Burlington Junior School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and her senior leaders expect high standards of behaviour and achievement from both pupils and staff. Consequently standards are rising, especially at the higher levels.  Pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics. Overall achievement is good.  The quality of teaching is good overall. Teachers and teaching assistants plan well together. As a result pupils in need of extra help receive the best attention and support so that they make good progress over time.  Carefully targeted additional support is provided for pupils who are at risk of falling behind other pupils and this has had a marked effect on these pupils’ progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They are polite, friendly and respectful to adults and to each other. Pupils are happy, enjoy coming to school and their attendance is high. Pupils say the school is a safe and caring place.  The school plans many experiences that support

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well and this is at the heart of the school’s success. There is a strong focus on the arts including music, drama, art and design.  There are many after-school clubs and visits which ensure that pupils develop skills in a broad range of subjects and activities, so that they are well prepared for their next stage of education.  The school enjoys a useful partnership with neighbouring schools and this helps to drive improvements.  Staff, including teachers who are new to teaching, value the support and training they receive and this helps to improve the quality of pupils’ learning experiences.  Governors have a clear understanding of the school and effectively challenge leaders to ensure the school continues to improve.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Some pupils do not progress quickly enough in writing. Consequently pupils’ writing is variable in quality.  Pupils do not always follow their teachers’ advice after their written work has been marked.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed learning and looked at pupils’ work, including some from the previous academic year. They observed 26 parts of lessons and visited many subjects across the curriculum. Eight parts of lessons were jointly observed with either the headteacher or the deputy headteacher. Inspectors also discussed the school’s evaluation of the quality of teaching and visited an assembly.  Inspectors held meetings with pupils and listened to pupils read. Pupils’ behaviour was observed in lessons and at recreational times.  Inspectors looked at documentation such as policies, including those relating to safeguarding, behaviour and the school’s development planning. They looked at attendance figures, records of behaviour incidents and at the school’s website.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and senior and middle leaders to discuss the progress that groups of pupils make throughout the school. They analysed the school’s information on attainment and

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Information about this inspection

progress. An inspector met with the vice chair and four other members of the governing body.  The team examined the records of the local authority’s involvement with the school and met with a local authority representative.  Inspectors considered parents’ and carers’ views of the school through informal discussions before school. They also considered the 73 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) alongside eight letters received from parents and carers. The inspectors took into account the views of the 42 staff who completed the staff questionnaire. The team also talked to staff during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Lesley Leak, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized junior school. A significant building programme has recently been completed to accommodate the expansion to four forms of entry by September 2014.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through the pupil premium is in line with the national average. This additional government funding is for children who are looked after and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  A high proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic heritages.  The proportion of pupils speaking English as an additional language is well above the national average. Approximately 12% of this group are at an early stage of learning to speak English.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is in line with the national average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this school

 The school is a member of a ‘schools’ partnership’, arranged with 10 other neighbouring schools, to share good practice in leadership and teaching.  Since September, the headteacher has been seconded to manage another local school for one year, for four days a week. The deputy headteacher is in charge of the school in her absence.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that all pupils make rapid gains in writing by:  improving and developing pupils’ writing skills at a faster rate  ensuring that teachers’ guidance, whether verbal or written, consistently reflects the best practice in the school and that it is routinely followed up.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The headteacher and senior leaders expect high standards from both pupils and staff. Together they have successfully raised standards in reading and mathematics.  Underpinning this positive picture of pupils’ achievement is the development of systems for checking pupils’ progress. As a result, the school’s recent focus on improving writing is beginning to show impact, demonstrating clear capacity for improvement.  The school’s partnership with 10 neighbouring schools encourages collaboration between senior leaders, staff and governors. Teachers, including newly qualified ones, value the training and support they receive from the partnership, because it helps them to develop their classroom practice. In the words of a member of staff, ‘The school is very well led and staff are constantly challenged, developed and given

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities for career development.’  The management of staff performance is well aligned to pupils’ progress. Staff know that their pupils’ results will influence their pay progression and that the Teachers’ Standards underpin all expectations.  Most middle leaders are effective in their areas of responsibility. They use information about pupils’ progress and pupils’ work, undertake lesson observations and model exemplary learning in order to have an impact on improving teaching quality.  The curriculum provides a wide range of rich opportunities for high-quality learning and meets the needs and interests of pupils well. The curriculum is successfully broadened by a variety of imaginative enrichment activities including classes in: French, singing, art and design, information and communication technology, philosophy and additional instrumental music lessons. The many exciting residential trips,

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The leadership and management are good

clubs and visits that are also provided are very well attended. The school plans to implement its preferred approach to assessment, in relation to the new National Curriculum, over the course of the autumn term.  The development of pupils’ social, spiritual and cultural development is highly successful and embedded in the curriculum. It supports the harmonious atmosphere of the school. Pupils learn about different cultures and religions including celebrations from the many faiths represented in the school community. Consequently pupils of differing backgrounds and faiths play and learn together very well.  Primary school sports funding is used well. The school actively promotes physical education and sports by employing specialist sports coaches, led and managed by a specialist physical education teacher. Staff’s confidence in teaching sports has increased through the additional sports coaching and training they

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The leadership and management are good

receive. As a result, all pupils are given ample opportunities to be physically fit and to learn to play a number of competitive sports. Many pupils are members of the after-school sports clubs and achieve well.  The school is extremely successful in engaging parents and carers with many aspects of school life, including how to help their children at home. Parents and carers are highly positive about the school. They benefit from useful assessment information which indicates how well pupils are doing and where they need to improve. Pupils are eager to attend school and consequently their attendance is high.  Safeguarding arrangements meet all statutory requirements.  The local authority has provided ‘light touch’ support for this good school, which has benefited from training and support, when requested.  While leaders have been successful in improving aspects of the quality of teaching over time, some minor

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The leadership and management are good

inconsistencies remain. For example, some pupils are still not making rapid enough progress in their writing. Consequently, leadership and management are not outstanding, as the quality of teaching over time, especially in relation to writing, is not yet outstanding.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has recently undertaken a review of its performance and has become increasingly rigorous about following up where it and the school could do better. For example, governors are aware that they have not always reviewed important policies in the past. They have effective plans to remedy this by ensuring parents and carers can access the updated policies via the new school website. Governors know how well the school performs against national and local standards and pay close attention to the school’s pupil performance information. The governing body carefully monitors how the sports funding grant and the pupil premium funding are allocated. They are pleased that the gaps in

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The leadership and management are good

attainment between pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding and the others have begun to narrow. They have plans to decrease the gap still further. They hold the headteacher to account for the school’s performance and the management of its finances which are sound and linked to the school’s educational priorities. Governors make sure that the system for managing the performance of staff is effective and linked closely to pay for teachers and senior leaders. They have had relevant training on the Teachers’ Standards. They make regular visits to the school which they know well. As a result, they are aware of the main strengths of teaching as well as where improvements are needed. The governing body ensures that safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements and seeks out parents’ and carers’ views of important issues. Governors check that the school actively prepares its pupils for life in

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The leadership and management are good

modern Britain. They are proud of how well pupils from different cultures and faiths work and play together.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have good attitudes to their learning and are eager to work hard. Relationships across the school are strong. The strong spiritual, moral, cultural and social curriculum prepares pupils, from a range of cultures, well for life in modern Britain. As a result, the school is a harmonious and happy community with pupils valuing each other’s beliefs and ideas.  Most parents and carers who responded to the online Parent View questionnaire or who spoke to inspectors during the inspection are highly positive about behaviour in the school. Staff, too, say that behaviour is typically good and managed well. In the words of a member of staff, ‘Children and staff try their hardest every day to make this a safe and happy place for everyone to learn.’  Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities, for example being a member of the school council and the eco- council. They are proud of their involvement in decisions about equipment to make the playground better.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy school and consequently their attendance is high.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they feel happy and safe at school and are aware of who they can talk to should the need arise. They are well aware of what constitutes bullying, such as cyber bullying and name calling. They say that bullying ‘never happens’ but if it did they are confident that the school would deal with it swiftly. Pupils who spoke with inspectors confirmed that they feel safe and very well cared for.  Behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding because pupils sometimes lose focus, especially when teaching is less motivating or engaging.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils learn in a purposeful and welcoming environment, which promotes good relationships and high expectations for behaviour and achievement. Pupils take pride in the presentation of their work, which is attractively displayed throughout the school.  Consistently good teaching in mathematics, particularly in the upper school, has brought about accelerated achievement in mathematics over the past three years. Better use of pupil progress information means that teachers effectively plan learning activities that build on pupils’ understanding from the previous lesson. As a result, many pupils are appropriately challenged to make rapid gains.  Pupils’ reading is improving because staff ensure that most pupils read widely and often. Across the school, they read for knowledge and for pleasure. They are enjoying reading the newly purchased library books, initiated by the school council. Any pupils in Years 3 and 4 whose knowledge of letters and sounds

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The quality of teaching is good

is less secure are given extra support to improve their reading skills.  Adults who support pupils in need of additional help, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language, play a significant part in pupils’ successful learning. This is because they are well briefed to support selected pupils.  There are some examples of good practice in marking, especially in mathematics. However not all marking matches the high quality seen in those classes where progress is most rapid, such as in Year 6. Similarly, teachers and other adults are not always rigorous enough in following up when they have asked pupils to make improvements. As a result, pupils do not always make significant progress.  Evidence from this inspection shows that the quality of writing produced is variable when pupils do not know how to improve their work to make it better.

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is good

 Most pupils enter the school with attainment which is in line with that expected for their age. Standards in mathematics and reading have remained higher than the national average over time.  All groups of pupils, including the high proportion from different heritages, those with English as an additional language and disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make good progress as they pass through the school.  After a decline in standards in writing in 2013, standards rose in 2014, ensuring that Year 6 pupils left with attainment in writing which was above that seen nationally. This is good achievement.  For the last three years, the proportion of the most-able pupils achieving at the highest levels in all three subjects of reading, writing and mathematics combined has been higher than that seen nationally. Leaders have been effective in securing the highest levels in mathematics. Approximately 20% of Year 6

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is good

pupils secured standards that were well above average in mathematics for two consecutive years.  The school actively promotes equal opportunities and tackles discrimination. It ensures that groups such as those with special educational needs and pupils for whom English is an additional language make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from their different starting points. A minority of pupils with special educational needs make slower progress in writing than their peers. The school is aware that these pupils need even more targeted support for writing over the coming year.  The additional funding is used well to provide the best help for pupils needing support with their learning. Leaders base its use on a close assessment of each pupil’s progress and needs. This ensures that eligible pupils make at least similar progress as others throughout the school, especially in reading and

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is good

mathematics. By the end of Year 6, these pupils’ attainment is approximately one term behind others’ in their year group, both at school and nationally. This is a better picture than previously because the use of the funding has been regularly reviewed and directed to those who need it most. Eligible pupils benefit too from participating in funded trips, after-school clubs and visits.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress and achieve above average attainment, particularly in reading and mathematics, because all class teachers are well trained in planning individual support where and when it is needed.  Pupils’ speaking and listening skills are well developed because they are given many opportunities to discuss ideas with a ‘talk partner’ or in groups. As a result, many pupils with English as an additional language are confident speakers of English.  Achievement is not yet outstanding because some pupils, in some classes, still do not progress fast

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 102564 Local authority Kingston-upon-Thames Inspection number 449380

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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 443 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jason Lebidineuse Headteacher Pippa Utting Date of previous school inspection 13 February 2008 Telephone number 020 8942 2687 Fax number 020 8942 3522 Email address admin@bjs.rbksch.org 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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