Horsell CofE Aided Junior School

Inspection date(s) 20–21 June 2012 Inspection number 388275 Horsell Junior School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 125201 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 388275 Inspection dates 20–21 June 2012 Lead inspector Anne Wellham HMI

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (HMCI) the authority to cause any school to be inspected. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Type of school Junior School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 361 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lesley Templeman Headteacher Jessica Steele Date of previous school inspection 6–7 October 2010 School address Meadway Drive Horsell Woking GU21 4TA Telephone number 01483 761531 Fax number 01483 776210 Email address admin@horsell-junior.surrey.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with one day’s notice. Inspectors observed 15 lessons taught by 12 teachers, and visited two other lessons accompanied by the leaders of English and the headteacher. Inspectors also observed an assembly and a swimming lesson. Meetings were held with three groups of pupils, five members of the governing body and school staff, including senior and middle leaders. A conversation with a representative of the local authority was conducted by telephone and a meeting took place with a representative from the ethnic minority support services. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. As this is a section 8 deemed section 5 inspection, no questionnaires were distributed.

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Information about the school

The school is a larger-than-average sized junior school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below the national average. Most pupils are from White British or other White backgrounds. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and who speak English as an additional language is slightly higher than that found nationally. The largest minority ethnic groups include pupils of Indian and Pakistani heritage. The proportions of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are in line with average; a below average proportion are supported at school action plus and have a statement of special educational needs. The school meets current floor standards (national minimum expectations for attainment and progress).

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Information about the school

In October 2010 the school was subject special measures. Since the last inspection, the senior leadership team has been extended to include the heads of year and two new members of staff, the English and mathematics coordinators. The deputy headteacher’s role has been extended to include responsibility for inclusion across the school. A new role of curriculum leader has been created and two new members have been appointed to the governing body. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 Horsell is a satisfactory school. Overall effectiveness is not yet good because the quality of teaching and learning and leadership and management is not consistently good. Senior and middle leaders have a clear understanding of what has been achieved and what remains to be done and the school has a satisfactory capacity to continue improving. In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 Achievement is satisfactory. Attainment in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6 is rising and pupils make better than expected progress in other year groups to compensate for previous underachievement. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make progress in line with national averages and the gap is closing for pupils who speak English as an additional language.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory. It is not consistently good because not all teachers assess pupils’ learning at key points throughout the lesson and amend their teaching as a result. The information that teachers receive about pupils’ additional learning needs to inform their planning is not clear and precise enough. Consequently, progress slows in lessons where the activities and resources are not matched appropriately to the learning needs of all pupils.

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Key findings

 Behaviour is satisfactory overall. Pupils’ attendance is above average. Behaviour is not good because not all pupils are fully engaged in their learning. They complete tasks willingly in lessons and learning is rarely disrupted but they are often content to sit passively especially where teaching is satisfactory. In these lessons, they are not always challenged sufficiently to produce their best work.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management, including the management of teaching and staff Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

performance, is satisfactory. The leadership and management of inclusion is not keeping pace with the improvements in other areas. Development planning for inclusion lacks precise actions, timescales and measureable targets for improvement. Teachers and other adults require support to develop their skills and understanding of the range of strategies available to allow all pupils to access learning, especially those who are learning English as an additional language.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the consistency of the quality of teaching and learning by:  providing teachers and other adults with clear, precise and accessible information about pupils’ individual needs in order to match the activities and resources explicitly to the learning of all pupils  planning explicit opportunities to assess pupils’ understanding during lessons so that teaching is amended in response to the learning that is taking place.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership and management of inclusion across the school by:  developing the knowledge, skills and understanding of teachers and other adults so that the most appropriate strategies can be used to support pupils with additional learning needs, especially those pupils learning English as an additional language  making sure that improvement planning for inclusion includes precise actions, timescales and measureable targets so that the impact of actions can be evaluated.

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Achievement of pupils

During the inspection, inspectors observed pupils engaging well in their learning and making good or better progress where the quality of teaching and learning was consistently good or outstanding. When teaching is consistently good, it helps to accelerate the progress of pupils who have fallen behind in previous years. Pupils show good attitudes to learning in lessons which capture their interest, provide opportunities for them to be actively involved and match the work carefully to their prior learning and abilities. By the end of Year 6, standards are high. Their attainment, when they join the school, is high so they make satisfactory progress from their starting points. Progress in English, particularly in reading, is stronger than in mathematics although a higher percentage of pupils currently achieve the higher levels of attainment in both subjects because the curriculum has been adapted to Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Achievement of pupils

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

provide greater challenge for the most able and extend their problem-solving skills. Daily guided reading and ‘maths blast’ sessions help to consolidate and reinforce learning in literacy and numeracy and are popular with the pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Accurate and sharply focused assessment information is used to track pupils’ progress. Disabled students and those with special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils with some individuals making good progress, as a result of targeted support and intervention both in lessons and in sessions outside the classroom. The progress of pupils for whom English is an additional language varies when they are taught as part of the whole class without individual support because not all teachers have a precise enough understanding of how to plan learning that matches their specific needs.

