Haddenham Community Junior School

Haddenham Junior School Woodways, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8DS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, key leaders, governors and staff have brought about considerable improvements to pupils achievement and to the quality of teaching since the previous inspection.  Pupils are enthusiastic learners who behave extremely well in lessons and around the school.  The school promotes pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Pupils are courteous, friendly and show consideration and respect for others.  Procedures to ensure that pupils are safe are highly effective and robust. Pupils feel safe and very looked after by staff.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and attendance is well above average.  Improved teaching successfully engages the pupils and promotes good progress for different groups. Some teaching is outstanding.  Teachers’ explanations, feedback and questioning enable pupils to learn well.  The school provides an interesting range of subjects which are enriched by clubs and visits.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Most pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Attainment by the end of Year 6 is now well above average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils apply their writing skills very well to different subjects and topics.  A well above average proportion of pupils reach the higher levels in mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Occasionally, work is not set at the right level of difficulty for different groups of pupils and this hinders their rate of progress.  In a few lessons, learning time is not maximised in lessons and pupils can spend too long on tasks when they are ready for more demanding work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. A few lessons were seen jointly with the headteacher.  Pupils work and the information about pupils’ attainment and progress were analysed.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, other staff, a representative from the local authority, governors and pupils.  The inspectors took account of the 98 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View.  Questionnaires completed by 18 members of staff were taken into account.  The inspectors examined a range of documents, including school policies, safeguarding procedures and the school’s self-evaluation and improvement planning.

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Inspection team

Derek Watts, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Haddenham Junior is an average-sized junior school.  Most of the pupils are White British.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is about 19%. This is average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is less than 5%. This is well below average. The pupil premium is additional funding for looked after children and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school met the current government floor standards in 2014, which set the minimum expectations for pupils attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the already good teaching so that more pupils make rapid progress by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 ensuring that all work set is at the right level for pupils  making sure that time is used well in all lessons to maximise learning and so that pupils learn at a fast rate.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and other key leaders have shown considerable determination in raising pupils’ achievement and improving teaching. Good improvements have been made since the previous inspection.  Teamwork among the staff is strong. Leaders and staff have striven to ensure that pupils receive good teaching so that they can make good progress and achieve well. The leadership of English and mathematics has been strengthened. These subject leaders are fully engaged in checking performance and in bringing about improvements in their areas of responsibility.  There are good systems for reviewing the school’s performance. As a result, leaders, governors and staff have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to improve. Decisive action has been taken to bring about change since the previous inspection. For example, the assessment of pupils’ attainment is sharper, teachers challenge the pupils more and marking effectively guides the next steps of

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The leadership and management are good

pupils’ learning.  Improving teaching has been a key factor in the school’s rapid development. Teaching is effectively checked by the headteacher, subject leaders and the local authority. Support and training are provided to extend teachers’ skills where teaching has been less than good. There are clear and effective arrangements for the performance management of teachers. Targets set for improvement are closely linked to pupils’ progress and to priorities in the school improvement plan. Newly qualified teachers receive good guidance, mentoring and support from colleagues.  Leaders and staff ensure that pupils are exceptionally well behaved and extremely safe at school. The school successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are enthusiastic learners and show consideration and respect for others. Values such as curiosity, determination, honesty, respect, responsibility and tolerance are fostered successfully so pupils are well

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The leadership and management are good

prepared for life in modern Britain.  The curriculum promotes good achievement for pupils and contributes very well to their personal development. Pupils have good opportunities to be creative and to apply their literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects. A good range of additional clubs and visits extend pupils’ learning and experiences. The school is at an early stage of developing a new assessment system to reflect national changes.  Additional funding is used well to provide eligible pupils with additional support, particularly in literacy and numeracy. The funding and support are having a positive impact on the progress of these pupils.  The primary school sports funding is used well to extend pupils’ opportunities for sport and physical development. Specialist coaches provide good teaching for pupils in a range of sports. The grant is also used effectively to train teachers and increase their skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 All pupils have full access to the learning opportunities provided and the school effectively tackles all forms of discrimination.  The local authority has a clear overview of the school’s performance and the good improvements made since the previous inspection. Good advice, support and training have been provided during the school’s journey of improvement.  The school has established productive partnerships with parents and carers. The results of the online survey, Parent View, indicate that parents and carers hold positive views about the school.  The governance of the school:  Governance is much improved since the previous inspection. The governors possess a clear and accurate overview of the school’s performance, particularly through the data about pupils’ attainment and progress.  The governors know about the quality of teaching and have checked that actions to improve teaching have been successful. They have a clear understanding of the requirements relating to the management

