Chesswood Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ outcomes so that they are above the national average, particularly for the most able, by:
  • tackling inconsistencies in teaching
  • ensuring that all teachers use assessment information effectively to plan activities which meet pupils’ needs
  • providing appropriately challenging work for all groups of pupils
  • providing greater opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills, including writing at length and using more complex sentences.
• Strengthen middle leaders’ ability to contribute to school improvement by developing their understanding of pupils’ assessment data. This will help them identify where challenge for pupils can be greater and support teachers to improve outcomes.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and governors are ambitious for pupils to achieve all that they are capable of. The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, has rightly focused on improving teaching and outcomes throughout the school. As a result, teaching is now good and pupils are making better progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leaders have effectively managed a period of significant change, including almost a full turnover of teaching staff, with 16 out of the 21 class teachers having joined the school since the previous inspection. Through effective induction and well-led training, teachers know and meet leaders’ high expectations and work hard to support one another. All staff are committed to making the vision of ‘dream, aspire, achieve’ a reality for every pupil.
• Parents have great trust in the headteacher. They are supportive of the changes and appreciate how quickly new members of staff become part of the school and get to know their children. Leaders’ robust systems for monitoring lessons, setting and reviewing targets and providing appropriate support are helping teachers to improve their classroom practice. There are a few classes where teaching is not yet consistently good, but leaders are fully aware and taking effective action.
• Leaders ensure that teachers make good use of all available assessment information. As a result, most learning tasks are well matched to pupils’ needs and pupils make good progress. Assessment information is not used quite so well when planning activities for the most able pupils. Consequently, these pupils do not always receive sufficient challenge and so do not make as much progress as they should.
• Middle leaders are developing their skills. From their monitoring of teaching and learning, they provide useful support and feedback to improve teachers’ practice, but they are not yet skilled at analysing assessment information to identify where pupils are not making enough progress.
• The rich and stimulating curriculum, developed in consultation with pupils and parents, effectively meets the needs of pupils. Computing is successfully utilised to support learning in other curriculum areas. For example, pupils used ‘stop motion’ video to show the ‘digestion journey’ to support their science work. Pupils appreciate the opportunities that specialist teaching has brought in PE and music. Pupils were very proud of winning the Worthing indoor athletics event and singing at Disneyland Paris as part of the music curriculum. There are many visits and activities that enrich the curriculum and develop pupils’ love for learning. During the inspection, a ‘Saxon’ visitor brought learning to life by showing the clothes that Saxon people wore and demonstrating how they used their tools. Parents and Year 6 pupils described their residential trip to explore Bristol, with visits to Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Cheddar Gorge, as ‘fantastic’. A large proportion of pupils take part in the many after-school activities, which include football, choir, athletics and art.
• Funding to support disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities is effectively targeted. These pupils make the same good progress as other pupils in the school. Leaders effectively monitor all interventions to ensure that they are helping pupils to catch up. Innovations such as the ‘high need, high support’ class in Year 6 are appreciated and valued by parents. One parent made a point, commenting: ‘It is a very safe environment to learn. My daughter gets the help she needs to make progress and learn.’
• There are good opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils discuss social and moral issues such as ‘Why are there homeless people?’ and ‘What would it be like to be homeless?’ Pupils have well-planned opportunities to discuss and reflect in assemblies, to develop their spiritual understanding. They appreciate and celebrate the diversity of their community and raise money to support local charities.
• The PE and sport premium is effectively used to develop sports such as athletics and basketball by providing new equipment and specialist coaches. Increased numbers of pupils are taking up these sports, which complement the good range that already exists. Pupils have received training and coaching in sport, creating a legacy of pupils known as ‘the crew’ who can confidently run activities for younger pupils.

Governance of the school

Safeguarding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers plan effectively, working in teams across year groups in the school. Their good subject knowledge ensures that pupils make good progress in developing their literacy and numeracy skills.
• Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve in lessons, and work is generally well matched to pupils’ needs. Teachers plan and deliver lessons which enable pupils to learn and make good progress. Activities are appropriate and fun, so pupils work hard and do well. Occasionally, pupils spend too much time on work that they can already do. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.
• Motivating and interesting activities encourage pupils to develop their skills in several areas at once. An example is the ‘Goodwood go-cart racing day’, when pupils plan and deliver during a whole day of activities. Pupils use skills they have learned in mathematics, design and technology, and computing to design, plan and build their go-cart. In doing so, they have opportunities to make meaningful links between subjects and learn important problem-solving skills.
• The teaching of reading has improved and is now good. Pupils who are not confident in reading when they join the school are well supported through high-quality phonics lessons. As a result, they catch up quickly and become more confident and enthusiastic in their reading. This is built on well by the ‘Millionaire’s Row’ project, which promotes reading for pleasure and provides more opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their skills. The recent procurement of books with more challenging text is enabling the most able pupils to develop their understanding of inferred meaning, and read at a higher level. Consequently, across the school, outcomes in reading are much improved.
• The basic skills of writing are well taught, reflecting the whole school’s focus on spelling, grammar and punctuation. However, there is not enough emphasis on developing pupils’ ability to write at length and use more complex sentences to produce more sophisticated work.
• The teaching of mathematics is good. Pupils have a good grasp of basic arithmetic and can manipulate number well. The work in pupils’ books shows that teachers are focusing on providing pupils with opportunities to develop their understanding and justify their answers through reasoning.
• Teaching assistants provide effective support. They work with teachers well to effectively support the specific needs of individual pupils in lessons. As a result, these pupils develop their confidence and independence, and over time make better progress. The parents of these pupils appreciate this help. One parent commented: ‘They are growing my child’s confidence by building up the amount of time he is expected to work on his own. He is so proud of how well he is doing.’

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils enjoy taking responsibility and developing their leadership skills. For example, pupils act as sports leaders and reading buddies for younger pupils. Pupils can also apply to become leaders in a specific subject. To do this, they have to apply in writing with their CV, detailing their attitude, organisational skills and creativity. They are very proud to be treated like ‘grown ups’, as one pupil put it.
• Pupils have opportunities to discuss issues such as tolerance and discrimination in lessons, and this helps them to understand the values and beliefs of others. When asked about the best qualities they could use to help others, one pupil’s response was, ‘If you don’t judge other people and listen, you can understand them better.’
• British values are examined and discussed in lessons and assemblies. Pupils are able to demonstrate their understanding of democracy by voting for young governors. They enjoyed discussing the rule of law with a visiting magistrate and drew comparisons with their own school’s rules, ‘Bright Sparks’.
• Pupils feel safe and very well cared for. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe on the internet, and especially why it is important not to share any personal details while online. Pupils say that instances of bullying are rare, and parents agree. If bullying did happen, pupils are confident that adults would resolve any issues appropriately.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Parents, staff and pupils strongly agree that this is the case. Pupils behave well around school and their good behaviour in lessons reflects pupils’ good attitudes to learning. They work hard and enjoy the opportunities they have to discuss their work with their peers. When working in pairs or groups, they cooperate well and try to help one another with their learning.
• Pupils focus on their learning well and maintain their concentration for sustained periods. Occasionally, some pupils are distracted from their learning tasks and their progress slows. Teachers work hard to develop greater independence so that pupils can take more responsibility for managing their own learning in lessons.
• Pupils understand the school’s behaviour policy. They understand what will happen if they misbehave and appreciate the fact that staff recognise and reward good behaviour and learning. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to achieve rewards. During the inspection, pupils were keen to inform teachers that they had reached their latest milestone in their online mathematics challenge, to collect their rewards.
• Attendance is in line with the national average. Pupils enjoy coming to school, are very sociable and reflect the care the staff show towards them by the way they treat one another.
• Leaders and teachers have made the school a positive place to learn, free from any form of discrimination. The environment is inviting and lively, and pupils are keen to discuss their work, which is displayed in many areas around the school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016, pupils’ attainment and progress were well below other pupils’ nationally. Outcomes improved in 2017, but were still below the national average. However, continued improvements in teaching have brought about better in-year progress. Consequently, pupils’ outcomes across the school are now good, and Year 6 pupils are on course to achieve at least age-related expectations. Current pupils are making good progress throughout the school. Work seen in pupils’ books shows that, over the last four terms, their progress in reading, writing and mathematics has been at least good.
• Most groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning. A wide range of interventions in reading, writing and mathematics are supporting pupils to catch up, and in some cases make accelerated progress.
• Outcomes for the most able pupils are not as good as they should be, and not enough of these pupils are reaching the higher standards by the end of Year 6. The recent focus on comprehension skills in reading and reasoning skills in mathematics is helping to challenge these pupils. As a result, they are beginning to develop a deeper understanding, but there is more work to do.
• Pupils’ presentation and handwriting are improving, but this is not consistent across classes and year groups. The school sees this as an important area to improve, reflecting the higher expectations of pupils’ work and learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125961 West Sussex 10036940 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 575 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Simon Broadhurst Andrew Jolley 01903 204141 www.chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk office@chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 November 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is a larger than average-sized junior school, with 21 classes.
• Most pupils come from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is average.
• There has been a significant change in teaching staff over the past 18 months, with 16 new teachers joining the school.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school has a breakfast club and after-school club managed by the governing body.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited lessons accompanied by senior or middle leaders to observe pupils’ learning.
• Discussions were held with senior leaders, members of staff including both specialist teachers, pupils, a group of parents, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors examined a wide range of documentation, including records of attendance, behaviour logs, school improvement planning, assessment information, the school’s self-evaluation, records of the monitoring of teaching, minutes of the governing body’s meetings, local authority reports and the school’s policies related to safeguarding.
• An inspector listened to pupils from Year 6 read and met formally with a group of pupils to discuss their learning, behaviour and safety. Inspectors evaluated pupils’ work in books, displays of pupils’ learning and the school’s assessments of the progress that pupils are making.
• The lead inspector took into account the views of parents and carers through 203 responses to the online survey, Parent View, including 150 free-text comments, 15 written submissions and a meeting with a group of six parents.
• Account was also taken of one response to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire and 57 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Bill James, lead inspector James Munt Kirstine Boon

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector