Orchard Lea Junior School

Orchard Lea Junior School Kennedy Avenue, Fareham , Hampshire, PO15 6BJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Over the past four terms the attainment and progress of pupils throughout the school have improved rapidly. Most pupils make good progress as a result of good teaching and their positive attitudes to learning.  Teaching is good. Steps taken to raise the quality of teaching and learning have proved successful. Strengths are in developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills and their ability to discuss their work with each other.  There is a strongly shared commitment by both the staff and by governance of the school to the raising of standards and school improvement.  The school is led very successfully by the new headteacher, who, together with other leaders and an effective governing body, has put in place further improvements to the quality of teaching and learning.  Pupils feel safe and behave well in lessons and around the school. They concentrate well when working independently and have good social skills

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

when working with others.  Bullying happens rarely and pupils say it is always dealt with promptly.  Pupils are well cared for, enjoy school and feel safe. Their above-average attendance is testament to their enthusiasm for school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent across the school. There are too few opportunities to practise literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects.  Good practice by some teachers is not shared systematically across the school.  Teachers do not always give the most able pupils harder tasks quickly enough. This means that the pace of learning slows for these pupils when they sometimes repeat work they have already done.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons or parts of lessons taught by eight teachers. Two of these lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, they made some short visits to small groups being taught by teaching assistants, heard pupils read and looked at their work.  Meetings were held with pupils, governors, two local authority advisers and the school’s staff, including senior and middle leaders.  The views of 18 parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View), as well as two letters from parents and discussions with parents at the start of the school day, were taken into account. The inspectors also received and considered 23 staff questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including: the school’s self-evaluation and planning for improvement; the data the school keeps on pupils’ current progress and achievement; records relating to behaviour and attendance; and the

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Information about this inspection

school’s safeguarding information.  The inspection team observed morning playtime and lunchtime, and attended two assemblies.

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Inspection team

Sarah Somers, Lead inspector Additional inspector Alex Baxter Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Orchard Lea Junior School is an average-sized school of its type. The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals) is lower than the national average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is broadly average, and the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  All classes through the school are single-age classes.  The school meets the current floor standards, which set the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  There have been several recent staff changes over the past year, including the appointment of a new headteacher at the beginning of the term.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching from good to outstanding to raise achievement in English and mathematics further by:  making sure that marking consistently makes clear to pupils what is good about their work, how they could do even better and what their next steps of learning should be  ensuring that all teachers systematically develop pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills across all the subjects they teach  ensuring more-able pupils move on to more challenging work sooner in lessons.  Ensure the leadership team spread existing strong practice in teaching and learning across the school, especially to extend the skills of more-able pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s assessments of pupils’ skills on entry show some variation from year to year, and generally reflect broadly average levels of attainment, more often higher in speaking and listening and reading than in writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 has shown a steady improvement in recent years to broadly match the national picture. Evidence of pupils’ attainment in the current Year 6 shows they are on track to attain levels that are above those expected for their age. This picture is reflected in other year groups across the school. There are particular strengths in speaking and listening and independence and collaborative learning. Pupils currently in Year 6 show above- average reading skills. Pupils in other classes now benefit from specific guided reading sessions and from effective teaching of phonics (letters and sounds), and they also show good reading skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress through the school has been significantly improved over the past 16 months and it is now good. The school’s assessments of pupils’ progress in all year groups show that the proportion of pupils making expected and better-than-expected progress has increased rapidly and continues to improve. Most pupils currently in Year 6 are now making accelerated progress, with an increasing number demonstrating above-average levels of attainment. At times, though, the progress of some more-able pupils slips when they repeat work unnecessarily.  Learning observed in lessons and seen in pupils’ books also demonstrates that progress is now increasing much more rapidly than indicated by past National Curriculum assessments.  Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those in receipt of pupil premium support also make good progress because of effective additional support.  Pupils understand what they are meant to be learning in lessons because teachers give good

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The achievement of pupils is good

oral instructions and guidance. However, when recording their work in books, pupils are not always as sure about what they need to do to improve. This is because teachers’ marking does not always identify the next steps of learning clearly enough.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved considerably since the last inspection and contributes greatly to pupils’ accelerated learning, progress and achievement.  Teachers give pupils many opportunities to talk with, and learn from, each other and strongly promote their speaking and listening skills and also their social skills. In lessons where this takes place, all groups of pupils work successfully together in very well-managed pupil discussions. Consequently, they make good and accelerated progress in their learning. For example, in a Year 6 lesson in mathematics, the teacher’s effective use of peer discussion and questioning during an algebra lesson enabled pupils to challenge their own and others’ thinking, improving their progress.  The school is adapting its curriculum effectively to focus on basic skills in order to accelerate progress for all pupils. This strategy is proving successful in the improved progress that

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils are now making in English and mathematics.  Strengthened assessment and measurement of pupils’ progress are effective in meeting the differing needs and abilities of pupils. Work is usually set at the right level for individual pupils and lessons run at a good pace and maintain pupils’ interest in their learning. On occasions, teachers do not always ensure more-able pupils move onto more demanding tasks quickly enough, and this slows their learning.  Teachers know what they are trying to achieve with pupils. Pupil progress meetings enable teachers to discuss together what each pupil needs to do to achieve even more, and how staff can bring this about through their teaching or through additional programmes of support.  Teachers are quick to verbally praise the pupils’ work and ideas and suggest improvements, but pupils are not consistently made aware of the specific next steps to take in their learning

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The quality of teaching is good

through teachers’ marking of their work. There is sometimes a lack of opportunities for pupils to routinely respond to comments that have been made and, therefore, learning is slowed.  The funding (pupil premium) to help particular pupils is used to give these pupils the opportunity to learn in small groups with practical experiences, and supports their learning well. Pupils and parents also have the support from the parent support adviser.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are doing well in their learning. Personalised support ensures that each individual’s needs are met. Teachers and teaching assistants work hard to involve pupils in learning in their lessons.  Teachers plan interesting topics such as lessons about St Lucia and work around a recent trip to Wickham Centre. Information and communication and technology is used well to sustain pupils’ interest such as three-dimensional animations linked to the story of Charlie and the

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The quality of teaching is good

Chocolate Factory. As a result pupils learn enthusiastically in lessons.  Pupils particularly enjoy the arts, music and sport. This promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. At times, teachers miss opportunities to enable pupils to practise reading and writing in other subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

 Pupils greatly enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in their above-average attendance and the way they joyfully and wholeheartedly sing in assembly; for example, their happy rendition of ‘Everyone getting along makes a brighter day’.  Pupils behave well in all areas of the school. They walk calmly and sensibly in corridors and keep cloakrooms tidy. They are polite when talking to each other and are very welcoming and courteous to visitors. Discussions with pupils and staff, and parents’ responses to Parent View, confirm that behaviour is good.  Pupils share very good relationships with each other, reflecting the excellent role models of staff throughout the school.  Pupils work well together. They listen to and value each others’ views and know how to take turns. They are treated with respect by all adults, and the pupils do the same in return. The resulting positive attitudes to learning, especially when pupils share ideas as talk partners,

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

significantly strengthen their learning.  Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying and say that it is rare in school. When it does happen, pupils are confident that the school will deal with it effectively. One pupil commented, ‘The teachers are always here for us and so are our friends too.’  Parents of pupils arriving from other schools comment on the confidence, progress and support since their arrival. There are ‘buddies’ at playtimes who listen to pupils who may be upset and offer kind support to pupils who are new to the school.  Pupils willingly take on responsibilities such as being elected members of the school council, librarians and monitors organising the equipment for assembly. Pupils are proud of their school.  The school’s emphasis on the ‘4Cs’ – care, communication, cooperation and courtesy – and ‘PAVES’ (the personal, social and health education programme) helps everyone to feel secure

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

and makes a positive contribution to pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. These value themes contribute well to the calm ethos in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The recently appointed headteacher is well regarded by staff, parents, pupils and governors, who feel involved in what the school is trying to achieve. Strengths and areas for development have been accurately identified. The headteacher has quickly targeted additional priorities for further improvement, including the more specific teaching of skills, to build even more quickly on the improvements already made in previous terms. He has shared this vision and high expectations with staff.  The headteacher has skilfully developed a team of leaders to take on additional responsibilities such as the shadow numeracy manager and cohort managers. This has broadened the experience and knowledge of these teachers and strengthened the capacity of the school to improve further. However, some members of staff are new to their leadership responsibilities and are still developing their role in checking teaching and progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has quickly created a high level of team spirit and accountability among staff. Staff are fully involved in driving improvement, and while proud of achievements made so far, understand what needs to be done to further improve teaching and learning as quickly as possible.  The headteacher and senior colleagues check the quality of teaching effectively and make good use of staff appraisal and performance management targets to bring about improvement. With the full support of governors, the headteacher secures a good link between teachers’ pay and the quality of learning.  With very good support from the local authority, leaders have overseen a rapid improvement in the quality of teaching through effective checks and training of staff. As a result, teaching and achievement have both improved considerably since the last inspection and the improvement has accelerated. However, there are missed opportunities by school leaders to

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The leadership and management are good

share some of the better practice more widely.  A good curriculum and a range of stimulating experiences such as the trip to Wickham Centre and the Victorian Day enhance pupils’ enjoyment of learning. The strong emphasis on the expressive arts, sport and music contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There is much improved teaching of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills in English and mathematics, but these skills are not always emphasised sufficiently in other subjects.  The school spends its pupil premium funding well, for example, through the use of a parent support adviser and teaching assistant time, both of which help pupils who are at risk of falling behind.  Secure safeguarding systems, including diligent checks of all adults working in the school, keep pupils safe. Leadership is rigorous in ensuring all pupils have equality of opportunity and access to the full range of activities throughout all aspects of school life. Discrimination

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The leadership and management are good

of any kind is not tolerated in school.  The governance of the school:  Governors have undertaken a significant amount of training over recent years which, together with more frequent visits to the school to check the quality of provision, has improved their knowledge of teaching and learning and their understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, they set suitably challenging performance targets for the headteacher’s first year in post, and effectively support his vision and identified priorities. Governors also demonstrate a good commitment to school improvement through its effective involvement in the recruitment of staff, including the recent appointment of the headteacher. Governors make links between teachers’ pay, the quality of teaching and learning and pupils’ achievement. Governors question senior staff carefully, diligently hold the school to account and, in collaboration with senior leaders, make effective

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The leadership and management are good

arrangements to ensure pupils’ good achievement and safety. Governors manage finances efficiently and, for example, ensure that additional funds are used well to support disabled pupils and those with special educational needs; they are beginning to become more aware of how pupil premium is used to improve progress of targeted pupils.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 116225 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 405630

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 221 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Christine Adams Headteacher Steve Summerton Date of previous school inspection 3–4 November 2010 Telephone number 01329 234471 Fax number 01329 282019 Email address steve.summerton@orchardlea-jun.hants.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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