Long Buckby Junior School

Long Buckby Junior School South Close, Long Buckby, Northampton, NN6 7PX

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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

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

 Although improving, progress has not risen fast enough to raise attainment significantly at the end of Year 6 in writing and mathematics.  There is still too much teaching that requires improvement which means that pupils’ progress is not yet good.  Examples of excellent teaching are not yet shared across the school in order to model this highly effective practice.  Pupils capable of doing more difficult work are not always given hard enough tasks to make sure they reach their full potential.  Subject leaders have not been involved enough in the monitoring of their subjects and have not made a strong enough contribution to school improvement.  Subjects other than English and mathematics, including information and communication technology, are not used well enough to help pupils improve their writing and problem- solving skills.  There are not enough opportunities for pupils to take part in creative activities such as art

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The school has the following strengths

 This is an improving school. Well-focused leadership by the headteacher and governors has started to raise the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievement and attainment.  Pupils read well and their speaking and listening skills are good.  About half of the teaching is either good or outstanding.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school, showing positive attitudes to learning. Pupils respect each other and they feel safe in school.

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Information about this inspection

 All teachers in school at the time of the inspection were observed teaching. All of the six lessons observed were seen jointly by the inspector and the headteacher. Pupils from Year 3 and Year 6 read their books to the inspector.  The inspector looked at pupils’ work books and talked to them about their work during lesson observations.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body and the headteacher. The inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. He also met a group of pupils and held informal discussions with others.  The inspection took account of 15 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own parents' questionnaire, to which there were 30 responses.  Questionnaire responses from 13 members of staff were analysed.  A range of school documents was scrutinised, including policies for safeguarding, the school self-

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Information about this inspection

evaluation document and school improvement plans, results of the school’s monitoring of teaching, tracking of pupils’ progress and lesson planning.  Records of behaviour and attendance were examined.

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Inspection team

David Speakman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Long Buckby Junior School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  No alternative or off-site provision is used by the school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and very few speak English as an additional language. None is at the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of pupils receiving additional funding through the pupil premium (those known to be eligible for free school meals, children of forces families or in local authority care) is low.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported at school action is average. The proportion supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is also average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Pupils are taught in mixed-age classes. At the time of the inspection, there were two Year 3/4

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Information about this school

classes, a Year 4/5 class and two Year 5/6 classes.  The senior leadership team has been restructured recently, with the appointment of a new senior teacher. Half of governors have joined the governing body since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that at least 80% is good or better by July 2013 by:  making sure that teachers consistently expect the best of all pupils and, in particular, those capable of harder work  improving the marking of pupils’ work so that it always tells pupils how to improve and informs them of their next steps in learning  engaging pupils more actively in independent learning and group activities and spending less time introducing lessons  spreading aspects of the outstanding teaching already in school across all classes, especially in recognising when pupils have achieved what they are intended to learn and then making immediate adjustments to planning to move pupils onto their next steps.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in English and mathematics to be good, so attainment is above average by the summer of 2014 by:  improving the quality of writing, paying particular attention to spelling, handwriting and the presentation of pupils’ work  developing pupils’ skills in solving problems in mathematics  giving the English and mathematics subject leaders the task of closely monitoring progress across the school in their subjects and reporting regularly to the headteacher and the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the curriculum to support more effectively pupils’ progress by:  increasing opportunities for pupils to develop their writing and problem solving skills in other subjects  planning better opportunities for pupils to use computers and other technology to enrich their learning  providing pupils with more creative opportunities in subjects such as art and drama.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement is improving steadily, but still requires improvement as it is not yet good. Pupils are just beginning to show that they are now making better progress through reaching more demanding targets. Standards in writing and mathematics remain broadly average, but are rising slowly.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Standards in writing are not as good as those in speaking and reading. Some writing is interesting to read. Older pupils write at length and develop story lines well. More-able pupils developed a well-constructed case when arguing against the opening of a shop selling exotic pets. However, there are weaknesses in pupils’ writing. Handwriting is untidy and written work is poorly presented. Spelling is inaccurate and even simple words are carelessly spelt. Punctuation is often incorrect, for example the use of speech marks is inaccurate.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils have a good grasp of number and calculate accurately. More-able pupils in Year 6 work confidently at higher levels, showing the ability to work out strategies to solve complex problems in probability for example. However, younger pupils often have difficulty in working out how to answer questions and frequently have difficulty in moving onto the next steps because they do not have well enough developed problem-solving skills.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Speaking and listening skills are good. Pupils speak clearly and have a good range of words, which they use well to express their ideas. They speak confidently, contributing well to discussions in class or within smaller working groups. Pupils spoken to summed up their views about the school clearly.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are good readers. Pupils read fluently and with understanding. They use text well to predict what they think will happen later in the stories. They have good skills to read unfamiliar words using letter sounds or the context of the words in sentences. They enjoy reading and often read for pleasure. Good reading skills help learning in other subjects such as history.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils, so their achievement needs improvement. Adults are aware of each pupil’s specific needs and provide targeted support.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Last year, the pupils for who the school received the pupil premium funding did not make progress as good as other pupils in English and mathematics. The school is aware the progress for this group was not good enough and this year they have put in place a range of actions to address the poor performance of this group. This has proved effective in improving their achievement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching seen during the inspection varied. Although some was outstanding and some good, too much still required improvement. School records of the monitoring of teaching and pupils’ progress indicate a similar profile, showing that teaching overall requires improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching requires improvement, teachers spend too much time explaining what pupils are going to learn. This often leaves too little time for pupils to work independently or in groups to make the progress they are capable of.  Even in some lessons where teaching is good, teachers miss opportunities to accelerate the pace of learning, particularly for those capable of doing harder work. In some lessons, it was clear that pupils were ready to move on to the next steps quickly. The teachers failed to recognise this and continued with their planned lesson instead of changing plans and moving pupils on to the next steps, enabling them to achieve more.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There are too few opportunities for pupils to work independently. In a history lesson, resources were not managed well enough to encourage pupils to reference books or to use computers to find things out for themselves immediately a question came into their minds. During the inspection, there was little evidence that pupils use computers and other technology to enrich their learning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers monitor pupils’ progress through individual target books. However, the targets are written in language that is not easily understood by pupils and some find difficulty understanding how well they are doing and what their next steps are. Similarly, the marking of pupils’ work is not consistently helpful in telling pupils what they have done well and what their next steps for learning are.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do take account of different ages and abilities in the mixed-age classes when planning lessons and units of work. They group pupils by ability, so it is quite common to see pupils of different ages, but with similar previous attainment levels working together. This helps improve their progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching is more effective, pupils at all levels of attainment make good and sometimes outstanding progress. In these lessons the teacher continually assess the progress pupils are making and adjusts plans accordingly to ensure all progress as best they can. Questions are searching and make pupils think and work things out for themselves. Work sheets for different groups are thought out carefully and questions get progressively more demanding, build on previous learning and move pupils on quickly. Teaching assistants are deployed effectively and flexibly, so their support is directed to where it is most needed at any time. Lessons are very well organised and move at a rapid pace so pupils learn quickly. However, these features of good and outstanding teaching are not yet common to all classes.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The learning needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are met with targeted support so these pupils make similar progress to other pupils in each class. They are given suitable help and guidance in class, often by additional adults who, through training, have appropriate skills to support these pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and an enthusiastic approach to interesting learning tasks. Behaviour is good and pupils show they are eager to start their independent or group learning tasks, even when teachers’ introductions are too long. However, pupils do not take enough care over the presentation and accuracy of their written work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils spoken to during the inspection speak positively about behaviour in school. They feel safe and they are happy in school. All parents and carers who responded to the online questionnaire and to the school’s questionnaire say their children are happy, safe and well looked after, and that behaviour is good. Attendance is consistently above average and pupils are punctual to school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say bullying is rare and, when necessary, it is dealt with quickly and effectively. Sensitive personal support is provided for pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is developed well. Good-quality care for everyone ensures that the pupils develop good social awareness. Pupils work well together, respecting others’ views and ideas and showing courtesy. They know the difference between right and wrong, generally make good choices and know they have to accept any consequences for poor ones. In lessons, there are good opportunities for pupils to think and reflect on life’s issues.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because the headteacher takes on too much of the responsibility for directly checking school improvement. The school has not sufficiently involved all subject leaders in the drive for improvement. This is a priority for the newly formed senior leadership team. Leadership is now showing a positive capacity to improve; teaching is improving, pupils’ progress is getting better and, in turn, standards are beginning to rise. However, achievement and teaching still require improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher keeps a thorough check on the progress made by all groups of pupils, and this gives him an accurate picture of where attention needs to be directed. Together with the governing body, he holds teachers accountable for the progress of each individual pupil, by setting targets for pupils’ achievement that are intended to accelerate progress. Checking on how well pupils are achieving their targets is regular and based on a range of evidence such as lesson observations, assessment data, scrutiny of teachers’ planning and the work in pupils’ books.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Pupil premium income is allocated appropriately. Leaders recognised that pupils entitled to claim a free school meal did not progress as well as other pupils last year. This year, funding is targeted to ensure these pupils achieve better in mathematics through specific interventions and one-to-one tuition. Qualifying pupils are helped financially where necessary to take part in school trips and after-school clubs, so that they have the same opportunities to learn as other pupils.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has a realistic view on the overall effectiveness of the school. They support the school adequately through three evaluation visits each year and support the headteacher in his drive to improve teaching and raise achievement and standards.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum requires improvement because plans do not clearly identify where subjects such as history, geography or science can be used to help pupils improve the quality of their writing and develop problem-solving skills. There are too few planned opportunities for pupils to use computers and other technology to support learning and develop their independent learning skills. Leaders made a decision to focus on improving English and mathematics and this is now showing a positive impact. Pupils would like more opportunities to take part in drama and art and the school has agreed that these subjects do not currently receive enough attention.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors are regular visitors to the school. They have rightly focused their attention on supporting improvements in leadership, challenging senior leaders to raise standards. Although half of the governing body is new since the previous inspection, their training is up to date. They understand assessment data clearly and know how the school is performing compared to other schools. They contribute well to the strategic planning for development. They set clear targets in managing the performance of the headteacher and staff, linking staff effectiveness to pay levels. They ensure statutory requirements are met, particularly for safeguarding, where vetting procedures for staff and visitors are completed and all training, including their own, is up to date. They make careful financial decisions, ensuring that funding from the pupil premium is now used well in supporting those pupils who require additional

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The leadership and management requires improvement

support and to ensure their full inclusion in all school activities.

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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 121843 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 406054

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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 138 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jenny Pollard Headteacher Tony Cox Date of previous school inspection 09 November 2010 Telephone number 01327 842445 Fax number 01327 843856 Email address head@longbuckby-jun.northants-ecl.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 .

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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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