barriers that prevent pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities from making the rapid progress of which they are capable.
• Responses to the staff questionnaire show that all staff agree that the school has improved since it was last inspected. They all say that they are proud to be a member of staff at the school. They all agree that they receive effective professional development that has encouraged, challenged and supported them to improve their practice. The inspection findings fully support these views.
• Leaders, managers and staff have benefited from the good training, support and guidance provided by the local authority, including in English and in mathematics. This led to the high standards achieved in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 in 2016.
• The pupil premium has been used successfully to help accelerate the progress of disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. The physical education and sports funding is used effectively to broaden the sporting opportunities and experiences of pupils.
• The curriculum is taught flexibly with a range of approaches. Some subjects are taught individually, but teachers also plan well for links between subjects. For example, pupils in Year 6 linked their learning about the rainforest seamlessly with their learning in science, English, design and technology and about the environment.
• The curriculum is particularly well enhanced by what parents describe as ‘a fantastic range of clubs’. Extra-curricular activities include opportunities for pupils to be creative, observe nature, develop a range of sporting skills and improve their knowledge and understanding of science and technology. Pupils also benefit from trips to the theatre as well as to residential and activity centres, which help to promote pupils’ independence and resilience particularly well.
• The curriculum includes the promotion of fundamental British values and helps to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. While some of these aspects are in the early stages of development, pupils’ social and moral developments are particular strengths.
• The quality of the curriculum and its impact on learning is closely monitored and evaluated by leaders and managers. This includes taking account of the views of pupils. For example, the science curriculum was revised to become more practical and investigative following feedback from pupils.
• The school works well with parents and encourages them to work in close partnership to help support the learning and development of their children and other pupils in the school. Helpfully, many parents act as volunteers and come into school to listen to pupils read. Some parents come into school to talk about their jobs to help support the curriculum.

Governance of the school

• Governors add value to the work of the school, for example by supporting the development of phase leaders. They include these key members of staff in their pupil progress meetings.
• Governors have challenged school leaders about the accuracy of some of the data recorded in the past about the progress made by pupils. As a result, leaders have made sure that the tracking of pupils’ progress is now more accurate, and teachers make better use of assessment information when planning work for their pupils.
• There is a good working partnership between governors and staff, seen especially in governors using their link roles successfully to take responsibility for a specific subject or aspect of the school’s work.
• Governors hold the school closely to account for the progress made by disadvantaged pupils. However, they have not focused sharply enough on the progress made by disadvantaged pupils with previously high levels of attainment. While they provide a degree of challenge to school leaders, they do not make sufficient use of published data and are at times overly reliant on the information provided to them by the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, including efficient recruitment checks on staff. Keeping pupils safe is high priority in the school. Staff recognise that they all share in the responsibility for keeping pupils safe. Leaders and governors complete regular checks of the school site including the swimming pool area, to ensure that it is safe and well maintained.
• Senior leaders ensure that staff and pupils know what to do should a concern of a safeguarding nature arise. Leaders have ensured that all staff have received training to help protect pupils from the dangers of radicalisation and extremism.
• In their responses to the questionnaires, pupils, staff and parents agree that the school keeps pupils safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers’ passion for their job and care for their pupils was apparent throughout this inspection. Teaching engages pupils’ interest very well. This is highlighted in a comment made by a parent that reflected the views of many, in describing teaching as ‘enthusiastic, full of energy and fun’.
• Teaching makes effective use of an exciting curriculum to provide pupils with memorable learning experiences. Pupils in Year 5 for example, studied a topic about the second world war. They developed a soup based on rationing, using home-grown produce from local shops. Members from the local community came into school to help pupils with the preparation of the vegetables and the cooking of the soup. This provided pupils with a unique experience and insight of an aspect of life during wartime Britain.
• Teaching incorporates literacy skills appropriately across the curriculum. In Year 4 for example, pupils wrote a poem as a result of their work in geography that led them to learn about India and the celebration of Diwali.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is typically strong and has improved significantly in the last couple of years. Teaching is particularly effective in mathematics and in helping pupils to improve their spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Teachers’ higher expectations of the quality of pupils’ work has led to strong improvements in pupils’ handwriting and in the presentation of their work.
• Learning support assistants work closely alongside class teachers. They understand their role well and provide effective support to pupils in lessons.
• Teaching typically checks pupils’ learning and understanding and responds to any misconceptions. One pupil told an inspector, ‘My teacher always explains things again if at first I haven’t understood’.
• Teaching consistently complies with the school’s policy on providing feedback to pupils. This enables pupils to focus appropriately on how they can improve their work, and pupils say they find this helpful.
• Teaching makes effective use of homework in mathematics, spelling, punctuation and grammar to support and consolidate learning.
• The contents of lessons challenges stereotypes effectively, for example through helping pupils to learn about different national cultures in geography and ensuring that pupils recognise the disparity of wealth in some countries.
• The teaching of swimming at the school is highly effective. This is because staff are very skilled and highly trained. They take the different abilities of pupils fully into account when planning and leading sessions.
• From discussions with parents as well as responses to the online survey, parents are confident their children are well taught, are making good progress and receive appropriate homework for their age.
• In most lessons, the work set matches pupils’ different needs and capabilities. However, this is not always the case for the most able pupils in English or for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Pupils typically enjoy their lessons and say that their teachers make learning fun. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in mathematics are high. However, this is not always the case with pupils’ writing.
• Teaching does not identify swiftly or precisely enough the barriers to learning faced by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Consequently, planning for this group of pupils does not always identify accurately the small steps and appropriate resources needed to enable pupils to progress as rapidly as they could.
• Teachers’ planning and their assessment of pupils’ work in mathematics is strong. This helps to ensure that the needs of most pupils are met very well.
• The quality of teachers’ planning for English is variable across the school and not as good as it is in mathematics. In English, teaching does not set goals for those pupils capable of exceeding age-related expectations.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The curriculum, including extra-curricular activities, as well as relationships between staff and pupils, all contribute very well to developing pupils’ self-confidence and self-awareness.
• Sporting activities are high profile in the school and pupils told inspectors how much they enjoy physical education and swimming. Activities, including athletics, dance, fencing, tae kwon do, cookery and art, help pupils to develop confidence in themselves and in their physical abilities.
• One parent wrote: ‘With all the extra-curricular things that the school provides and the caring staff, my eldest has built up the confidence and courage to swim at the county championships.’
• Pupils look after each other well. A good example is older pupils looking after younger pupils when they take part in activities together. Pupils display a strong sense of responsibility, such as that exhibited by play leaders at playtimes.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe including when using the internet.
• Pupils enjoy breakfast club because they say there are lots of things for them to do. The club does not actually provide breakfast, but is well run by staff who work at the school. Activities are well organised, and pupils are kept safe and enjoy playing together.
• The school promotes numerous values including: respect, responsibility, resourcefulness, reflectiveness, collaboration, curiosity and participation. Pupils and staff contributed to devising and revising these values. Pupils who spoke to inspectors were clear about the meaning of each of the values and were able to give examples such as to explain the meaning of the word ‘resilience’.
• The school’s values help pupils to develop strong moral purpose and social skills. Pupils’ spiritual development is nurtured well through assemblies and through their work in art, music, science and what they learn about the natural world.
• Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of modern Britain is in the early stages of development. Pupils understand some of the basics of fundamental British values but do not necessarily make links about what they have learned to the world beyond the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils make a significant contribution to their school being a happy, calm and purposeful learning environment. They respond quickly to adults in a polite and respectful manner. They manage their behaviour well during unstructured times such as lunchtimes and playtimes.
• Most pupils work well independently and can manage the resources they need to help them with their learning.
• Pupils told inspectors there is no bullying at the school, and that they know what to do if any bullying happened. Pupils are confident that should they have any concerns there is a member of staff they can turn to for help.
• In their responses to the inspection questionnaires, staff, pupils and parents all say that the behaviour in the school is good and well managed.
• Attendance is broadly average and is improving for all groups, especially for pupils who have not attended well in the past.
• School leaders work successfully with pupils and their families to support pupils with medical and emotional needs, especially where these have led to previously low levels of attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Standards have risen year on year since the last inspection. In 2016, they were particularly high in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.
• Although standards by the end of 2017 are currently not set to be as high as they were last year, the progress pupils currently make in almost all classes and across a range of subjects is strong.
• Funding through the pupil premium is used effectively to provide additional support in reading, writing and mathematics for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, the progress of this group of pupils since the beginning of this academic year is good and closely matches that of other pupils.
• The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is particularly strong in Year 6. These pupils are now writing using conjunctions such as ‘and’, ‘so’ and ‘because’. They make ambitious choices about the vocabulary they use in their written work.
• In other year groups, most pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make expected progress. However, progress is slower for pupils whose barriers to learning are not yet taken sufficiently into account or have yet to be identified.
• Evidence seen in pupils’ books shows that most pupils make good progress in spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting.
• Pupils have developed a love for reading. By the end of Year 6, pupils read fluently with good levels of comprehension and confidence. Younger pupils of lower ability in Year 3 use phonic strategies and the context of stories successfully to help them to work out unfamiliar words. However, some of the most able older pupils do not read texts that are of sufficiently high quality to enable them to enrich further their own vocabulary and improve their writing.
• Most pupils make particularly good progress in mathematics. For example, in Year 5, pupils learn to understand and use percentages. Pupils build on their understanding of simplifying fractions and identifying common factors to solve word problems in order to work out percentages. The most able pupils challenge themselves and help each other to recall strategies to work out answers. They demonstrate an aptitude to recall multiplication facts at speed and to recognise number patterns.
• Sports funding is used very well to enable pupils to engage in a wide range of after-school clubs. These help to enhance pupils’ learning and development as well as develop their physical skills. Pupils learn to swim to a high standard. Many swim competitively and have regularly competed at local, regional and national events.
• Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education. They develop an appropriate level of language, communication, reasoning and mathematical skills. They also develop good personal and interpersonal skills based on the school’s values.
• Although a high proportion of pupils are currently working at the expected standard across the school, few with high prior attainment are currently exceeding expectations, particularly in writing. Furthermore, fewer disadvantaged pupils compared to their peers are currently working at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116006 Hampshire 10024506 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 Maintained 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Samantha Sessions Darren Campbell 01489 892368 www.bwjunior.hants.sch.uk headteacher@bwjunior.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection December 2014

