Bartley Church of England Junior School

School report Bartley Church of England Junior School Winsor Road, Winsor, Southampton SO40 2HR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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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This is a good school

 Pupils achieve well due to consistently effective teaching.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics whatever their starting points.  Pupils have outstanding attitudes to learning and their behaviour is exemplary. They take great pride in their work.  Teaching captures pupils’ interest and motivates them to do as well as they can.  Pupils benefit from precise guidance on how to improve their work.  Pupils feel entirely safe and are confident that adults have their care and welfare at heart.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy school. Teachers skilfully engage them, and provide memorable experiences that contribute much to their learning and personal development.  Senior leaders give scrupulous attention to ensuring all children achieve well and to checking that good teaching is sustained and further improved.  All staff with a leadership role contribute strongly to improving the school.  The governing body works in close partnership

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This is a good school

with school leaders, at the same time ensuring they are held to account. Governors keep a close eye on pupils’ achievement, and help to ensure that strengths are maintained and that any weaknesses are rigorously attended to.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some pupils, particularly in Year 3, are not confident in reading because their knowledge of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) is weak.  Across the school, pupils’ spelling is not consistently accurate.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 27 lessons. Pupils’ behaviour in the playground and at lunchtime was also evaluated.  Discussions were held with pupils, four members of the governing body, the headteacher, staff and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed many aspects of the school’s work, including the support for pupils who need extra help. They heard groups of pupils read and examined pupils’ work in their books and on classroom and corridor wall displays.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including plans for the school’s future development, lesson plans, the school’s arrangements for keeping pupils safe, pupils’ attendance records, minutes of governing body meetings and records of how pupils’ learning is monitored and how the quality of teaching is checked.  The views of parents were taken into account, including those expressed in the 51 responses to the online Parent View survey and during discussions with inspectors at the beginning of the

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Information about this inspection

school day.  Staff views were taken into consideration by looking at 24 returned questionnaires and through discussions with members of staff.

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Inspection team

Rob Crompton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Ken Bryan Additional Inspector Sue Hunnings Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is within the New Forest and about a third of pupils travel in from local villages. It is above average in size. Around 5% of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, which is well below the national average. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives additional funding through the pupil premium is about a third of the national average. (The pupil premium provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and for those known to be eligible for free school meals).  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is around twice the national average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is under half the national average. Pupils’ needs relate mainly to moderate learning difficulties or to behavioural, emotional

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Information about this school

and social difficulties.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher and other key staff support improvement in other schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ reading, particularly in Year 3, by:  improving the teaching of phonics  ensuring books are at a suitable level to support the reading of the least able pupils.  Raise standards in spelling, by:  ensuring sufficient attention is paid to teaching pupils spelling rules and conventions  providing opportunities for pupils to practise, consolidate and improve their spelling, especially of frequently used words.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 As pupils start in Year 3, their levels of attainment vary, but are generally above average.  Due to effective teaching, pupils build well on this secure start so that by the end of Year 6, their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is typically above average. A dip in pupils’ attainment in writing last year has been remedied very successfully. This is evident from the rapid progress pupils are making and the high quality of much of their written work. One remarked, ‘Teachers make writing fun and inspire us.’  Most pupils are confident readers as they start in Year 3. Some less good readers, however, do not have sufficient grounding in phonics, which means they struggle to read unfamiliar words.  Pupils’ progress in reading is more consistent in later years and by Year 6, pupils are generally fluent and avid readers. Their enthusiasm for reading is evident in the fact that around a third of

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The achievement of pupils is good

the pupils in Year 6 are keen to tackle work at the level expected by Year 10. The inspection found that around 10% of pupils are working at this high level. This was evident, for example, in pupils’ comments about the use of irony to convey a serious message.  When analysing texts, the most able pupils show considerable insight. Year 6 were getting to grips with the characters and complex relationships in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for example. Younger pupils also become adept at spotting features such as rhetorical questions. One pupil in Year 4 neatly explained that, ‘Metaphors are not real questions; they just give the reader an opportunity to think of an answer.’  Good standards are evident in most written work across the school, including the accurate use of punctuation and grammar. Handwriting is of a high standard. However, some writing, including that of the more able pupils, includes words that are spelt incorrectly; for example ‘peaces’ for

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The achievement of pupils is good

pieces and ‘dos’ for does. Pupils’ knowledge of spelling rules and conventions is patchy.  A continuous focus on basic number facts helps pupils become increasingly confident in solving mathematical problems. By Year 6, pupils typically reach above average standards, with a few working at a very high level. Pupils use their secure knowledge of multiplication tables to solve mathematical problems. For example, they confidently tackle problems which include percentages and ratio and require them to create and interpret graphs.  The school’s firm commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, fostering good relations and tackling discrimination is seen in the progress made by different groups. More able pupils are appropriately challenged to enable them to reach their potential, and disabled pupils and those with special educational needs progress well due to effective support. Similarly, there is no

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The achievement of pupils is good

difference between the achievement of pupils from minority ethnic groups, including those who speak English as an additional language, and that of other pupils.  Pupils for whom the school receives additional funding generally progress at similar rates to other pupils, despite the fact that over half these pupils have special educational needs. The gap between their attainment in English and mathematics and that of all pupils varies from year to year but there is a narrowing trend. Last year the gap was equivalent to around two terms.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils show extremely positive and mature attitudes to learning. They regularly reflect on their learning and write spontaneous comments following teachers’ explicit guidance on how to improve. ‘Thank you, I’ll do that next time’ and ‘I think I’ve got the idea now’ are typical of their responses.  Teachers in each year team share their secure subject knowledge very effectively to plan a cohesive programme of learning in English, mathematics and other subjects, notably science and art. Pupils are quick to settle and they sustain their engagement because the work is interesting and challenging. One said, ‘Teachers make learning fun and inspire us.’ Pupils take great pride in their work, and make every effort to present it as neatly as possible.  Teaching assistants contribute significantly to pupils’ learning. They are generally deployed very effectively when supporting class lessons and when working with individuals and small groups.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants working with younger pupils have benefited from recent training in the teaching of phonics. Some phonic sessions, however, are rather pedestrian. The reading books allocated to these pupils are sometimes too difficult and, when recording progress in reading, staff make little reference to phonic skills.  Pupils talked enthusiastically about the ‘BOLT’ targets (inspired by the successes of the Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt) which provide them with a clear idea about what all are expected to learn and what some should aspire to.  Teachers’ marking provides pupils with useful feedback, although opportunities are missed to pick up on spelling mistakes, particularly those made by pupils who in all other respects write very well.  Pupils say they value the ‘response time’ at the beginning of each day where they can pick up on teachers’ comments before starting new work. They talked positively about learning from

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The quality of teaching is good

marking classmates’ work. These opportunities are valuable, but do not routinely include reminders about the importance of correct spelling or a chance to reinforce spelling rules and conventions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. Their thirst for knowledge and love of learning are evident at every turn. During lessons, they are attentive and eager to contribute ideas. At break times, they play happily, and around the school they are invariably polite and helpful.  The school is frequently complimented on the impeccable behaviour of pupils when on educational visits. Pupils leap at the chance to take on responsibilities, for example as members of the school council. Members of the eco group are rightly proud of the contribution they make, not least in their role in ensuring the school chickens are well looked after.  Adults manage pupils’ behaviour extremely well. They are particularly effective in supporting the few pupils who find it difficult to behave well. Indeed, when observing lessons, inspectors were not aware of the pupils who were receiving additional support in this regard, as they were so

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

well behaved.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils feel entirely safe in school. They were keen to point out that they understood the different forms bullying might take, such as cyber bullying, and equally keen to say that they were not aware of any incidents. The school’s blank incident logs suggest this is an accurate view.  Parents and staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s success in ensuring pupils’ care and welfare. An excellent programme of personal, social and health education gives pupils a strong understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders successfully promote a purposeful and harmonious ethos where every effort is made to ensure all pupils do as well as they can. The school’s motto, Think for Yourself, Act for Each Other, reflects the commitment all staff show to helping pupils develop into confident and mature citizens.  Middle leaders, including those responsible for subjects and year group teams, play an active part in improving the school. The stalwart effort of the English subject leader in speeding up pupils’ progress in writing is just one example of the contribution made by leaders at all levels.  Pupils’ progress is tracked meticulously and any glitches are spotted quickly and immediately explored. The careful analysis of assessment data, together with regular checks on the quality of teaching, form the basis of well-founded development plans. Recently, this self-review led to further training in the teaching of phonics. Subsequently, senior leaders identified the need for

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The leadership and management are good

appropriate resources to support pupils whose reading is relatively weak.  The curriculum is imaginatively designed. Engaging topics include worthwhile and memorable experiences for pupils. They provide many opportunities for pupils to use and refine their essential skills in different contexts.  Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to write for different purposes, such as writing as historical characters. Work in science provides ample opportunities for pupils to hone their mathematics skills, including calculating, estimating and measuring.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development is promoted successfully. For example, links with the Verderers Court (a local body whose main aim is to ensure that the ‘unspoilt natural beauty of the Forest is maintained’) promote pupils’ understanding of democracy and justice. Art, music and drama provide good opportunities for pupils to explore different cultures and

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The leadership and management are good

traditions. Full advantage is taken of the school’s location with the New Forest, with frequent educational visits to rural and coastal areas.  The school has used the new primary school sport funding effectively, not least to pay for expert support and guidance from the New Forest School Sports partnership. Sporting activities successfully promote pupils’ healthy lifestyles and physical wellbeing.  The local authority provides light touch support, frequently drawing on the expertise of Bartley staff to lead training in the local school network.  The governance of the school:  Governors provide valuable support for school leaders, at the same time holding them to account. Governors have a good grasp of assessment data and how the school performs in relation to the national picture. They do not hesitate to ask insightful questions. They seek assurance that additional money, including sports funding, is spent wisely, and keep a sharp

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The leadership and management are good

eye on outcomes for pupils. Governors do not shy away from tough decisions. They seek assurance that good teaching is rewarded and that staff holding management positions are effective. They help to ensure that safeguarding arrangements fully meet statutory requirements.

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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 116338 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 443974

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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 359 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Oakley Headteacher Karen Stonehouse Date of previous school inspection 27–28 April 2010 Telephone number 023 8081 2173 Fax number 023 8081 3404 Email address office.admin@bartley.hants.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 and 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

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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