Broughton Junior School

Broughton Junior School Broughton Avenue, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP21NQ

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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.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher are ambitious for the school and pupils. As a result of a programme of regular checks they have improved teaching and achievement since the previous inspection.  They are supported well by an effective team of staff who manage subjects or aspects of the school and are keen to continue to build on their successes.  Teaching and learning are good and at times outstanding. Teachers are particularly skilled at helping pupils to improve their work through marking or telling them in lessons what to do.  Teachers make lessons interesting and engaging and as a result pupils have good attitudes to learning.  Standards are rising. More pupils are reaching the higher levels in reading and mathematics.  Progress is good throughout the school. It is improving in writing and is now good.  Pupils who need extra help make good and sometimes better progress because the work

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

they are given is well matched to their needs and their progress is regularly checked.  Governors are setting a clear direction for the school and challenge leaders about how well it is doing. They have a good understanding of the school’s finances and the quality of teaching.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and at times exemplary. Parents and carers overwhelmingly agree that their children feel very safe at school. Attendance is above average.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Pupils do not reach the same levels in writing as they do in reading and mathematics. Sometimes, in lessons other than English, pupils are limited in their opportunities to practise their writing skills.  In some lessons pupils who show they can do the work are not always moved on quickly to harder things. This can slow their progress.  Not enough teaching is outstanding. Teachers are not always clear enough about what they must do as individuals to improve their teaching skills.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons or part lessons, taught by seven teachers, and were accompanied by the headteacher and deputy headteacher for the vast majority of these.  They held meetings with pupils, staff, school leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body and vice chair, and a representative of the local authority.  In considering reading within the school, groups of pupils reading with adults were observed. In addition, inspectors listened to pupils read individually.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at documentation such as policies, including those relating to safeguarding, data on pupils’ progress, attendance figures, the school’s development planning and records of checks carried out by leaders on the quality of teaching. They scrutinised work in pupils’ books and reading journals and looked at the school’s website.  The inspectors took account of the 25 responses to the online Parent View survey as well as

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Information about this inspection

talking to parents and carers informally during the inspection and reviewing the school’s own parental surveys. They also considered the views of staff.

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Inspection team

Jacqueline Marshall, Lead inspector Additional inspector George Long Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average junior school.  A large majority of pupils come from a White British background. Others are from a range of minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average. Of these there are none at the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of pupils receiving the pupil premium is average. The pupil premium is extra money given to schools by the government to support, among others, pupils known to be eligible to receive free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those who receive support at school action is broadly average, as is the proportion being supported by school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs.  The school exceeds the government’s current floor target, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this school

 None of the school’s pupils are receiving alternative provision (none are taught elsewhere).

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate progress and raise standards, especially in writing, by ensuring that:  pupils are quickly moved on to more challenging work once they have demonstrated their understanding of what is being taught  pupils are provided with good quality opportunities to use and practise their writing skills in a range of subjects  an increasing proportion of teaching is outstanding and teachers are clear about how they need to improve and what additional training may help them to achieve this.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Since achievement was reported in the last inspection attainment has risen, improving rapidly in mathematics. While standards remain broadly average, the proportion of pupils now reaching the expected levels by the end of Year 6 in English and mathematics has grown and is higher than the national average. This includes those pupils receiving the additional pupil premium funding whose scores have overtaken their peers nationally, successfully closing the gap in their attainment.  Attainment is strongest in reading and mathematics where an increasing number of pupils reach the higher Level 5, with a few achieving Level 6 in mathematics. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels in writing was lower, especially among girls. Work in pupils’ books, in lessons and in progress information shows that girls and boys are now making similar progress. This is as a result of rigorous checks of pupils’ progress and teachers ensuring that all

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils are engaged and know how to improve their work.  Pupils from all backgrounds, including those with English as an additional language, make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics, though progress over time in writing remains the slowest. The school’s leaders have been successful in tackling inconsistencies in the quality of teaching so that pupils from all year groups and classes, not just in upper Key Stage 2, now achieve well.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar and sometimes better progress in comparison to their peers. Along with those supported by the pupil premium funding, these pupils achieve well because the work that is planned for them, whether in small groups, individually or in lessons, is closely tailored to their needs.  Pupils of all ages are clear about what they are learning, confident to take part in lessons and share their ideas willingly with one another. They really enjoy lessons, especially those that

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The achievement of pupils is good

involve them. For example, they devised their own success criteria in Year 3 and used their own arguments to persuade others to agree with their point of view in a history lesson in Year 5. They demonstrate a high level of enthusiasm and concentration even when at times the level of challenge in the work could be greater.  They talk eagerly about their learning and discuss whether they have met the success criteria or ‘footsteps for learning’. They are fully involved in what they need to do to improve and pay careful attention to comments teachers make when marking work during lessons and in their books.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The overwhelming majority of pupils, parents and carers think that pupils are taught well. Inspection evidence supports this. Relationships between adults and pupils are good and teachers plan interesting and engaging activities. Between them these help to foster pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and their eagerness to work.  Since the previous inspection, leaders have used the checks they make on teachers’ performance effectively to improve teachers’ skills so that teaching is consistently good, and at times outstanding, across the school.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and they use this well to question pupils and deepen their understanding. The quality of discussion between teacher and pupils is good and this provides pupils with the opportunity to share their ideas and to learn from one another.  Teachers make good use of assessment information to plan lessons that enable pupils to build

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The quality of teaching is good

on what they already know and can do, and this helps them to make good progress. In the best lessons teachers use assessment very effectively to add additional challenge where needed as pupils demonstrate their understanding. However this is not always the case and sometimes opportunities to accelerate pupils’ progress by adapting an activity during the lesson are missed.  Effective marking both during the lesson and in their books ensures pupils receive good advice on how to improve. They are skilled at checking their own and others’ work. In Year 6, pupils used the success criteria they had agreed at the start of the lesson to check their partner’s work. They carefully considered which parts they had been successful in including and how this made their work better while suggesting areas that could be improved.  Pupils from all ability groups enjoy reading. They are successfully encouraged to draw from a

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The quality of teaching is good

range of strategies to help if they are stuck. They do this very confidently because teachers and other staff regularly remind pupils how to use these skills as they read in other subjects.  Teachers plan links between subjects to make learning meaningful and interesting. In an English lesson, Year 4 pupils used passages describing life in a Victorian workhouse to help write diary entries for the characters. Consequently pupils were highly engaged and made good progress in their writing. In other lessons the opportunities to practise and use these skills in subjects such as history, science or geography are not always of such a high standard. This hinders their progress in writing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attitudes to learning are positive and pupils show their enthusiasm for learning in subjects across the curriculum. They are keen to be involved in projects to improve the school but as yet do not take the lead in identifying them themselves.  The school’s positive promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a key factor in pupils’ good, and at times exemplary, behaviour. Pupils’ moral awareness and social skills are developed particularly well so that pupils work cooperatively, get on together well and show considerable support for one another regardless of age, gender or ethnicity.  Pupils have a good understanding of risk and how to keep safe. The school works hard to ensure they develop a thorough understanding of their own personal safety and how to use the internet safely. The vast majority of parents and carers agree the school kept the pupils safe.  Incidences of bullying, such as name-calling and cyber bullying, are rare. Indeed, pupils told

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

inspectors they just did not happen. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers who responded commented positively about how any problems they and their children may have are dealt with. Pupils agree, and know who they could turn to for help if they need to. They feel that the system of rewards and consequences works very effectively to ensure behaviour is typically good.  Attendance is above average. As a result of the school’s efforts to promote the importance of regular attendance to support pupils’ learning, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has fallen. The school is working closely with the outside agencies and the families of the very few pupils whose attendance is a concern.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have developed a strong team of senior and middle leaders who share their vision for the school. They have the confidence of staff, who are proud of the school and determined to provide the best learning experiences and outcomes for pupils.  Leaders, including governors, have worked closely with the local authority during this period; its representatives have provided good quality support to improve the school’s effectiveness since the previous inspection. Leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to be improved. Their plans for development are focused on continuing to raise standards further.  All leaders have concentrated on improving the quality of teaching. Staff speak positively about the targets that have been set for their performance and how these have helped to raise pupils’ achievement. They explain that their current focus is to raise attainment in writing and how they

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The leadership and management are good

use pupils’ progress information to check this. This process has a proven track record as teaching, judged satisfactory at the last inspection, is now securely good. However, staff are less clear about what they need to improve their own teaching skills further in order, for example, to move from good to outstanding and what training they could call upon to help achieve this.  Accelerated progress in mathematics and for younger pupils has been secured through the school’s focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning in these areas. Although writing results rose in 2012, not all pupils make the same progress in writing as they do in other subjects. Writing is already identified as an area for development and a number of initiatives are in place to tackle this.  Meetings that focus on pupils’ progress are increasingly used to make sure all pupils are doing equally well. They enable additional support, such as one-to-one targeted teaching, to be

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The leadership and management are good

effectively tailored to the needs of individuals and groups. This has been successful in ensuring that pupils who are identified for help, including those receiving the pupil premium, make at least the same progress than other pupils. It ensures there is equality of opportunity for all groups of pupils and there is no discrimination.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. They are well known and implemented by all staff to ensure that pupils are safe in school.  The governance of the school:  Governors are fully involved in checking the progress the school makes towards achieving its key development priorities. They have a clear understanding of the strengths and weakness in teaching and how management of teachers’ performance is being used to develop teaching further, is closely linked to pupils’ progress and is reflected in the salary structure. Governors have a good working knowledge of the data that show how well the school is doing compared

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The leadership and management are good

to similar schools. They challenge as well as support school leaders and hold them to account for pupils’ achievement. They regularly seek additional support or training to maintain their effectiveness. Governors are clear about the use of the pupil premium. They can explain how the budget has been planned to enable a wider range of strategies to be provided to accelerate the progress of 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 110270 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 405277

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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 169 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Allum Headteacher Paul Stephens Date of previous school inspection 6–7 July 2011 Telephone number 01296 423276 Fax number 01296 423276 Email address pstephens@bucksgfl.org.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

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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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