Victoria Junior School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 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 Require improvement 3

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

 Pupils’ progress in 2013 was weak. School figures show that progress in 2014 is stronger, but not yet good.  Some pupils, particularly the most able, do not do as well as they could.  Teaching is not consistently strong enough to help pupils learn well and make good progress.  Not enough is expected of pupils. They are not always given hard enough tasks.  The quality of marking is not consistent across all subjects. It does not always help pupils understand how to improve.  Pupils are sometimes allowed to get away with work that is unfinished or carelessly presented.  Leaders, managers and governors have not ensured that teaching and pupils’ achievement are consistently good.  Leaders and managers focus too much on teaching styles and not enough on how well pupils are learning.  Leaders do not always make sure that their advice to teachers is followed up so that the overall quality of teaching improves.

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

 Governors are not clear enough about how much progress pupils are making. They do not link this sufficiently to teachers’ pay awards to ensure the best value for money.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ overall progress is significantly stronger than it has been over recent years.  Pupils behave well and are polite and respectful. Attendance is rising.  Pupils from different backgrounds and heritages get on well together.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development successfully. They are taught strong values.  Ways of checking pupils’ achievement have improved.  There are effective links between school and home.  The sports funding is used well to attract pupils to new activities.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 17 lessons across a range of subjects. Most were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and looked at samples of their work.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, teachers with responsibilities for specific subjects, a representative of the local authority, and groups of pupils. A meeting was held with the Chair and three other members of the Governing Body.  Inspectors took account of the views of staff in 20 questionnaires.  Inspectors spoke to a number of parents during the inspection. There were 20 responses to Parent View, the online survey of the views of parents. As the proportion of responses was low in relation to the number of pupils at the school, inspectors also took into account the school’s own recent survey of parents’ views.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents. These included the

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Information about this inspection

school’s own views of how well it is doing, its plans for the future, and minutes of meetings of the governing body. Inspectors considered a range of evidence on pupils’ attainment and progress, focusing particularly on changes since the last inspection. Inspectors also examined safeguarding information and records relating to behaviour and safety.

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Inspection team

Natalia Power, Lead inspector Additional inspector Alastair McMeckan Additional inspector Kusum Trikha Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Victoria Junior School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which in this school provides additional funding mainly for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is much higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is much higher than average. No one group predominates. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average.  The proportion of pupils who receive extra help in class (school action) is higher than average. The proportion who need more help than this (school action plus) or who have a statement of special educational needs is also higher than average.  The breakfast club is managed by the school and was visited during the inspection. After-school care is independently run and is subject to separate inspection.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school was last inspected in January 2013, when the current headteacher had been in post for just over one term.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching, so that it is good or outstanding and secures consistently strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics, by teachers:  expecting the most from their pupils  challenging them to do the best they can  giving pupils, particularly the most able, tasks that are hard enough  making sure that marking across all subjects is consistent and helps pupils to understand how to improve their learning  insisting that pupils finish and present work that is as neat and accurate as possible  Improve leadership and management by making sure that leaders at all levels:  focus sharply on how well pupils are learning and how they can be helped to learn better  accurately and rigorously convey to teachers their strengths and areas for development.  Improve governance by ensuring governors:  understand how well pupils are making progress in relation to schools across the country  link teachers’ pay awards to how much progress pupils make.

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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.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement requires improvement because they do not make rapid enough progress from their starting points at the end of their infant schools.  A below-average proportion of pupils make good progress across all subjects.  The most able pupils do not do as well as comparable pupils nationally in the tests at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.  In 2013, Year 6 pupils’ achievement was below average in reading, and average in writing and mathematics.  The school’s figures show that the achievement of Year 6 pupils in 2014 is likely to be broadly average in all subjects. However, lower-than-average proportions are likely to have made better-than-expected progress.  The large numbers of pupils who are eligible for support from the additional funding achieved considerably less well than others in the school in 2013. In English they were over a year behind and in mathematics over two and a half terms behind the others.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 However, school figures show that these pupils are now doing better. This is due to the strong action taken by school leaders. Currently, school figures show that they are around a term behind others in the school in reading and mathematics, and two terms behind in writing. These gaps are narrower than the national pattern. Pupils eligible for additional funding now make similar progress to others, whereas in 2013 their progress lagged behind that of others.  There is a similar pattern of improvement in the performance of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Their progress was slow in 2013, but has improved in 2014, so that it is now in line with that of others.  Pupils who arrive at the school with English as an additional language quickly catch up. Their needs are quickly identified. They are given effective support. They make good progress and do at least as well as others in the national tests, and often a great deal better.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils from different minority ethnic backgrounds all do equally well. This illustrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity.  Leaders and governors are aware that reading was a particularly weak area of the school’s performance in 2013, and have taken vigorous action to address this. Pupils read regularly to teachers and volunteers. Weaker readers are taken back to basics and taught their sounds and letters (phonics). The school is active in promoting reading at home, encouraging parents to borrow books. As a result, the school’s information indicates that reading results are likely to be close to average in 2014.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not good because it does not consistently help pupils to make strong enough progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The most able do not do as well as they could because they are not always challenged to produce their best work. Too little is expected of them. Tasks set are not always difficult enough.  The school’s marking policy is applied consistently in English workbooks, but less consistently in other subjects. In these subjects, marking does not always give pupils enough advice on how they can improve their learning. This slows their progress.  Occasionally pupils are allowed to get away with handing in work that is carelessly presented, sometimes with poor handwriting. Some pieces are left unfinished, and this is not always challenged by teachers.  The extra support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, provided in class and in small groups, helps them to make progress in line with others.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils from a range of different minority heritages, and those who speak English as an additional language, receive effective extra support and make good progress.  Teachers now share in checking the progress of pupils eligible for additional funding. As a result, they provide more fully for their needs than was the case in 2013 and their achievement is rising.  Pupils learn rapidly and make strong progress when expectations are high. Inspectors saw how the limitless challenges of science enthused pupils and produced good work. Year 3 pupils enjoyed experimenting with the growth of bean plants, and were able to explain clearly why plants deprived of light and water do not thrive.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They have positive attitudes and are keen to learn. Pupils are polite and respectful to visitors. Behaviour is not outstanding because pupils are not always stimulated enough to display exceptional eagerness to learn.  Pupils throughout the school are considerate of others. They are quiet and attentive in lessons and during assemblies. They play peaceably together in the playground, and told inspectors how much they appreciate the improved playground equipment. Pupils told inspectors that the good behaviour seen during the inspection was typical.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. For example, inspectors observed several class assemblies on the topic of excellence. In one Year 5 class assembly, for example, pupils explored Professor Stephen Hawking’s excellence in persevering in the face of physical adversity.  The school fosters good relations among its pupils, and there is no discrimination towards

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

minorities.  The large number of pupils who attend breakfast club enjoy the opportunity to socialise and eat healthily. This provides pupils, particularly those who are eligible for additional funding, with a settled start to their school day, making them more ready to learn well.  Discussions with pupils and records of behaviour incidents confirm that instances of unkindness are few and far between.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils told inspectors they feel safe. Almost all parents and carers who responded to Parent View or to the school’s survey of their views, or who spoke to inspectors, agreed that the school is safe.  Pupils told inspectors that there is no bullying. They said that whenever they share a concern or worry with an adult, the adults quickly sort things out. They feel particularly confident that the headteacher would sort out any issues, describing him, as ‘firm but fair’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe, and understand the risks involved in using computers, and from strangers and road traffic. The school prepares carefully before taking them out on a trip.  Pupils show their enjoyment of school through their attendance, which is now above average after a number of years of being broadly average.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because senior and middle leaders have not secured enough good and outstanding teaching to raise pupils’ achievement significantly. Governors have not held them sufficiently to account for this.  In their programme of classroom visits, leaders sometimes focus too much on teaching styles and not enough on how well pupils are learning. As a result, the progress of some pupils, particularly the most able, is sometimes less strong than it might be.  Leaders and managers do not always ensure that the advice they give teachers on how to improve is followed up vigorously enough to ensure that teaching improves overall.  Middle leaders are receiving training and carry out their responsibilities adequately. They are making a promising start in checking pupils’ workbooks and seeing the quality of teaching for themselves.  The school has a realistic understanding of how well it has been doing since the previous

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The leadership and management require improvement

inspection. Plans for the future cover the right priorities. They are focused sharply on making sure that pupils do better in their learning and that the quality of teaching improves. Plans are detailed and provide challenging deadlines for improvement.  Since the previous inspection, leaders have improved ways of checking pupils’ progress. They now make sure that teachers understand where and why individual pupils and groups of pupils are falling behind. This accounts for pupils’ overall improved performance over the past year. It also accounts for improved performance by pupils eligible for additional funding.  The local authority has an accurate view of the work of the school. Findings in its recent review of the quality of teaching and learning were very much in step with the findings of this inspection. Its support has contributed to the school’s improved performance.  The subjects pupils learn have an appropriate focus on the basic skills of reading, writing and

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The leadership and management require improvement

mathematics, and this prepares pupils adequately for the next stage of schooling. Pupils report that they enjoy the range of clubs, trips and visits outside the classroom.  Pupils have good chances to learn music. In lessons they all learn wind instruments, ranging from recorders for the youngest pupils, to clarinets and trombones for older pupils. They have the chance to perform to the whole school. They sing tunefully in lessons and when rehearsing for a performance.  Parents speak highly of the way the school brings them together, for example for coffee mornings. There are good links between school and home, and parents feel well informed about their children’s progress. The parent of a pupil who has special educational needs spoke highly of the support offered by the school.  The additional sports funding is used successfully to attract pupils to such physical activities as cricket, dancing, gymnastics and tennis. To ensure that the benefits are not lost, staff are

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The leadership and management require improvement

being trained to continue to offer a range of activities.  The governance of the school:  Governors play an active part in the life of the school, attending events and visiting the school to check its work for themselves.  Governors have a clear understanding of the published figures on pupils’ achievement. However, they are less clear about pupils’ current progress. As a result, they have not held the school sufficiently to account for progress that is not good overall.  While they know that teaching and learning were recently graded by the local authority as requiring improvement, they have not used this information to challenge the school sufficiently. They do not make a clear enough link between pupils’ progress and teachers’ progression along the pay scales. As this was also an area for development identified in the previous inspection, a second external review is required to improve their performance in

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The leadership and management require improvement

this area.  Governors are successful in ensuring that those eligible for additional funding achieve as well as others. They make good use of the additional sports funding to help pupils to join in more sporting activities.  Governors are well trained in safeguarding and safer recruitment. They successfully carry out their statutory obligation to keep pupils safe.

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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 102486 Local authority Hounslow Inspection number 442141

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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 326 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Margaret Bonsey Headteacher Gavin Winters Date of previous school inspection 15 January 2013 Telephone number 020 8890 9624 Fax number 020 8844 2897 Email address office@victoria.hounslow.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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