Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School

Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School Bulford Road, Durrington, Wiltshire, SP4 8DL

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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.  Pupils make good progress in their learning and by the end of Year 6, pupils’ standards are above average in English and mathematics.  Teachers make good use of marking and pupils’ individual targets to help them know how they can improve their work.  Attendance is above average and pupils feel safe in school. Behaviour is good. Pupils have a good understanding of the dangers of using the internet.  Pupils benefit from many opportunities to use and apply their literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects, especially science.  The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, has a real determination to ensure that every pupil in the school makes at least good progress from their starting points.  Senior leaders have a very good understanding of the progress pupils make, especially by gender and ability.  Staff and governors work as an effective team and, together with strong support from the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

local authority, have made a significant impact on moving the school from satisfactory to good.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In a few lessons, teachers talk for too long at the start and go over things that pupils, especially the more able, already know, understand and can do.  In writing, pupils of below average ability in Years 3 and 4 do not make the same fast progress as other pupils because their use of letters and sounds (phonics) is not strong enough, especially in helping them to spell words. Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons taught by seven teachers of which four were with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors dropped in on all classes, visited the nurture group and observed the Year 6 reading buddies supporting pupils in Year 3.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the Chair of the Governing Body, the school council and six pupils from Year 6. In addition the lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the School Improvement Advisor.  Inspectors took account of the nine responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the 57 responses to the school’s most recent questionnaire to parents and carers.  They looked at documentation, including policies and procedures for safeguarding pupils, the school improvement plan, the school’s data showing the progress of pupils and notes of visit made by local authority staff.

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Inspection team

David Curtis, Lead inspector Additional inspector Graham Pirt Additional inspector Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average size junior school.  There are six classes made up of: Year 3; Years 3 and 4; Year 4; Years 4 and 5; and two classes of Years 5 and 6.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, looked after children and children from service families) is above average when the 23% from service families are included.  The proportion of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs at school action is above average as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  Two newly qualified teachers were appointed to the school from 1 September 2012.  There are no pupils who receive any form of alternative provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by:  e nsuring that teachers do not talk for too long at the start of lessons  ensuring pupils, especially the more able, move rapidly to learning activities at the start of lessons, particularly in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the rate of progress in pupils’ writing, especially in Years 3 and 4, by strengthening the teaching of letters and sounds, especially for pupils of below average ability. Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils start school with skills appropriate to their age. They make good progress so that by the time they leave Year 6, their standards are above average in English and mathematics. Inspection findings support the very positive views of parents and carers who completed the recent school questionnaire where 99% agreed that their children make good progress.  Progress in reading is good. By Year 6, pupils read with confidence across a range of subjects. For example, in Years 5 and 6, pupils showed good skills in reading and note taking to prepare their own multi-media presentations on Mount Snowdon. This is a good example of pupils linking their reading skills to geography.  Progress in writing is good. By the end of Year 6, pupils write successfully for a range of purposes, including reports of the archaeological dig they carried out in the vicar’s garden and some very imaginative poetry linked to work on ‘Rivers’.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Years 3 and 4, pupils of below average ability, including those with special educational needs, do not make progress as fast as other groups because they are still not fully sure of how to use letters and sounds to help them with spelling.  Progress in mathematics is good. Pupils’ key strengths are in multiplication, fractions, decimals and percentages and using and applying data handling successfully in science. For more-able pupils, progress in a few lessons is slower because they have to sit and listen unnecessarily to the teacher explaining and/or checking with the whole class things that they already know, understand and can do.  Pupils with special educational needs make good progress, with the exception of writing in Years 3 and 4. They receive good support from teachers and teaching assistants, especially in one-to- one and small-group sessions.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium make good progress and there are no significant gaps in

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The achievement of pupils is good

their achievement when compared to other groups. Again, they benefit from additional one-to- one support.

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The quality of teaching is good

 At the very start of lessons, teachers talk to pupils about their learning with a strong focus on ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘Why’. In addition, they check that pupils understand what they are expected to learn in the lesson.  Planning for the main part of lessons is good, with worked matched closely to the different ability groups in classes, especially the mixed-age classes. However, at the start of a few lessons, teachers talk for too long and go over things repeatedly, which while necessary for some pupils is not needed for all, especially the more able.  Teachers’ marking is good and pupils are expected to follow up comments and advice from their teachers. Pupils are encouraged to talk to their partners about how they can improve their own work, with a really good example of this seen in a very open and honest exchange of views about the quality of each other’s handwriting.  Teaching assistants support pupils’ learning well. They are skilled at asking questions and

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The quality of teaching is good

making sure that pupils understand what they are doing. The quality of one-to-one and small- group work is good and contributes successfully to the good progress made by pupils with special educational needs and those eligible for the pupil premium.  Pupils have a very good understanding of the National Curriculum levels at which they are working and what they need to do in order to reach the next level. They are keen to succeed, for example one boy told an inspector, ‘I am determined to get my Level 4A in writing.’  The teaching of reading is good. Guided reading sessions are effective in developing pupils’ key Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching is good

skills of reading for understanding and note taking. However, In Years 3 and 4, there is not enough time given to those pupils who need to use their letters and sounds more confidently.  There are strengths in the teaching of science, geography, history and music, with teachers giving pupils many opportunities to experiment and investigate in science, to go on an archaeological dig in history and compose their own music.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Over time and in lessons, pupils’ behaviour is good. It is not outstanding because a few younger boys still find it hard to work on their own in lessons without adult support. Pupils do work well when in pairs and/or in small groups where they listen to and value the opinions of others.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school and this is supported by their parents and carers through the school’s most recent questionnaire.  Pupils say that bullying is rare and are confident that any incidents are dealt with by teachers and the headteacher.  Pupils have a good awareness of the different forms of bullying, including physical, verbal and cyber. In the school’s ‘ICT Suite’, there are many examples of pupils making their own posters to show the dangers posed when using the Internet, including chat rooms and social media sites.  Attendance is above average and the school works hard to encourage all families to make sure

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

their children arrive on time at the start of the school day.  Pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and those who, at times, find the day- to-day life of school difficult, benefit from the support offered by a counsellor and/or time spent in the school’s nurture group.

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The leadership and management are good

 The significant improvement in leadership and management since the last inspection is that senior leaders have a much more detailed picture of the progress made by pupils, especially by gender, ability and entitlement to the pupil premium. Regular checks each half term mean that staff can quickly identify individuals or groups at risk of falling behind in their learning and so put in extra help as needed.  All teachers, as part of the management of their performance, have targets that are linked to all pupils in their classes making at least expected progress. These targets are checked on every half term so senior leaders know where potential issues with teaching may need to be addressed.  The headteacher, deputy headteacher and all staff have a very clear expectation that this is a school where all pupils will make good progress within each year group and over the four years they are in school. Aspirations are high. Senior leaders have been most successful in improving

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The leadership and management are good

pupils’ achievement, the quality of teaching, and leadership and management since the last inspection.  Although partnerships with the feeder infant school and the secondary school to which pupils transfer at 11 are strong, senior leaders do not check up closely enough on where pupils joining Year 3 are in their progress in letters and sounds.  Discrimination in the school is not tolerated in any form. Careful checking of the progress of all groups of pupils and a clear focus on closing any gaps in performance show that the school promotes equal opportunity well.  The School Improvement Advisor provides a high level of challenge to senior leaders. Senior leaders value the support from being part of the local authority’s ‘Improving Schools Project’ Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

which started in September 2012.  Pupil premium is used well to provide one-to-one support for pupils and access to a counsellor and the nurture group so that any gaps in the performance, confidence and self-esteem of these pupils compared with other groups are small.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. The school enhances pupils’ learning through music, art and sport. Pupils benefit from many good opportunities to use and apply their key literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is effective in ensuring that the school meets all of its duties in relation to safeguarding pupils and child protection. Members have a good understanding of teaching through visits and reports from the headteacher and maintain their knowledge through regular training. They also have a firm understanding of how well the school does compared with

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The leadership and management are good

others nationally. Governors ask senior leaders searching questions in relation to pupils’ progress, including those benefiting from pupil premium. They have a good understanding of the link between the management of teachers’ performance in the classroom and salary scales. The governing body has supported senior leaders particularly well in driving the significant improvement made since the last inspection. Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 7 of 9

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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. Inspection report: Durrington Church of England Controlled Junior School, 11–12 December 2012 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 126324 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 406360

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 167 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Cranston Headteacher Jenny Whymark Date of previous school inspection 14–15 September 2010 Telephone number 01980 652337 Fax number 01980 654587 Email address admin@durrington-jun.wilts.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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