Setting

Mrs Lynn Clement The Headteacher Park View Junior School Pinkerton Road Basingstoke Hampshire RG22 6RT

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Junior School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 29 September 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please pass on my thanks to the two governors who came in to meet with me, your staff, the pupils, the head boy and head girl and their deputies and the school’s improvement partner.

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Junior School

Three newly qualified teachers joined the school in September 2011, teaching in Years 3, 5 and 6. Several teachers have left the school since the last inspection and the school has also employed a new instructor to work in the hearing impaired resource base.

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Junior School

As a result of the inspection on 4 and 5 May 2010, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter.

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Junior School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made inadequate progress in making improvements and satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Junior School

The previous report described attainment as steadily improving because most pupils make satisfactory progress. The slight upward trend in results at Key Stage 2 between 2007 and 2010 reversed in 2011 and the school’s results for Year 6 pupils fell dramatically to significantly below national attainment levels. Data for pupils’ achievement at Key Stage 2 show that the proportion of pupils attaining Level 4 and Level 5 in English fell by 19% and 11% respectively. Attainment in writing was particularly low, Level 4 falling by 15% from 78% in 2010. The percentage of pupils Tribal 1-4 Portland Square BRISTOL BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0845 123 6001 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Direct email : rebecca.jackson@tribalgroup.com Page 2 attaining Level 4 in mathematics was similar to the previous year at 70%, with a slight rise of 3% attaining Level 5 in mathematics. There remain gaps in the

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Junior School

performance of girls and boys in mathematics and in the performance of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities compared to their peers nationally. The percentage of pupils making expected gains of two levels of progress in English and mathematics also fell in 2011 to significantly below that found nationally. Recently, the stubborn pattern of underachievement in mathematics shows early signs of improvement. The school’s own progress data for pupils lower down the school indicate that progress is accelerating in mathematics.

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Junior School

Leaders were rightly disappointed with results for Year 6 pupils in 2011 and, working with the governing body, have begun to review why attainment fell last year. Leaders accept that improving the quality of writing in all year groups is an urgent priority. Progress in English is hampered by insufficient opportunity to engage pupils in writing because teachers talk for too long. Pupils are not moved on quickly enough to work independently of the teacher.

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Junior School

Behaviour is good in most lessons and pupils want to learn. Most pupils are attentive and work well in small groups, and are quickly able to share ideas. In some good lessons, the pace of learning is challenging and pupils move from teacher-led work to independent work, making at least satisfactory progress. In these lessons learning is appropriately matched to pupils’ levels of ability and the increased use of ‘I can’ statements is starting to help pupils understand what they need to achieve by the end of the lesson. A common strength seen in good lessons during inspection is teachers’ ability to use questioning to develop pupils’ verbal reasoning skills. In a Year 6 class exploring values and morals, pupils were confidently describing their ideas, explaining why they made certain choices and challenging different perspectives. Progress in discussion work was good in this lesson and equally so in a

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Junior School

mathematics lesson to solve fractions through role play. However, the consolidation of this learning in written work is lost because too much time is spent talking rather than recording. There are missed opportunities for extending pupils’ progress through high-quality written work.

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Junior School

In satisfactory lessons, planning is not always carefully structured to meet the needs of every pupil. More-able pupils often wait for others to complete their work and do not receive extension tasks to help them make more rapid progress. Inconsistency in the quality of teaching means that pupils do not receive sufficiently good or outstanding teaching to raise their achievement in lessons nor over time.

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Junior School

The quality and consistency of marking throughout the school is improving. Commentary in pupils’ books increasingly describes next steps to help pupils know what to improve and how. Pupils know their targets and say written feedback is helping them understand what to improve. However, the useful guidance in marking is not referred to in lessons. There is little checking to see if pupils have understood or completed the next step guidance in their books. Planning does not make Page 3 sufficient connection between pupils’ targets, level of ability or feedback and, for this reason, progress often stalls.

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Junior School

The school has made satisfactory progress in demonstrating capacity for improvement and the development of more frequent peer observation this year is beginning to generate discussion about what constitutes outstanding learning in lessons. The steady rise in achievement at Level 4 between 2007 and 2010, the rise in attendance to above that found nationally and improvements in behaviour are testimony to the work of middle and senior leaders. Leaders of English and mathematics are increasingly setting realistic and measurable targets in detailed action plans. Objectives and success criteria are appropriately focused on accelerating the progress of all pupils and more systematic use of data is more accurate in identifying underachievement. Leaders have made judicious decisions such as splitting Year 6 pupils into three different ability levels for literacy and numeracy to accelerate progress. Pupils have a good understanding of their targets

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Junior School

Members of the governing body offer good guidance and support to leaders, particularly in dealing with welfare issues affecting vulnerable pupils. The governing body has recently become more forthright in asking challenging questions about achievement across the school. Over the last few years the school has worked with several school improvement partners from the local authority. In the last 18 months support from the local authority has been increasingly valuable in helping all staff explore a range of ideas for teaching literacy and numeracy. Input from expert advisers and detailed reports from the school’s improvement partner signpost key strengths and areas requiring improvement. Leaders have used this guidance effectively to revise action plans and set realistic priorities for whole-school improvement.

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Junior School

I hope that you have found the inspection helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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place in May 2010

 Raise attainment in all year groups through a continued focus on pupils’ knowledge and skills in English and mathematics by: - improving the challenge and match of tasks for pupils of different levels of ability - improving consistency of academic guidance for pupils, particularly in terms of marking which better indicate the next steps in their learning, and more rigorous use of learning targets to raise their standards.

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