The Ridge Junior School

School report The Ridge Junior School Melrose Avenue, Yate, Bristol, BS37 7AP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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 achieve well and make good progress.  Teaching is good. Pupils enjoy the lessons and are motivated to learn. They are inquisitive and ask questions confidently.  Pupils behave well, in lessons and around the school. They work well together, and help each other learn. Pupils show care and consideration for adults and each other. They feel safe and enjoy school.  Morale of staff is high and parents are supportive of the school.  Attendance is above average  The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governing body understand well how the school is performing and accurately monitor the pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. This has enabled them to successfully address areas that need improvement.  The curriculum is well planned and gives good opportunities for pupil to learn.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In some lessons the work is not always closely matched to the specific needs of the pupils. In addition, explanations at the start of some lessons are too lengthy. These things mean the pace of learning sometimes slows.  Assessment information is not always used quickly enough to compare the progress of different groups of pupils and target support appropriately. As a result, emerging issues are not always addressed immediately.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 14 lessons, one of which was observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors looked at pupils’ work and listened to some pupils reading.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and a parent governor, a representative from the local authority and middle managers. The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with the deputy headteacher, who was absent from school, during the inspection.  There were 34 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), and the lead inspector also considered two letters received from parents. Inspectors also took into account the 14 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to pupils’ behaviour, attendance and safeguarding and the performance management of

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Inspection team

John Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jennifer Cutler Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized junior school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding given for children who are looked after, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children of service families, is below average. There are no pupils from service families.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, supported through school action, is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  About one in ten of the pupils joins, or leaves, the school at times other than the usual dates for admission.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in order to accelerate the pace of learning for all pupils by:  consistently matching the level of work to pupils’ needs  reducing the time teachers talk at the start of lessons, so allowing more time for pupils to be actively learning.  Use information about pupils’ progress more promptly to:  compare the progress of different groups of pupils and identify any differences in their rates of progress  immediately act on any emerging areas where pupils’ progress may have slowed down.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When pupils start in Year 3 their attainment is broadly average. As a result of recent school initiatives, attainment is strongest in reading and mathematics.  Pupils make good progress across the school. At the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is consistently above average.  The average point scores of the pupils eligible for pupil premium funding show that the gap in attainment in English and mathematics between these pupils and others is rapidly closing. They are now only about one third of a year behind other pupils in English, and about two thirds of a year behind in mathematics. This is because of the effective actions taken by the school to provide a range of support for learning. Records kept by the school show that extra help is effective in improving progress, which is now faster in the school than for these pupils nationally.  Pupils make good progress with their reading and the school promotes this well through regular

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The achievement of pupils is good

guidance to improve pupils’ skills. As a result, attainment is above average.  The school is focusing on improving writing skills of the pupils. This has been very successful and this can be seen by the improvements shown in their English books.  The school accurately monitors the progress of all pupils and uses this information to decide where to target additional support. However, this is not always done quickly enough.  Disabled pupils, and those with special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points due to the school’s accurate assessment, the systems and structures which are in place to support them.  In lessons pupils make good progress because they are eager to learn and work well together; they are willing to contribute to the lessons, ask questions and help each other.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good, and is accurate monitored by the headteacher and deputy headteacher, who help the teachers improve by providing useful feedback and support.  In lessons, teachers tell the pupils what they will learn and how to be successful. In most lessons pupils are clear about the tasks they are meant to be doing. Occasionally, in a few lessons, work is not matched closely enough to the pupils’ needs.  Lessons are well planned and include a good variety of tasks to maintain pupils’ attention. However, in a small number of lessons, teachers spent too much time talking at the start of the lesson, which slowed the lesson down and limited the time pupils spend actively learning.  Pupils have pride in their work, which is well set out and neatly presented. The English work seen showed the good progress Year 4 pupils have made on the organisation and structure of writing and the variety of sentence structures.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The marking of pupils’ work is frequent and encouraging. It shows the strengths and areas for improvement. The comments focus on whether the learning objectives have been met and tell the pupils what their next steps should be.  Building on the work of the infant school, the teaching of letters and sounds helps pupils make good progress in English.  The support for some pupils, who need additional help with their learning, is good because it is well planned and targeted at specific needs. However, some support in class is not always used effectively enough to correct pupils’ understanding when the pupils make mistakes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy school. They have a good knowledge of how to keep safe and are aware of the issues concerning the safe use of the internet.  There is a robust system of recording and monitoring pupils’ behaviour. The school uses this to target appropriate support for those pupils who need it in this area.  Pupils have a clear understanding of right and wrong. The school’s behaviour policy, which includes ‘four golden rules’, is understood well by pupils.  The school’s weekly celebration of good behaviour, ‘catch me being good’ and the pupils’ good understanding of the rewards and sanctions the school uses have a positive effect on behaviour.  Pupils have written a leaflet which has helped them gain a better understanding of bullying. They say little bullying goes on in school and they trust the teachers to deal with any rare occurrences effectively. This view is supported by the parents’ responses to the on-line

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

questionnaire, Parent View.  In lessons, pupils work extremely well together, they move smoothly and briskly from one task to another, showing a willingness to learn.  In lessons the pupils’ behaviour is good. It is not outstanding because, in a few instances, when the work is not closely matched to their needs they can become distracted from their work. This slows down their learning.  The attendance of the pupils is above average and absences are followed up swiftly by the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have an accurate understanding of what the school does well and what it needs to do to improve further. Strategies for improvement are shared with the staff who are effectively guided how to take steps to improve.  The monitoring of the quality of teaching is accurate. Precise observations form the basis of good feedback which is used, by teachers, to improve their lessons. Whole-school training has been used to address general issues, including reducing the time teachers take introducing activities, although there is still a little inconsistency in these areas.  Pupils’ progress is measured regularly and accurately. This information forms the basis for discussions, with the teachers, about how well the pupils are learning. Support for pupils who are falling behind is well organised, and the effect of this is effectively monitored. This information, however, is not always used quickly enough to ensure that pupils who are in danger

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The leadership and management are good

of falling behind are supported swiftly.  The school’s curriculum is well planned. It provides a wide variety of opportunities for the pupils to learn. The curriculum has links across different areas and progression of skills is clearly planned for each year group. It promotes the pupils’ social, moral, cultural and spiritual development well by providing a wide range of experiences which have a positive impact on their self-esteem and confidence.  The school leaders promote and check that all pupils have equal opportunities for learning. For example, the additional income received by the school, through the pupil premium, is used effectively to accelerate the progress the eligible pupils make, mostly through additional adult support and small group teaching. The school is determined that all groups of pupils should have an equal opportunity to succeed and that there should be no discrimination of any kind.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents are very supportive of the school, and the headteacher. One commented, ‘Teachers are always approachable and would deal with issues promptly and effectively.’  The school has established a good system for setting and reviewing targets for teachers to help them improve their work. The school leaders have used this information well to plan training to meet the needs of the staff.  The local authority has monitored the school’s performance effectively and, given its previous performance, it has only needed to provide light touch support in recent years.  The school’s requirements for safeguarding are very well established, robust and meet requirements  The governance of the school:  The governing body is well informed about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The governors have a good overview of how well the school is performing, including the pupils’ progress in different subjects. They meet all their statutory requirements with regard to

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The leadership and management are good

keeping pupils safe and make sure all the requisite checks are made on all those adults working with children. They are kept well informed about the quality of teaching. They understand that the money for pupils who are entitled to the pupil premium has been spent on supporting them and are beginning to gain an awareness of the impact of this on these pupils’ progress. They have an accurate overview of the performance management procedures for staff and ensure this is linked to salary increases. They make sure that the headteacher’s performance management is carried out thoroughly.

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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 109026 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 412456

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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 230 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Max Reed Headteacher Philip Boult Date of previous school inspection 18–19 May 2010 Telephone number 01454 867 125 Fax number 01454 867 126 Email address ridgecountyjunior.school@southglos.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.

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School details

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 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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