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The vast majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils who attract pupil premium funding is lower than average.
• A higher proportion than in most schools have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. A comparatively low proportion of pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.
• The school has restructured and expanded its senior leadership team.
• Since the previous inspection more than half of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair, are new.
• The school has its own swimming pool. Local schools make use of this facility. It is also open to the general public outside of school hours.
• The school provides a breakfast club.
• The after-school care run by an external provider was not included as part of this inspection.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school meets the current government floor standard for 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, a group of teachers and senior leaders. They held discussions informally with pupils and parents. The lead inspector met with a group of governors, including the chair and vice-chair, and had a discussion with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of school documentation. This included information about behaviour, attendance, the monitoring of teachers’ performance, minutes from meetings held by the governing body, the school’s safeguarding and child protection policies as well as the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan.
• Inspectors checked the contents of the school’s website.
• Inspectors reviewed the checks made on staff about their suitability to work with children.
• Inspectors conducted a learning walk and visited 13 lessons including five attended jointly with the headteacher. One of the inspectors observed the breakfast club.
• Inspectors took account of 132 responses to Ofsted’s online survey (Parent View) as well as a letter received from a parent.
• The views of staff were considered through discussions and the 12 responses to the staff inspection questionnaire.
• Inspectors also took account of 149 survey responses submitted by pupils.

Inspection team

Gehane Gordelier, lead inspector Cassie Buchanan Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector