Whitehall Junior Community School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning in order to raise standards by ensuring that:
  • teachers use information about pupils’ prior learning more accurately to plan tasks that help them make more rapid progress
  • teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils’ work in terms of presentation, handwriting, grammar, punctuation and spelling
  • pupils have more opportunities to apply their literacy skills by writing at length more frequently and in a range of subjects
  • pupils have more opportunities to listen to adults and other fluent readers read aloud
  • gaps in pupils’ phonics skills are addressed quickly with targeted interventions.
• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • assessment information is analysed more carefully to identify specific priorities to address pupils’ learning needs
  • pupils’ fluency in English is monitored and assessed more effectively so interventions can be better matched to their needs
  • information about the effectiveness of interventions, particularly the use of additional funds, is shared with governors so that they can hold leaders to account more effectively. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Despite a slight improvement in attainment overall of one percentage point in 2017, leaders and governors have not adequately addressed the drop in standards in 2016. There has been a significant drop in standards since the previous inspection. Governors have not held leaders to account rigorously enough to bring about the necessary improvements.
• Leaders do not have a realistic assessment of the standard of education at the school. Although assessment information is analysed, it is not evaluated strategically enough to ensure that interventions and other support for learning are sufficiently targeted to address the learning needs of pupils.
• For example, the school provides information to the Department for Education about the proportion of pupils at each level of fluency in English. However, this information is not used effectively by the school to tailor interventions for individual pupils. As a result, pupils who speak English as an additional language do not make as much progress as they should.
• The information shared with governors is not sufficiently detailed or evaluative to help governors make a judgement about impact of initiatives to improve provision and outcomes. Governors do not receive regular reports from leaders about the impact of pupil premium funds on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. This means that governors cannot fulfil their statutory responsibility to hold leaders to account for this funding.
• The physical education (PE) and sports funding is used to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage pupils to be more active. As a result, more pupils now attend a wider range of sports clubs such as archery and trampolining. A recent visit to school from an Olympic gymnast inspired boys to take up gymnastics. However, other plans for the spending of this considerable additional funding are yet to be implemented.
• Leaders know the community and its challenges well. They are rightly proud of the wide range of pastoral interventions in place to support families. This support has had a positive impact on improving pupils’ attendance. Leaders are confident it will also have a positive impact on standards in the future.
• Leaders have recently introduced a new system for tracking and monitoring pupils’ progress. This means that leaders will be able to identify and address any underperformance more rapidly. However, this has not had time to have an impact on published outcomes.
• Parents are positive about the school. They appreciate the support staff provide for their children. They are starting to see the impact of recent initiatives to improve reading.

Governance of the school

• Governors do not have a realistic view of the quality of provision in the school. The information leaders share with governors does not allow them to be effective in their core role of holding leaders to account for the quality of education pupils receive.
• Leaders’ analysis of assessment and other information does not adequately evaluate the impact interventions have on pupils’ learning. This means that governors cannot make an informed judgement about the decisions leaders are making.
• Governors are fully involved in school life. They regularly visit the school and look at books. Many governors play an active role in the school community. The chair of governors works closely with the school council to support their work.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders and governors have ensured that staff are well trained in safeguarding and there is a culture of vigilance across the school. Appropriate risk assessments are in place and regularly reviewed. Staff ensure that pupils stay safe at all times.
• Staff are vigilant and proactive. They anticipate risks to pupils and act swiftly to protect them by making them aware of potential risks and how to manage them.
• Staff provide comprehensive support for parents and families who are facing challenges. Pupils are well supported through the Rainbow nurture group when they need additional support.
• Parents value the support staff provide to help them cope with extra challenges they face. They say staff go ‘above and beyond’ to help them.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement. Leaders have not ensured that there are consistently high expectations of pupils’ work across the year groups and in different subjects.
• Teachers do not all provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to write at length. Where teaching is effective, teachers provide good explanations of how to achieve a particular effect in writing. They ask challenging questions that help pupils to demonstrate their learning. However, this does not happen in all classes.
• Teachers break up writing tasks into manageable ‘chunks’ so that pupils rarely attempt complete pieces of extended pieces of writing. As a result, pupils are not able to apply or extend their basic writing skills frequently enough in longer pieces of writing. Neither do they have sufficient opportunities to build up their skills of concentration to become resilient writers.
• In mathematics, teachers use strategies such as ‘talk partners’ to good effect to support pupils’ learning. Pupils discuss with their partners how to solve a problem before they start to work independently. This helps pupils test out their approaches and gives them confidence that their methods for solving mathematical problems will be effective.
• The subject leader for mathematics has introduced a range of new approaches to improve teaching in mathematics, for example concrete, practical and abstract (CPA) approaches. Using this approach, teachers are able to design tasks that better match pupils’ stage of learning. Although these initiatives are relatively new, there is evidence that pupils are starting to make more rapid progress in mathematics.
• Pupils love reading. They visit the school library often, sometimes with their parents, to choose new books several times a week. Once they have read the books, pupils complete quizzes online and receive rewards for the number of books they read. This motivates them to read more and more. One boy said, ‘I love books because I can go on adventures.’ Pupils can also access books online from home through the Reading Cloud.
• However, some of the more-able pupils choose books that are not challenging enough because they are motivated to read as many books as quickly as possible to get the rewards. As a result, they are not exposed to the more challenging texts they need to read to prepare them for the next stage of their education.
• Teachers moderate assessments together and sometimes work with teachers from other schools to ensure consistency. Leaders are forging stronger links with the local infant school to ensure that pupils have a smooth transition between key stage 1 and key stage 2. One parent commented that the transition ‘was better than I could have hoped for’.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils feel safe and say that bullying is rare. One pupil said, ‘We try to stamp out bullying together.’
• Pupils know how to stay safe. They are especially well informed about the dangers they might face online from strangers who pretend to be their friends. They talk knowledgeably about steps they can take to protect themselves and what to do if they are worried. As a result of their vigilance, staff spotted pupils using a new social media application that was not appropriate for their age. Staff warned parents promptly about the potential risks so that they could block their children’s access. Staff held assemblies to warn pupils too.
• Pupils have a range of opportunities to take on responsibilities across the school. For example, many pupils act as playground pals at break and lunchtimes. They help to resolve disagreements, organise activities and help children to make friends and join in games.
• The school council is actively involved in discussions about how to improve the school environment. They recently raised money to improve the playground equipment and they are now planning how best to use the funds to encourage all pupils to be more active.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and respectful of each other and of adults. As one boy said, ‘We are all unique but we are all the same inside.’
• Pupils respond quickly to instructions and requests. Well-established routines are in place which help the school day run smoothly.
• In lessons, pupils are attentive and listen well to teachers and teaching assistants. There is rarely any disruption to learning through poor behaviour. Pupils earn ‘dojo’ points for good behaviour, which they exchange for treats. One class are planning a trip to Conkers which is paid for by exchanging their collective dojo points.
• As a result of intensive support for pupils and parents, attendance is improving and is now in line with national averages. Pupils who have low attendance are identified quickly and support is put in place to address the reasons for poor attendance. Staff take appropriate action to challenge parents when necessary.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Standards have declined significantly since the last inspection. The school did not meet the Department for Education’s floor standards in 2017.
• Despite a slight improvement in attainment overall of one percentage point in 2017, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was still well below the national average. This has been the case for the last two years. Progress in reading and mathematics was significantly below the national averages in 2017.
• Progress and attainment for disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and maths declined in 2016 and 2017. The gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally is not closing. Although the school’s assessment data suggests that this is starting to improve, there has been limited external validation of this.
• Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities do not make as much progress as their peers.
• Pupils’ written work is not consistently well presented or accurate. Mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not corrected well enough in all cases. Teachers’ expectations of accuracy in presentation, spelling, punctuation and grammar for writing in English and in other subjects are not consistently high. As a result, pupils’ writing does not sufficiently reflect the quality of writing they are capable of producing. Pupils are expected to produce high-quality work for ‘assessment’ pieces but not for other pieces of work. This limits their opportunities to practise and apply their skills. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. This is particularly true for more-able pupils.
• As a result of strong subject leadership in maths, pupils are now making better progress. Work in pupils’ books shows that more pupils are working at the expected standard for their age.
• Leaders have focused on encouraging pupils to read more often. As a result, many pupils now read frequently. Most pupils read fluently with good intonation. However, some pupils struggle to read fluently because their phonics skills are not well developed. They do not have enough opportunities to listen to adults and other fluent readers read aloud.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 104162 Walsall 10042896 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 352 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mrs Colleen Jones Mrs Elizabeth Attwood Telephone number 01922 720 778 Website Email address www.whitehall-j.walsall.sch.uk/ postbox@whitehall-j.walsall.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 December 2013

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Many pupils speak English as an additional language but very few are at the early stages of learning English.
• A higher than average number of pupils are disadvantaged.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average but the proportion of pupils who have education and health care plans (EHCPs) is below average.
• More pupils join and leave the school part way through the academic year than the national average.
• The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupil’s attainment and progress.
• The school holds the Leading Parent Partnership Award.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors met with senior leaders and middle leaders to discuss their roles.
• Inspectors observed lessons or small-group interventions in all year groups. These observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders where possible.
• The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body and looked at minutes of governing body meetings.
• An inspector reviewed the school’s single central record and discussed the school’s safeguarding practice with those responsible for safeguarding, as well as the learning mentor and the health and family support worker.
• Inspectors talked to pupils in lessons and in the playground and asked them for their views on whether they feel safe. Pupils were also asked for their views on school life.
• A number of other school documents were reviewed, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, assessment information and current attendance figures.
• Inspectors spoke with a number of parents at the start of the school day and took account of five responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including four free-text responses. Inspectors took account of 26 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.
• Inspectors heard pupils read and looked at English, mathematics and topic books.

Inspection team

Jane Spilsbury, lead inspector Deborah Campbell Susan Hughes Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector