Picklenash Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, by:
  • ensuring that governors hold leaders to account for the achievement of groups of pupils in the school to ensure that these pupils make rapid and sustained progress across the school
  • making sure that the school’s plans for improvement include sharply focused targets for the achievement for all groups of pupils, so that leaders and governors can consistently check the rate of improvement
  • ensuring that leaders check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment more rigorously
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by ensuring that:
  • teachers accurately use the assessments they gather about learning, to identify what pupils can and cannot do and to plan work that matches specific needs and moves pupils’ learning on
  • teachers check pupils’ learning and address misconceptions earlier to ensure that rapid progress is being made.
• Improve pupils’ learning and progress in English, by:
  • providing guidance to teachers in order to develop their skills in teaching reading
  • ensuring that the quality of the teaching of writing in Years 3 and 4 improves
  • ensuring that teaching assistants are appropriately trained in the use of standard spoken English so that they can support pupils’ development in writing effectively. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management should be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have not improved the quality of teaching, learning and assessment since the previous inspection. While the headteacher and deputy headteacher have recently begun to address this, inconsistencies in the quality of teaching result in pupils not making consistently good progress.
• Leaders are aware that further work is still required to improve the quality of teaching across the school, particularly in reading. Some members of the senior team are new to their roles and have not had enough time to impact positively on reducing inconsistencies in teaching.
• New leaders are yet to receive sufficient training to carry out their roles effectively. For example, leaders monitor and check pupils’ books; however, their monitoring does not focus sufficiently on the impact that teaching has on pupils’ learning.
• Leaders’ evaluations of how well the school is doing are at times too generous. They do not analyse the progress of different groups of pupils sufficiently rigorously. As a result, they do not always focus carefully enough on the key priorities for improvement.
• Leaders are committed to ensuring that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve at least as well as others in the school. They make sure that the additional funding provided for pupils and their families supports their progress and ensures that this group of pupils attend school regularly.
• Leaders have begun to use the pupil premium effectively to support pupils who are disadvantaged. Although this has not always been the case historically, evidence seen by inspectors shows that disadvantaged pupils are now beginning to make the progress of which they are capable.
• Senior staff are ensuring that teachers are receiving the training and support they need to be effective. In particular, the quality of teaching of newly appointed staff is having a strong impact on pupils’ learning. However, some inconsistencies in teaching remain, and this slows pupils’ progress.
• The school’s curriculum is broad and balanced. Effective use of the physical education and sport premium funding is ensuring that sport is a strength of the school. Teachers choose topics that help pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is a clear strength of the school. For example, pupils learn about the different gods in Hinduism, enjoy trips to Wales and collect a range of evidence in their ‘experience’ class books. These experiences help to develop pupils’ well-being effectively.
• The majority of parents have positive views of the school. Parents typically commented: ‘The school deals with any concerns extremely quickly and all staff are very friendly.’ ‘The staff are approachable and you can contact them either in person or speak to them on the phone whenever you need to for support, which is great.’

Governance of the school

• Governors do not challenge and hold the leaders of the school to account robustly enough to ensure that the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning improves rapidly. As a result, some groups of pupils are not achieving as well as they could.
• At the time of the inspection, some statutory documents were missing or not up to date on the school’s website. Some documents provided to the inspector during the inspection were not sharply focused enough to drive achievement forward.
• Governors receive regular updates about pupils’ progress and achievement from the senior leadership team. However, sometimes the information presented to them is insufficiently detailed and it gives an overly positive picture of achievement. Consequently, governors lack the information required to target actions and improve the pockets of weaker teaching. They are aware that teaching is now beginning to raise standards.
• Governors are aware of how the pupil premium and physical education and sport premium are spent and the impact these are having on pupils’ achievement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders with a responsibility for safeguarding are well informed, are extremely effective in their roles and make a strong contribution to the safety of the pupils in the school. School staff liaise well with a wide range of outside agencies to ensure that potentially vulnerable pupils are supported.
• Leaders and governors review policies regularly to ensure that pupils are protected and kept safe. Staff work with parents to write polices so that the whole community understands how to protect its pupils. All staff, including governors, undertake rigorous training in child protection and leaders check the understanding of staff on a regular basis. Meticulous records are kept to ensure that everyone is fully up to date with the latest requirements.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching requires improvement because teaching is too inconsistent across the school to ensure that pupils make consistently good progress.
• Teachers do not assess pupils work accurately enough to address errors and misconceptions quickly. Consequently, teachers allow pupils to carry on making the same mistakes in some classes.
• Teachers’ expectations, in some lessons, are too low and the work set does not match the need of all pupils correctly. The most able pupils are not challenged sufficiently, and as a result, they do not always make the progress that they might.
• Teaching is inconsistent across the school in both reading and writing, which is hindering some pupils from making the progress they could. Where teaching is strong, pupils are making rapid and sustained progress and they are on track to achieve the standards expected for their age. However, there is still some teaching that is not targeted enough to the needs of pupils and so they fail to make the progress they are capable of.
• Some teachers use their subject knowledge well to ask well-targeted, probing questions to deepen pupils’ understanding, knowledge and skills. However, this is not yet consistent across the school. Therefore, some pupils do not make as much progress as they could.
• Pupils generally demonstrate good attitudes to learning and this has a positive impact on their achievement. Pupils benefit from the feedback they receive from teachers in accordance with the school’s policy. This is beginning to help them assess their own learning and evaluate how confident they feel during the activity. However, some pupils have to wait too long for adults to check their learning and provide their next steps. This sometimes hinders their progress and desire to learn.
• Teaching assistants work closely with teachers and provide helpful support to individuals or small groups. This helps pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to achieve at least as well as their peers. However, in some cases, the use of informal spoken language by teaching assistants hinders the pupils from writing in the correct tense or making correct word choices.
• There are inconsistencies in the effectiveness of the teaching of grammar, spelling and punctuation skills. In some groups, pupils are expected to apply complex grammar, spelling and punctuation in their work. Pupils can readily explain complex structures, such as adverbial phrases, and can explain how to use them in their writing. However, these skills are not consistent across the school and some teaching does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to apply them in their independent writing and across the curriculum.
• Teachers use mathematical language accurately and precisely to deepen the knowledge and understanding of pupils. This includes, for example, ensuring that pupils used the correct terminology when dealing with coordinates. Pupils benefit from good questioning that develops their understanding of mathematical concepts.

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 sure that their teachers look after them and provide a supportive environment. They are happy to come to school and feel well cared for and safe.
• The school’s ethos is underpinned by its values, which permeate the work of the school. Pupils were unfailingly polite to the inspectors. They demonstrate respect to all adults and their peers. They understand the need for safety and look for visitors to have ID badges so that they know they are trusted by leaders of the school. Prefects are in corridors and they help to make sure that adults and pupils alike maintain the school’s high standards.
• The school’s approach to supporting potentially vulnerable pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Staff use a range of external agencies effectively to provide high-quality care and support. Parents praise this work and appreciate the support their children receive. As a result, this is an inclusive and supportive community.
• Pupils know how to stay safe. Leaders have ensured that pupils learn to stay safe online and provide e-safety days, lessons and assemblies. As a result, pupils spoke knowledgeably about the potential risks of using the internet.
• Pupils are adamant there is no bullying in the school. Leaders have established a calm and well-ordered environment where pupils feel valued. They give pastoral care a high priority and the result is high-quality support, resulting in strong personal development.
• The school prepares for transition into the school well and invites its new intake up to the school daily in the final term to help them prepare for school routines. This encourages the older pupils to care for them and make sure that they understand the new expectations.
• There is a good wrap-around care provision that provides a good service for families. Pupils are well looked after and prepared for the day ahead. During the inspection, pupils were respectful and courteous to each other. Pupils demonstrate similar behaviours to those of the adults who care for them.
• A number of pupils attend the well-organised breakfast club offered by the school. The calm and caring atmosphere helps to ensure that pupils prepare well for the start of the school day and get off to their learning without any time lost.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning is good. However, sometimes when teaching lacks challenge and fails to capture their interest, pupils can lose focus and their attention wanders. As a result, they do not demonstrate perseverance in their work because they are not motivated to give their best.
• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is good. During break and lunchtimes and around the school, it is impeccable. They are polite and treat each other and their school with respect. There is no litter and the classrooms are tidy and well organised.
• Attendance is good. The reasons for absences are followed up on the day with parents. Leaders investigate lengthy absences and provide the support needed to ensure that pupils return to school quickly. This has led to leaders visiting some homes to make sure that pupils are safe. School leaders have worked hard to reduce persistent absence, and, although still too high, this is beginning to diminish and groups of pupils are now at least in line with national figures.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupil progress is too variable across the school. The older pupils are now making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is an improvement on 2016, when results were below the national average. Pupil progress is weaker in Years 3 and 4 due to past inconsistencies in teaching.
• Pupils’ progress in reading and writing remains variable across the school. Weaker teaching in the lower years has hindered progress. Pupils do not apply their skills of writing across the curriculum and this slows their development. Girls’ reading and writing is now beginning to improve.
• Pupils across the school are making stronger progress in mathematics. This is because teachers challenge pupils to apply their skills, knowledge and understanding to tackle increasingly harder work. In addition, teachers ensure that there are opportunities for pupils to practise skills and then apply them in increasingly challenging contexts. Leaders have revised the curriculum to focus on the mastery of key concepts. This is engaging pupils and enabling them to thrive during lessons. The underachievement evident over the past few years is being addressed and, as a result, pupils are beginning to meet their milestones and achieve standards expected for their age.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are generally making good progress against their targets. Their achievements are monitored to ensure that they perform as well as they can.
• Disadvantaged pupils are now making better progress. This is diminishing the difference between them and non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. This is because leaders have become more rigorous in their analysis and have identified effective interventions. Leaders then monitor the impact of interventions and change these in relation to the pupil’s specific need.
• In the past, the most able pupils have not made suitable progress from their starting points. However, this trend is now being reversed, especially in Years 5 and 6 and in mathematics across the school. The most able pupils are now making better progress and beginning to achieve higher standards. This is a marked improvement on previous years. There are still some inconsistencies across the school, but leaders are tackling them to make sure that all pupils achieve well from their starting points.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 115733 Gloucestershire 10024923 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Junior School School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Foundation School 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 147 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mr Gary Bottomley Mrs Lin Griffiths 01531 820589 www.glebeinfantschool.org.uk head@newentfed.org Date of previous inspection 10-11 February 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a smaller than average-sized junior school, where most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The school shares a site with the infant school.
• The school has been federated with the neighbouring infant school since May 2011, forming the Federation of Newent Schools, and shares the same governing body.
• Since the previous inspection, there have been many staffing changes, and middle and senior leaders now have responsibilities across the junior and infant schools. The headteacher is the executive headteacher for both schools. The deputy headteacher is the deputy headteacher of the federation.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below the national average. This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible to receive free school meals and those in local authority care.
• The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.
• The school runs a breakfast club, which is managed by the governing body and was evaluated as part of this inspection.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning across the school jointly with the deputy headteacher or mathematics lead. Inspectors spoke with pupils and observed their interactions at breaktime and lunchtime.
• The inspector scrutinised the quality of work in pupils’ books, along with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and mathematics lead.
• The inspector talked with groups of pupils to seek their views about the school and listened to the views of many other pupils during lessons, playtimes and lunchtimes. Inspectors took account of 15 pupil questionnaire responses online.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, staff, governors and the school’s improvement partner.
• The inspector scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including: the school development plan; the school’s view of its own performance; data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress; governors’ minutes; records about behaviour and safeguarding; and school policies.
• The inspector took account of the 23 responses to the online Parent View survey and 23 free-text responses. The inspector spoke with parents at the start of the school day.

Inspection team

Spencer Allen, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector