Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Church Lane, Doddinghurst, Brentwood, CM15 0NJ

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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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The headteacher’s determination to improve teaching is shared by senior and subject leaders and has resulted in a corresponding improvement in the progress made by pupils.  A major factor in the school’s improvement is the sharper focus on setting challenging goals for each pupil’s progress and holding teachers accountable for making sure they are met.  The drive for improvement is supported by a well-trained and expert governing body. Governors are highly ambitious for the school, challenge the headteacher to achieve their goals and carefully monitor progress towards meeting their targets.  Teaching is increasingly good and outstanding and is leading to accelerating progress and rising attainment. Teachers particularly make sure that they continually challenge the most able pupils.  Pupils make a very considerable contribution to school life. Their considerate behaviour and keen approach to learning make the school a

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

harmonious and safe environment in which they can learn and develop happily.  The organisation of topics provides pupils with many exciting learning opportunities within and beyond the school and promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 When teaching is less successful, it is because teachers do not always use their questions to make pupils think deeply and check their understanding fully. At times, teachers limit opportunities for pupils to explore and find things out for themselves.  Pupils are not always given enough time to follow the advice they are given when teachers mark their work. Inspection report: Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 12–13 December 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 21 lessons, five of which were seen together with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, school staff and members of the governing body, including the Chair, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 43 responses to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View) and held informal discussions with parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including the school’s own information on the pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.  Inspectors also took account of the 13 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Martin Beale, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Greevy Additional Inspector Inspection report: Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 12–13 December 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 The school is average in size.  Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds.  Only a small number of pupils are supported through the pupil premium. This is extra money given to schools for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average.The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. Their needs are varied.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of teaching that is outstanding by making sure that teachers:  use questioning more effectively to probe the pupils’ understanding more deeply  give pupils every opportunity to investigate ideas themselves.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that pupils are given enough time to follow their teacher’s advice and suggestions about how to improve, when their work is marked. Inspection report: Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 12–13 December 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress has improved since the last inspection and is now good in all subjects. Attainment is above average and rising. Pupils are prepared well for secondary school. Year 6 test results rose sharply in 2013 in reading and writing and were well above average. Results in mathematics were above average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 One major improvement is that the most-able pupils are quickly identified, their progress is carefully tracked, and they have activities which deepen and extend their understanding, knowledge and skills. This is leading to accelerating progress, with significant numbers working at levels well above those expected for their age by the end of Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Raising attainment in mathematics has become a school priority. Action taken is already leading to greater challenge in lessons, increasing progress and with more pupils working at higher levels. There is much greater emphasis on pupils applying their skills to deepen their understanding through open-ended investigations and problem solving.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The pupils’ writing is creative and imaginative, and often linked to the topics they are studying. By having the opportunity to plan and discuss their ideas, pupils refine and improve their writing. Their wide vocabulary is used to grab the reader’s attention in whatever form they are writing. Pupils enjoy reading and are interested in books, particularly the type of fiction they each find engaging. They read widely and often, in school and at home. Many develop refined skills of comprehension and inference, and expertly research for information.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupil premium funding is used well to support the very few eligible pupils through individual tuition and additional resources. This is leading to increased progress for eligible pupils so that the gap in attainment with others in their year group is closing. The number of pupils in Year 6 last year known to be eligible for free school meals was too small to be able to comment on these pupils’ relative attainment without risk of identifying individual pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has developed highly effective processes for the identification of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Robust systems track their progress and evaluate the impact of programmes they are following so that adjustments can be made. As a result, their progress is good across all subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils say more is expected of them in lessons because teachers have high expectations of what they can achieve. Teachers finely tune their teaching to make sure that the work is pitched at the right level for the pupils. This includes continually challenging the more-able pupils. For example, more-able Year 6 pupils were required to think deeply about aspects of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and use their thoughts to write about the effect of the ghosts on Scrooge’s personality.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils find teaching and the activities they undertake interesting and engaging so that their concentration rarely waivers. Their learning benefits considerably by discussing answers to questions with a partner and evaluating their and each other’s learning. Teachers regularly review learning during lessons and adapt what they are doing according to the pupils’ responses. This leads to pupils having the chance to reinforce key learning points and to secure a good level December 2013 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching is good

 Displays in and outside classrooms greatly enhance learning by celebrating the pupils’ work and providing guidance on how it can be even better.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants are highly skilled. They provide effective support within each lesson because they are briefed well by teachers so that they fully understand their role. Their impact on the learning of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is particularly significant, based on the trusting relationships they have formed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teachers’ strong subject knowledge is reflected in the way most use their questions to check understanding and challenge pupils further. However, on a small number of occasions, questions do not tease pupils’ understanding in sufficient depth. Furthermore, at times, teachers can limit opportunities for all pupils to investigate and learn by their mistakes because they tell them in too much detail how to go about completing an activity.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils report they now find marking more helpful in the guidance it provides to improve their work. Teachers clearly indicate what has been done well and give suggestions about how work can be improved. Teachers also set additional questions to check and extend pupils’ understanding. However, teachers do not always ensure that pupils have enough time to follow the advice they have been given.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils display exceptionally positive attitudes to learning and are genuinely interested in all that they are learning. They are very keen to answer questions from their teachers, and listen intently to each other. They are able to organise themselves quickly when working together on tasks and readily take on leadership roles.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils relish the responsibilities they are given and undertake them with pride. Year 6 pupils form strong bonds with Year 3 pupils as their ‘Guardian Angels’, by helping them to settle in to the school and keeping an eye out for them. Pupils learn how to stay safe and look after property through their participation in the ‘Junior Neighbourhood Watch’ scheme.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils act with courtesy and consideration, following very closely the school’s golden rules of ‘Respect and Responsibility’. This can be seen when they automatically hold doors open for adults and each other, and by showing great politeness at all times. The school’s systems for managing behaviour are fully understood by pupils and consistently applied by all staff.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils regularly explore social issues and cultural diversity. The school’s code of behaviour, based on mutual respect, was devised by the pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils say that the school is a good place in which to learn and that bullying and other incidents of unacceptable behaviour are very rare. They are acutely aware of the differing forms bullying might take and how they can help each other deal with incidents if they occur. They trust staff completely to sort things out and keep them safe.

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The leadership and management are good

 By tackling issues from the last inspection robustly, teaching is now at least good, progress is December 2013 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

 The effective training of subject leaders, including in how to use information about how well pupils are doing to raise their achievement further, has strengthened their impact on improvement in their subjects.

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The leadership and management are good

 Formal procedures for managing staff performance have been used well to drive up the quality of teaching. Individual teacher needs are carefully identified and training provided for targets set to be achieved. This includes sharing and observing good practice in the school and elsewhere.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s close engagement with the local authority has been effective in providing further programmes in support of improving teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 Primary sports funding is being used to engage a specialist to improve teacher expertise and extend opportunities for the pupils. This is already leading to participation in more competitive matches and junior sports leaders in Year 6 being trained to coach in the infant school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school successfully promotes equality of opportunity by focusing sharply on the needs of each pupil.

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The leadership and management are good

 Links between subjects are well-established through topics, where learning is often extended by relevant trips, such as when Year 5 visited the Air Museum as part of their topic on the Second World War. Topics are planned carefully to promote literacy and numeracy; one example being when Year 3 pupils designed an Australian zoo and calculated its building costs. Creative use is made of the school grounds and woodland area to extend learning and add interest. For example, the gardening club grew and sold produce then bought a greenhouse with the proceeds.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has been recognised for its success in developing greater international understanding. Pupils learn French and German, and, through the well-established links with a partner school in Germany, all pupils in Years 5 and 6 have pen pals. Themed days with a school in inner London taking place on both sites broaden the pupils’ understanding of diversity and they learn to respect other cultures further by learning about different world faiths.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have developed a very strong monitoring role including, through regular training, a secure understanding of information about how well pupils are doing. They have a deep knowledge of the school and through this have developed a close and constructive relationship with staff. This means the school and governing body are pulling in the same direction. Governors are quite aware of the headteacher’s action to improve teaching, including how salary progression is only linked to securing good progress for pupils. They use finances very effectively by looking long-term at the implications of changes in the area and pupil numbers in the infant school. By carefully monitoring the impact of pupil premium spending they have been able to support the headteacher in evaluating its impact and changing allocations as a result. Governors ensure that safeguarding is a top priority by monitoring that procedures are

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The leadership and management are good

rigorously implemented. Inspection report: Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 12–13 December 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: Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 12–13 December 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 115124 Local authority Essex Inspection number 425236

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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 222 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alan Smith Headteacher Margaret Cooper Date of previous school inspection 5 March 2012 Telephone number 01277 821064 Fax number 01277 823714 Email address admin@doddinghurst-jun.essex.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

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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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