Knight's Enham Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to ensure that more pupils make strong progress from their starting points.
• Ensure that all teaching provides robust challenge for pupils, particularly those who have the potential to achieve the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Ensure that all teaching supports pupils with SEND effectively so that they make stronger progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and his deputy have worked tirelessly to create a culture of high achievement set against a background of very high-quality care and guidance.
• After the last inspection, the headteacher wasted no time in tackling the areas of concern, determined to make the school the best it could be. Leaders clearly understand the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. The school improvement plan accurately reflects the school’s current position and focuses on next steps.
• The recently appointed deputy headteacher is working with staff to challenge any low expectations of pupils. She is working closely with staff to ensure that every pupil is well supported and challenged in lessons. She thoroughly checks the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils make. Leaders use this information well as they strive to make teaching even better.
• The English and mathematics subject leaders are very enthusiastic about improving teaching and pupils’ achievements. They have clear plans in place to help them to carry out their roles to good effect. They are very well supported by senior leaders, who hold them rigorously to account for their actions.
• The curriculum is exciting because learning intentions are meaningful and relevant to pupils. It helps pupils to develop as well-rounded individuals who learn from their own experiences as well as from the experiences of others. The curriculum is enriched and developed extremely well through a range of visits and other extra-curricular activities. Leaders are proud to have been invited to share their ideas about the curriculum with another local school.
• Leaders monitor the impact of the primary sport and physical education (PE) funding regularly. The school’s emphasis on healthy living, whether through regular PE sessions or healthy eating initiatives, contributes directly to pupils’ physical and emotional health and well-being.
• Leaders ensure that they prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain by linking the school’s values to the principles of Unicef’s Children’s Charter. For example, pupils in Year 6 contrast two periods of history as they learn about the differences between the Mayan and the British cultures. This helps them to develop a mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school is strongly committed to equality of opportunity, fostering good relationships and discouraging discrimination.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium funding is used effectively to benefit disadvantaged pupils. There are specific interventions to support learning and to enable this group of pupils to participate in a broad range of opportunities, including a programme to develop pupils’ social and emotional resilience. Currently, the progress of disadvantaged pupils across most year groups is in line with that of other pupils in the school.
• Additional funding for pupils with SEND is not always directed well enough to help them to make good progress in their learning. Teachers and teaching assistants do not always accurately identify what is getting in the way of learning for these pupils. Consequently, support does not always meet the learner’s needs well.

Governance of the school

• Following the dissolution of the federation, a newly formed governing body was established in July 2018.
• Governors have a clear and accurate understanding of the strengths of the school and of the further improvements they would like to make.
• Governors bring a range of skills and experiences to their roles. The newly appointed chair of governors is committed to developing a strong team, and she has already clearly established her high expectations of all governors. She knows where the strengths of her team lie and has allocated roles and responsibilities accordingly. She has also partnered up new governors with experienced governors so that the skills and expertise of new governors will develop quickly. She has no doubt about what needs to be done and expects everyone to deliver.
• The chair of governors of Knight’s Enham Junior School is also chair of governors at the neighbouring infant school. She is committed to developing greater partnership working between the two schools and supports school leaders in their plans to do the same.
• Minutes of the governors’ meetings clearly evidence an increased level of challenge as governors hold leaders to account more rigorously. Reports are now tabled a week in advance of meetings so that governors can be well prepared with any questions and comments.
• A local authority co-opted governor brings her experience to the group. Her work is having a significant impact on governors’ development as she supports inexperienced governors to understand their responsibilities and carry them out effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school has a strong safeguarding culture which places pupils at the heart of its work. Leaders care passionately about every pupil and do everything to ensure that pupils are safe, both in and out of school.
• Checks completed on the suitability of staff to work with children are in place. Leaders ensure that all staff receive regular and appropriate training that reflects recent developments in making sure that pupils are kept safe. Staff are trained to identify any signs of abuse.
• Staff are clear about the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a pupil’s safety. They follow these precisely. Leaders maintain detailed safeguarding records that show a clear chronology of actions and outcomes. All records are securely stored.
• Governors understand and fulfil their statutory duties relating to safeguarding and pupils’ welfare. They carry out regular termly checks to be absolutely certain that the school’s systems and procedures keep all pupils safe.
• Pupils learn to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Teachers ensure that pupils develop a strong understanding of how to keep safe beyond the school environment.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The high expectations of senior leaders, supported by high-quality training for all staff and rigorous and effective monitoring, have resulted in teaching, learning and assessment improving significantly since the previous inspection. It is now good. The headteacher knows that, in order to achieve the best outcomes, pupils need to receive high-quality teaching from teachers and teaching assistants. Leaders have worked hard to achieve this. They continue to provide support and challenge where practice is weaker.
• Senior leaders expect a high level of consistency in how lessons are taught. This means that pupils are confident with routines and expectations and respond well. Teachers are working exceptionally hard to overcome the legacy of underachievement from recent years.
• Teachers’ good subject knowledge contributes well to pupils’ progress and learning. Teachers use assessments well to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding and to plan activities accordingly. For example, in two Year 5 mathematics lessons, teachers continually assessed pupils’ understanding as they measured irregular shapes. Teachers intervened with focused questions and challenges that helped pupils to make good progress.
• Teachers plan a range of stimulating and cohesive lessons, which engage pupils’ interests and help to ensure that pupils’ progress is improving. For example, in Year 4 pupils were learning about how the Roman invasion changed life for the people of Great Britain, while in Year 3 pupils were investigating reflections, refractions, shadows and sunlight in science.
• Pupils learn well in mathematics because the teaching is good and activities are planned effectively. Pupils in Year 5 challenged one another to establish the best methods to use to solve a problem. They were able to clearly explain a range of mathematical methods that enabled them to be successful.
• Teachers successfully foster an enjoyment of reading and use a range of texts to develop pupils’ writing skills. Pupils in Year 6 relished the challenge of writing their own ending to a book they were reading in class. Their teacher and teaching assistant checked in on pupils’ learning as the lesson progressed. Through skilful observations and prompts, they helped pupils to think about how they could make their writing even better.
• Most work in pupils’ books is well presented and pupils are proud to share these with visitors. Teachers’ feedback to pupils about their work accurately reflects the school’s marking policy.
• Teaching assistants work well to support individual pupils and small groups of pupils. They work closely with teachers and adopt a similar, positive approach in their interactions with pupils. A number of teaching assistants provide an exceptionally high level of support for pupils.
• The headteacher has recently reviewed the assessment and tracking systems to improve on the school’s data analysis at school, cohort and individual levels. Regular assessments and meetings to monitor pupils’ progress provide opportunities for leaders and teachers to discuss pupils’ individual outcomes and identify strategies to help pupils who need additional support.
• Homework learning sheets provide opportunities for families to work with pupils at home. The sheet provides parents with information about what their children are learning in school. An increasing number of families are taking up this opportunity and examples of completed activities, such as Diwali lamps made from clay, are displayed in school.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are keen and confident learners. They enjoy the range of experiences and challenges that the school provides for them. Year 6 pupils loved their week away when they went rock climbing and learned to ski.
• By employing a full-time welfare officer, the headteacher and his governors have shown their absolute commitment to improving the lives of children and their families. Leaders work in partnership with other agencies and are strong advocates for pupils. They are relentless in their commitment to every pupil and are not afraid to challenge families and other professionals if they need to. They are highly effective in developing strong relationships between school and home so that children are safe and thriving and parents develop confident relationships with, and a high level of trust in, the school’s staff.
• The school has a bronze award for its work with young carers and works closely with the Andover Young Carers charity. Young carers meet weekly over lunch in school to chat, have fun and share news. Leaders ensure that the school offers additional practical and emotional support for young carers. For example, the whole school took part in a ‘Silly Socks’ day to raise money to enable young carers to enjoy a day out that included a special ice cream treat.
• Pupils understand what bullying is, but say that it rarely occurs at school. They are confident that adults in school will always help them if they have any concerns.
• Through assemblies and personal, social and health education, pupils learn how to keep safe in a range of situations, including when they are using the internet.
• All of the parents who completed Parent View and who spoke with inspectors agreed that their children are safe, happy and well looked after.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good
• Leaders’ concerted efforts have resulted in sustained improvements in pupils’ behaviour. The ‘Knight’s Code’ sets out high expectations and pupils are clear about what is expected of them. Pupils show respect for each other and listen well to each other’s ideas in lessons.
• Staff across the school promote positive behaviour skilfully and calmly.
• Good behaviour and positive manners are apparent on the playground, in the dining hall and as pupils move around the school. Pupils are polite and sensible, showing self- discipline in a range of situations.
• Attendance has improved significantly because most pupils enjoy school and particularly enjoy learning. The school’s welfare officer works hard with families to raise awareness of how poor attendance links to poor progress and hampers pupils’ life chances. There are still too many pupils who are persistently absent, although numbers are decreasing.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 2 have been improving.
• Over the last two years, the number of pupils achieving age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics has been in line with national figures. However, too few pupils achieved the higher standards.
• Outcomes for current pupils continue to improve. Current Year 5 and 6 pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are making much stronger progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is preparing them very well for their next school.
• Provision for pupils with SEND is not supporting them well enough to close gaps in their learning. Consequently, the progress that this group of pupils make across the school is not good enough.
• Progress in reading is good. The school’s commitment to providing pupils with good-quality reading materials and time to access them, has resulted in significantly increasing numbers of pupils wanting to read at home and at school. The school’s librarian is passionate about reading and his infectious enthusiasm is shared by pupils. He runs a range of activities to target pupils who do not get opportunities to read at home. For example, his ‘Chatter Books’ club and daily ‘Reading Café’ warmly welcome pupils into school to read and talk about different texts. Through these types of activities, pupils are developing a wider range of strategies to help them to read more fluently.
• Work in the books of current pupils, across the curriculum, shows that a greater proportion are making strong progress. There are significant improvements in writing and mathematics. However, in a few classes, teachers do not consistently ensure that pupils are challenged to reach the higher standards.

School details

Unique reference number 116014 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10053014 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Junior School category Maintained Age range of pupils 7 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 216 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Louise Maratos Headteacher Mr Hywel Inglis Telephone number 01264 394 777 Website www.kejs.org Email address h.inglis@knightsenham-jun.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 12−13 September 2016

Information about this school

• This is an average-sized junior school in an area of high deprivation.
• The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. Over half of them are in receipt of pupil premium funding.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is well above average.
• Since the last inspection, the school’s executive headteacher has retired. The current headteacher became acting headteacher in September 2016. He was appointed as the substantive headteacher, taking up his post in January 2018.
• In July 2018, the Discovery Federation, of which the school was a member, was dissolved. The school’s new governing body was established in July 2018. Two members of the federated governing body sit on the current governing body. Other governors are new.
• The chair of governors is also chair of governors at the neighbouring infant school.
• The deputy headteacher with responsibility for improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment took up post in September 2018.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning across the school. Senior leaders observed some lessons jointly with inspectors. 

• Inspectors listened to pupils read and reviewed the work in their books.
• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during breaktimes was observed. 

• Inspectors talked to pupils in lessons, around the school and held a formal meeting with pupils.
• Inspectors carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ learning in mathematics and writing. They worked with middle leaders on this task.
• Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, middle leaders and class teachers. In addition to this, they met with members of the governing body and those responsible for safeguarding, welfare and attendance. Inspectors also spoke to a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance and the school improvement plan. They also looked at the governors’ action plan, minutes of the governing body’s meetings, the school’s policies and documentation relating to safeguarding and pupils’ attendance.
• Inspectors considered the views of parents gathered during the inspection in addition to three responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and three free-text comments.
• Inspectors considered the views of staff gathered during formal and informal meetings. They also took into account 21 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.

Inspection team

Sarah Varnom, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Christopher Crouch Ofsted Inspector