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Quality of teaching

The best learning takes place when pupils are challenged to think for themselves, pose questions and work together collaboratively. In these lessons, activities develop pupils’ oral, literacy and numeracy skills, whatever the subject content. For example, in a Year 5 lesson, pupils were encouraged to talk and write about their learning in mathematics. In an outstanding English lesson in Year 6, pupils engaged enthusiastically in creating a rap that reflected Olympic values. A pupil reported that she was learning very quickly in this lesson because she was able to use and develop her own ideas. Pupils make rapid progress when activities are amended as a result of frequent checking of pupils’ understanding and learning, as it was in this lesson when time was taken to explore the spelling of the word ‘rhythm’ as a class when it presented a challenge to pupils. The most effective teaching uses skilful questioning

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Quality of teaching

to encourage pupils to justify and extend their responses and to take account of other viewpoints. The most effective planning provides opportunities for disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those at varying stages of learning English to access all the tasks and learn independently. Marking is most effective when it provides helpful feedback, identifies the next steps for improvement and builds in time for pupils to respond so that a dialogue about learning develops.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching is satisfactory, learning activities and resources are not matched well enough to the different needs and abilities of pupils so they repeat learning that has already taken place or move on before they have time to consolidate their understanding. The pace of learning slows when the purpose of tasks is not clearly explained and individual pupils interpret them incorrectly or they have to wait for additional instructions from the teacher. Teachers provide time for pupils to talk to each other in lessons, although occasionally too much time is spent discussing, which interrupts the flow of the lesson.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils report that they feel safe and that the different groups in the school get on Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

well together. Bullying is rare and dealt with very effectively if it does occur. The different forms that bullying can take, including racist and homophobic bullying, are understood by pupils. They express concern for those who are less fortunate than themselves and participate enthusiastically in raising money for a range of charitable causes. The school provides a wide range of extra-curricular activities and competitions that are very popular and contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils particularly enjoy swimming lessons in the school’s pool. Behaviour around the school is well ordered, polite and friendly. However, pupils’ compliant and often passive behaviour in lessons does not contribute strongly to their learning. Good and outstanding teaching encourages enthusiastic attitudes to learning and inspires pupils to work hard but pupils’ experience of learning is not consistent across the school so there are occasions

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

when individuals are bored or disheartened by having to do work that is not challenging. Teaching assistants provide high quality support so that pupils with identified behavioural difficulties or special educational needs can access the learning. When these pupils are taught as part of the class, their needs are not met so effectively.

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Leadership and management

The school’s improvement is largely due to the unwavering leadership of the headteacher and the resilience and determination of the staff. The school meets all the statutory requirements for safeguarding and the systems in place are coherent and effective. There is a strong commitment to promoting equality and tackling discrimination. As a result, the school is a harmonious environment where pupils from different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds get on well together and respect each other. Well-planned actions arising from honest and rigorous self- evaluation provide a relentless focus on accelerating progress and closing gaps in the achievement of different groups of pupils. Accurate systems to track progress are used well to identify underachievement and thorough monitoring of performance and targeted professional development improve the quality of teaching and learning. Capacity for improvement has been strengthened by the restructuring of the senior

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Leadership and management

leadership team and the appointment of some able middle leaders with a broad range of skills and expertise.

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Leadership and management

The school recognises that improvements need to be made to the leadership and management of inclusion across the school. Although the progress of different individuals and groups of pupils is tracked and large amounts of information are collected on additional learning needs, it is not shared in an accessible format that can be used explicitly to plan lessons. Pupil progress meetings help to increase the accountability of coordinators and heads of year for the progress of individuals and groups of pupils but the outcomes of discussions about inclusion are not recorded systematically or disseminated effectively across the school. Teachers are not acquiring the knowledge and skills needed quickly enough to accelerate the learning of pupils who are learning English as an additional language, especially those at the higher levels of language acquisition. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Leadership and management

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

The effectiveness of the governing body in holding the school to account has improved significantly during the last two years because it is no longer ready to accept reasons for past underachievement and is better informed to challenge the quality of the school’s self-evaluation.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Horsell Junior School, Woking GU21 4TA

Thank you for the very friendly and polite welcome you gave us when we inspected your school. We enjoyed talking to you and your teachers, visiting some of your lessons and looking around the school. Your school is satisfactory and because it has improved so much in the past two years we have judged that it no longer needs special measures.

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Inspection of Horsell Junior School, Woking GU21 4TA

You told us that you feel very safe in school and that you mostly enjoy learning. You get on well together in the playground and are proud that you are able to raise money to help those less fortunate than yourselves. You are very lucky to have a lovely outside space to play in and to have a swimming pool. You told us that lessons are mostly fun but we noticed that in a few lessons you looked bored and did not try to do your best work. We think that some of you could learn more quickly so we have asked the school to make sure that teachers have all the information they need to plan lessons so that everyone understands what to do whatever their needs or abilities. We have also asked the teachers to check your learning lots of times during the lesson in case there are some pupils who are not learning enough. You can help by working hard and by telling your teachers and teaching assistants what helps you

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Inspection of Horsell Junior School, Woking GU21 4TA

The headteacher leads your school well and the school has improved a great deal since I have been visiting you. We want to make sure that everyone is included in the learning but this is the area where improvement has not been quick enough. We have asked the leaders and managers to make sure that everyone understands what they have to do to make this better.

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Inspection of Horsell Junior School, Woking GU21 4TA

We wish you all at Horsell a very happy and successful future.

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Inspection of Horsell Junior School, Woking GU21 4TA

Anne Wellham Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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