Orchard Lea Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve standards for disadvantaged pupils, particularly in reading and mathematics, by ensuring that these pupils make more rapid progress from their individual starting points.
• Refine leaders’ evaluation of the impact of their actions to ensure that these are sharply focused on improving pupils’ outcomes.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and deputy headteacher work effectively together and set high expectations for pupils and staff. They have created an open and reflective culture which is clearly focused on improving outcomes for pupils. Relationships between leaders, staff and pupils are positive and actively support the progress that pupils make. As a result, standards have risen. Leaders are ambitious for further improvements.
• The headteacher is particularly skilled in supporting staff to enhance their professional expertise. Staff development is carefully planned and firmly focused on improving pupils’ skills and knowledge. Staff value the training they receive and there is clear evidence of the positive impact it has on pupils’ learning. Further confirmation of the success of staff development can be seen in the strength of the middle leaders, who are confident, strategic leaders. They know their subjects well and use this knowledge to evaluate carefully and improve the quality of teaching and learning.
• Leaders have an honest and comprehensive understanding of the school’s strengths and have accurately identified areas for improvement. Leaders thoughtfully identify sensible key priorities to work on. All staff know what these priorities are so that developments are owned by all and consistently applied. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of their actions sharply enough. They do not know exactly which strategies are having the most impact on raising standards, in order to accurately inform their future improvement work.
• The special educational needs (SEN) coordinator effectively monitors the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Additional funding is used successfully to support individuals and groups of pupils. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are efficiently identified and additional support is swiftly put in place to meet their needs. The impact of support is vigilantly monitored. As a result, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Leaders have established productive links with outside agencies to support these pupils and their families. Arrangements for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities who join or leave the school are well managed and sensitively planned for.
• Pupil premium funding is used well. Leaders have rightly prioritised the needs of disadvantaged pupils in the school and use the funding to improve the quality of teaching through staff development. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils’ progress is increasing, although not always rapidly enough, particularly in reading and mathematics.
• The curriculum is interesting, varied and well composed. Pupils are taught well and develop the necessary skills and knowledge across a broad range of subjects. For example, pupils practise their keyboard skills in music, develop their vocabulary and pronunciation in French, and learn the basics of computer programming during information technology.
• Pupils are given many helpful opportunities to enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including moments for quiet reflection in assembly. Pupils understand British values and demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility as stakeholders in the school. For example, they have been actively involved in planning, designing and creating the outdoor learning environment.
• Additional government funding for sport is used to develop specialist links with a local secondary school. A recent staff skills audit revealed that because of these links, teachers’ subject knowledge in physical education has improved, particularly in dance and gymnastics.

Governance of the school

• Governors carry out their duties well. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. Governors are ambitious for pupils and want them to achieve well. They check that funding is being used wisely and is targeting the priority areas.
• Governors provide effective support and challenge to school leaders. They have identified that they want to sharpen their skills in this area so that they can fulfil their role with even greater rigour. For example, governors have requested more regular reports on pupils’ progress to enable more frequent scrutiny and spot any problems early on.
• Governors visit the school regularly to monitor and check its effectiveness. As a result, governors know the school and pupils well. Governors are taking steps to make these visits more structured to strengthen their strategic leadership role in the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. The headteacher has created an open atmosphere throughout the school. Staff are friendly and approachable, and this helps keep pupils safe.
• Staff are well-trained and knowledgeable about their responsibilities to keep pupils safe. Pupils’ welfare is a top priority. A member of staff said, ‘We always say it, just in case.’ Concerns are followed up promptly and timely referrals made to external agencies, when appropriate.
• Safer recruitment practices are used effectively. Leaders diligently carry out the required checks on the suitability of all staff and volunteers. The single central record is well maintained.
• Pupils said that they feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe at school, when online and also in the community. Pupils said that if they were worried about something they would talk to an adult. Pupils said that they value the warm and trusting relationships they have with adults in the school. They are confident that an adult would help to sort out any problems.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Pupils enjoy their learning and take great pride in their work. Pupils respond positively to teachers’ high expectations. Across the school, teachers consistently use their strong subject knowledge and skilful questioning to probe pupils’ thinking and deepen their understanding. As a result, most pupils achieve well and make strong progress from their starting points.
• Teachers know pupils well and use this information thoughtfully to plan tasks that ignite pupils’ interests and stimulate learning. Consequently, pupils are attentive and highly motivated. They work diligently in calm and purposeful lessons. Class routines are well established, so time is rarely lost when pupils move from one activity to the next.
• Additional adults work closely with teachers and therefore offer effective targeted support to individual pupils and small groups. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are fully included in lessons and make strong progress.
• Teaching in mathematics is improving to enable more pupils to achieve the higher standards. As a result, pupils are given many opportunities, across all year groups, to apply their mathematical and reasoning skills effectively to solve problems. Pupils relish these challenges. For example, in Year 4, pupils were engrossed in exploring position and direction using coordinates. Pupils make good use of their mathematical skills in other curriculum subjects, such as when comparing temperatures in science or ordering chronologies in history. Teachers use questioning proficiently to extend and deepen pupils’ learning at the higher standard, following valuable professional development.
• Teaching in English lessons enables pupils to make strong progress across the school. Pupils’ books show that their writing develops well, in length and complexity, as they move up the year groups. In reading, teaching approaches are successfully being refined to challenge and extend pupils to achieve even higher standards. Pupils are becoming fluent and expressive readers, as a result of improved teaching methods. Pupils show a genuine love of books and enjoy talking about their favourite authors. However, sometimes the most able pupils select books that are too easy for them. Leaders are aware of this and are taking effective steps to provide pupils with a wider selection of more thought-provoking texts.
• Teachers understand the need to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. Teachers use knowledge gained through staff development to plan interesting and meaningful activities. This is particularly effective in the teaching of writing, where disadvantaged pupils make good progress and do well. However, differences with other pupils are evident in their progress in reading and mathematics because teaching is not yet enabling disadvantaged pupils to make the rapid progress needed to catch up.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are friendly, confident and self-assured. They appreciate the many opportunities they are given to participate in the life of the school. For example, at break and lunchtimes, identified pupils are available to encourage other pupils to play together. Consequently, pupils are considerate and thoughtful in their approach to each other.
• Pupils’ attitudes to school and their learning are consistently positive. Pupils listen attentively in lessons. They are not afraid to ask questions or make mistakes because they know this is part of learning. Pupils listen respectfully to each other as they talk about their ideas and explain their thinking. Therefore, lessons are calm, inclusive and purposeful.
• Pupils take an active role in the community. They participate in local and national charity events and have links with a local care home for elderly people. These activities are helping pupils to become caring and responsible citizens.
• Pupils enjoy the wide variety of clubs and after-school activities on offer. These are planned carefully to enrich pupils’ experiences and stimulate a range of hobbies and interests. Pupil premium funding is used successfully to enable disadvantaged pupils to participate in these activities.
• Most pupils said that bullying happens very rarely. Pupils understand the importance of e-safety and said they know not to share personal information online. Pupils said they trust the adults in school and feel able to talk to them about any worries. Pupils flourish because of their positive and nurturing relationships with staff.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are happy and confident in the school environment. They are friendly and eager to talk to visitors about their work and the activities that they enjoy. Pupils are very proud of the school and show respect for each other, the staff and their surroundings.
• Pupils conduct themselves well in and around the school. They behave extremely well in lessons because relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful. Pupils move around the school purposefully and without any fuss. Lunchtimes are happy and sociable, with adults on hand to support and assist. Some pupils said lunchtimes could be even better if there were more play equipment available. At the end of breaktimes, pupils respond promptly to adult direction and move efficiently back into school ready for a punctual start to lessons.
• A very small number of parents and pupils who responded to Ofsted’s online surveys expressed concerns about some occasional disruptive behaviour in class and after lunch. However, behaviour seen during the inspection in and around the school was consistently calm and positive. Teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, which pupils clearly understand. Routines are well established and help the school day run smoothly.
• Pupils attend school regularly. Attendance rates for all pupils are above the national average for primary schools. However, the rates of persistent absence rose in 2017, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. Leaders are taking effective action to tackle this. Absence is carefully tracked, and staff work proactively and supportively with the families of the few pupils who do not come to school regularly enough. Rates of persistent absence are falling rapidly.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils’ outcomes have improved since the disappointing Year 6 national assessment results in 2016. Since then, leaders have taken effective action to raise standards. Provisional results for 2017 indicate that the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard in the combined subjects of reading, writing and mathematics was in line with the national average. Pupils do particularly well in writing and the proportion of pupils who exceeded the expected standard and greater depth in writing was above the national figure.
• Pupils make better progress in writing than in reading and mathematics. However, leaders have taken effective action to tackle underachievement. Therefore, current pupils are making strong progress from their individual starting points in reading and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils make broadly similar rates of progress to other pupils. Provisional results for 2017 show that in writing, disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes were better than national figures, for both the expected standard and greater depth. However, differences remain in reading and mathematics and the progress made by disadvantaged pupils in these subjects is not yet rapid enough for some of these pupils to catch up with the others.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their individual starting points. Teachers and support staff carefully assess pupils’ difficulties in order to be sure about what they need. Consequently, work is well matched to pupils’ needs.
• Pupils in Year 6 are well prepared for the next stage of their education. They develop very positive attitudes and know what skills are needed to be a good learner. As a result, they are well equipped to make a successful move on to secondary school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116225 Hampshire 10037836 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 231 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Sue Seaton Steve Summerton Telephone number 01329 234471 Website Email address www.orchardlea-jun.hants.sch.uk adminoffice@orchardlea-jun.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 November 2012

Information about this school

• The school is an average-sized junior school.
• Most pupils are of White British background.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for standards and progress for pupils in Year 6.
• The current headteacher was in post at the previous inspection.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching throughout key stage 2. The majority of observations were carried out with senior leaders. A sample of pupils’ workbooks were also examined.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, subject leaders and with a group of teachers.
• Inspectors met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.
• Inspectors met with pupils to discuss their views about the school and heard them read. The views of 151 pupils who responded to Ofsted’s online pupil survey were also analysed.
• The lead inspector held a telephone discussion with a representative of the local authority.
• The views of parents were taken into account by analysing 77 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 38 additional free-text comments. Inspectors also spoke informally with parents at the start of the first day of the inspection.
• Inspectors considered the views of staff by analysing 13 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.
• Inspectors scrutinised documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness, minutes of governing body meetings and notes of external visits carried out by the local authority officers.
• Safeguarding procedures were also reviewed, including arrangements for keeping pupils safe and for recruiting staff.

Inspection team

Claire Prince, lead inspector Janet Pearce

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector