Yatton Church of England Junior School

Overall effectiveness

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

p.1

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Achievement is inconsistent between classes and requires improvement overall. Progress is improving but no groups of pupils achieve consistently well over time or across all subjects.  The quality of teaching varies between classes; not enough is consistently good to ensure good achievement for all.  The pace of lessons is sometimes slow, work is occasionally too easy or difficult and pupils do not always know how to continue or improve their learning.  Leaders and managers do not look at the overall quality of teaching and its impact on learning and progress sufficiently carefully or frequently to ensure that all improvements are consistent or sustained.  Members of the governing body do not have sufficiently accurate information about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement to effectively support and challenge the school’s drive to improve these. They are not clear enough about how additional funds are used

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 It is a happy, harmonious school. Pupils, staff and the majority of parents and carers who responded during the inspection are positive about the school. Parents and carers are particularly pleased about pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and enthusiasm.  Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are good. They feel safe because they learn to look after themselves and others and they are well cared for. Attendance is above the national average.  Pupils are keen to learn and eager to work hard even when they are unsure what to do or how to continue.  Pupils benefit from participating in a wide range of interesting activities and events. These help their learning, enjoyment of school and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons and small support groups, taught by nine teachers and three teaching assistants. Three of these observations were joint visits with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Discussions were held with pupils, governors, a representative from the local authority, senior and middle managers, as well as parents and carers.  Inspectors received the views of parents and carers through 71 online responses to the Parent View questionnaire and informal discussions.  Inspectors received the views of staff through 16 responses to the inspection questionnaire and discussions, and the views of pupils through both informal and pre-arranged discussions.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s data on pupils’ current progress, leaders’ reports on lesson observations, the school’s development plan, planning and monitoring documents, documents relating to safeguarding,

p.2

Information about this inspection

and records relating to behaviour and attendance.

p.2

Inspection team

Jo Curd, Lead inspector Additional inspector Rodney Braithwaite Additional inspector Mary Usher Clark Additional inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Yatton Junior School is slightly larger than most other primary schools.  The school shares a site with the village’s infant school and children’s centre.  The school was federated with the infant school in April 2011. Prior to this the school had an acting headteacher for a year. The headteacher of the infant school is now executive headteacher of both the infant and junior schools. The two schools also share a bursar and governing body.  There have been changes in leadership roles since the last inspection which include periods of maternity leave and the introduction of phase leaders as middle managers in September 2012.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and have English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional money given to schools by the government) is lower than the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at

p.3

Information about this school

the level of school action is slightly lower than the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly in line with the national average.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school runs a breakfast and an after-school club each day.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it becomes typically good or better by: - increasing challenge and pace, ensuring that pupils are actively engaged throughout lessons - ensuring that work is suitably demanding for all pupils - ensuring that pupils know how to continue and improve their learning through clear instructions and helpful marking.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership and management of teaching so that it drives improvement more effectively by ensuring that leaders: - check all aspects of teaching, particularly its impact on learning and rates of progress of all groups, more carefully and frequently.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and effectiveness of the governing body by ensuring that;  it has a clear and accurate view of the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement and how specific funding such as pupil premium is used  it ensures that there is a clear link between pupils’ achievement and how well teachers are paid.  school leaders are held to account more rigorously.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

p.3

Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

p.4

Inspection judgements

 Given pupils’ starting points, progress of almost all groups in English and mathematics is too inconsistent. Recent improvements have not been strong enough to raise achievement to good overall. This is because teaching, particularly lower down the school, has lacked challenge and pace and has not always built upon what pupils already know and can do.  Pupils read widely and often and most pupils read, enjoy and understand texts well but do not always use their knowledge and skills well enough in national tests. A group of more-able pupils did less well than expected in national reading tests in 2012 because they answered too few questions in the allotted time. The pace of lessons is often slow and does not challenge these pupils or take them forward sufficiently quickly.  Achievement is rising throughout the school but, despite improvements, the quality of teaching is not yet consistently strong enough to ensure this in all classes.

p.4

Inspection judgements

 Pupils who learn more quickly or easily are not always challenged sufficiently or given enough tasks to progress.  Pupils who find learning slower or more difficult, disabled pupils and those with other special educational needs achieve well in small withdrawal groups. However their progress overall requires improvement because work in lessons is sometimes too difficult and writing learning objectives sometimes takes too much time.  The achievement of pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding varies between classes according to the quality of teaching. By the end of Year 6, the progress of these pupils, as measured by their average points scores, is sometimes better than that of pupils not eligible for this funding and sometimes not.  Most parents and carers who responded during the inspection are happy with the school but a minority felt that their children could achieve more . Inspection evidence supports their view.

p.4

Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching requires improvement

p.4

Inspection judgements

 Lesson observations, work in books, records of leaders’ observations and discussions with pupils indicate that the quality of teaching varies too much between classes.  In the past, teaching over time in the lower school has been weaker. Leaders are addressing this through staff training and reorganisation but inconsistencies persist. This means that pupils in some classes achieve better than others, reducing equality of opportunity across the school.  The pace of lessons is sometimes slow and pupils are not always sufficiently well challenged. As one more-able pupil said, among others, ‘Sometimes we would like harder work; it’s boring if I already know what I’m doing.’ For example, in one lesson, pupils were asked to write out the learning objective then fold their arms and wait for others to do this before they could carry on. Teachers do not always ensure that pupils’ work in books is completed and tasks

p.4

Inspection judgements

provided are sometimes too easy or too difficult for some pupils.  Pupils are keen to learn and get on with their work. Opportunities for this are sometimes limited by the fact that teachers sometimes spend too much of the lesson explaining tasks or recapping on previous learning. This reduces the time pupils have for getting on with their work. Teaching assistants, who support pupils well in withdrawal and intervention groups, are often underused in whole class introductions and explanations.  Where teachers provide sufficient opportunities and suitable activities for cooperative learning, pupils work well together. For example, in a Year 5 mathematics lesson, pupils worked in groups to plot coordinates to form two-dimensional shapes and then calculated their perimeter and area. Pupils cooperated well and were enthusiastic, interested and hard working. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs were supported well and

p.4

Inspection judgements

those who worked more quickly had more complex problems to solve.  Teachers’ written marking is usually frequent but where comments are offered, these do not always show pupils how to improve their work.

p.4

Inspection judgements

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

p.5

Inspection judgements

 Pupils are keen to learn and work hard. They respond to teachers’ requests quickly and willingly.  They enjoy school. Attendance has risen and is currently above the national average.  Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. They have a good understanding of different types of bullying including name calling, physical and cyber bullying and know how to keep themselves safe. They are sensitive to and supportive of each other. For example, one older boy spontaneously helped a fellow pupil with a mathematics problem he was unsure of, successfully showing him how to approach the problem and what to do to solve it.  Pupils are respectful and supportive to those who are disabled and those who have other special educational needs. The school is friendly and harmonious and these pupils are included in all aspects of the school.  The personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils eligible for pupil

p.5

Inspection judgements

premium is successfully promoted as costs for clubs, outings and residential trips are subsidised by this funding. This also helps tackle discrimination and raise the attendance and punctuality of these pupils.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well for all, through interesting activities, events and school assemblies. In one assembly, pupils’ morals and stereoptypes were challenged, improving pupils’ awareness of moral issues.  Pupils are particularly energetic and enthusiastic at break times. They enjoy great amounts of freedom around the school’s secure site and enjoy running, chasing and building dens in the spacious grounds.  Pupils’ views and opinions are listened to through the school council and class discussions. They are often acted upon, giving pupils a valuable role in school development.  The breakfast and after-school clubs provide a stimulating, safe and fun environment for

p.5

Inspection judgements

those who attend.  A few pupils have challenging behaviour and there are occasionally incidents of poor behaviour and bullying. Parents, carers, staff and pupils know that these incidents are managed well, cause few disruptions and that bullying is dealt with and addressed. There have not been any exclusions in recent years.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders’ checks on teaching have not always been sufficiently effective to ensure that pupils achieve consistently well. This is because they have not looked frequently or thoroughly enough at the impact of teaching on learning and progress, to ensure that improvements are consistent or sustained.  Several aspects of leadership and management have changed over recent years and some are very new. In those which are new, such as Phase Leaders, practices have not yet had time to become embedded or show their full impact.  The federation is still in its early stages. The new governing body is well organised and building upon previous strengths but is not yet sufficiently knowledgeable about the school. Plans to extend the infant and junior school buildings, creating shared areas and more unity, are in place but have not yet begun.  The headteacher knows the school well and is successfully driving some improvements. She

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

has a positive track record for school improvement and has secured a positive climate and good relationships between staff, parents, carers and pupils.  School self-evaluation is largely accurate and well focused. It has driven some improvement and fed into a clear development plan.  The local authority has helped secure some improvements and is now turning its attention to help leaders to look more carefully at teaching to ensure that improvements are enhanced and sustained.  Leaders’ use of pupil premium funding successfully enhances the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of eligible pupils but spending to ensure consistently successful achievement is not fully effective.  Leaders and managers give a high priority to safety and a curriculum that promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development to ensure that the school is safe for all. They have improved the fabric of the school and have reviewed and improved security fences. All aspects

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

of safeguarding meet statutory requirements.  Leaders have reviewed the effectiveness of arrangements for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and introduced some new approaches. These are successfully helping these pupils even though their progress slows when work is too difficult in lessons.  The headteacher’s successful track record, positive responses from pupils, staff, parents and carers and improvements made since federation and the last inspection all indicate that the school has capacity to improve.  The governance of the school:  The governing body meets all its statutory duties. Members are well trained, organised and effective in supporting and challenging the school about those issues of which they are aware. Because of this, governors have successfully helped drive improvements on all three areas raised at the last inspection. However, their understanding about the impact of the

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

quality of teaching on pupils’ achievement, the way leaders distribute funding and use targets for teachers to improve pupils’ achievement, is insufficiently accurate for them to effectively support and challenge the school on these. . As a result, the governing body does not hold leaders to account rigorously enough to drive a good level of improvement. Members do not ensure that there is a close link between the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement and how well teachers are paid. Moreover, they know how pupil premium funding is spent to contribute to pupils’ personal development, behaviour and safety, but are not as aware of the impact on achievement for this group of pupils.

p.6

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

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

is 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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 109214 Local authority North Somerset Inspection number 402801

p.8

School details

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

p.8

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 284 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Harding Headteacher Jo Keeble (executive headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 19 May 2010 Telephone number 01934 833554 Fax number 01934 833190 Email address yatton.jun@n-somerset.gov.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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,

p.9

School details

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’.

p.9

School details

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

p.9