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The leadership and management are good

of staff performance. Governors make sure that staff promotion and salary increases are based on the progress that pupils make.  The governors support the headteacher and staff well. Their strong knowledge of the school’s performance enables them to challenge senior leaders and hold the school to account.  Governors ensure that additional funding is used properly and check the impact of spending on pupils’ attainment and progress.  They have worked with leaders and staff to ensure that the school promotes positive values which prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.  Governors are vigilant where safeguarding is concerned. They ensure that all safeguarding procedures meet requirements and are of high quality.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  In all classes, pupils show great enthusiasm and a thirst for learning. They settle quickly at the start of lessons and sustain high levels of concentration. Behaviour in lessons is exemplary. Their behaviour is also very positive at playtime, lunchtime and around the school. Pupils’ impeccable attitudes to learning and exceptional behaviour contribute to their good progress and high attainment.  The school’s clear records of incidents show that behaviour has typically been of a high standard over time. Almost all parents and carers who completed the online survey stated that the school makes sure that pupils are well behaved.  Leaders and staff promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Pupils are courteous, friendly, supportive of others and clearly proud of their school. They develop responsibility, respect for others and tolerance. Through their studies and visits, pupils demonstrate an appreciation and

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Behaviour

a very good understanding of different cultures and faiths.  Pupils rise to the additional responsibilities provided, such as being on the school council, being an eco- warrior, house captain or a librarian. They appreciate the importance of helping others who are less well off than themselves and raise funds for national and international charities.  Pupils clearly enjoy coming to school and attendance levels are well above the national average.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. The headteacher provides exceptional leadership on safeguarding matters. She, the staff and governors take effective measures to ensure that all pupils are extremely well cared for and protected. Case studies of the care and support for individual pupils demonstrated the robustness of the school’s safeguarding procedures.  The robust systems for checking and recording safety issues ensure that any concerns are swiftly dealt with. The headteacher, staff and governors are vigilant in regular risk assessments and make sure that the school is a very safe place for pupils to be.  The parents and carers who completed Parent View are convinced that their children are happy at school, feel safe and are very well looked after. Pupils were equally positive about these areas when talking to the inspectors.  Discussions with pupils revealed that they have a very clear understanding of bullying and its different

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Safety

forms, including cyber bullying and persistent name calling. Pupils stated that they were not aware of any bullying in the school. Their comments included, ‘There is no bullying here’, ‘As far as I know, there is no bullying’ and ‘Never seen it.’ They were equally confident that should bullying occur, it would be swiftly dealt with by the headteacher and staff.  Leaders ensure that access to the school is secure. All staff are thoroughly checked prior to their appointment. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe at school, in their homes and in the local community. For example, they have a thorough understanding of internet safety.  There is no discrimination in the school and relationships between adults and pupils are of the highest calibre.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is now good and has improved since the previous inspection. Improvements in teaching since the last inspection are having a positive impact on pupils’ learning and achievement. Good teaching enables pupils to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Some teaching is outstanding and promotes rapid progress for pupils.  Pupils are inspired and motivated by teachers’ enthusiasm and strong subject knowledge. Pupils are impressed by their teachers and commented, ‘Teachers help us to understand’ and ‘We always learn something new.’  Teachers’ demonstrations and explanations are clear and informative. Pupils are attentive and participate well in lessons, gaining new knowledge and a deeper understanding of ideas.  Teachers use questioning skilfully to challenge pupils’ thinking, explore their opinions and to check how well they have understood the work. Pupils respond enthusiastically with well-considered answers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers successfully promote enjoyment in reading. They are good role models when reading to pupils and interesting novels and stories are often used as a basis for pupils’ own writing. Pupils have a wide range of books to choose from.  Pupils are given good opportunities to acquire and apply reading and writing skills in English lessons and in other subjects. For example, pupils in Year 4 used their research skills well to find key facts about Henry VIII. They used the information to write an interesting biography of the king’s life.  In the teaching of mathematics, pupils gain essential knowledge and skills and are provided with interesting and relevant opportunities to apply these to solve mathematical problems. For example, after very clear demonstrations and explanations from the teacher, Year 6 pupils made rapid gains in finding unknown values in calculations and equations.  The assessment of pupils’ attainment has been strengthened since the previous inspection. This now more

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The quality of teaching is good

accurate and teachers have clear knowledge of how well pupils are doing. In most cases, teachers use this information well to plan their teaching and to set suitably challenging work for different groups of pupils. Teachers have raised the levels of challenge in lessons, they have high expectations of their pupils’ success and pupils respond positively. As a result, pupils are fully engaged and they make good progress.  Occasionally, the work is not set at the right level of difficulty for the pupils. When this happens, pupils’ learning slows because the work is too easy or too difficult for them.  In just a few lessons, time is not used well enough to maximise pupils’ learning. Pupils can sometimes spend too long consolidating learning when they are ready to be moved on to more demanding work.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good. Teaching assistants

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The quality of teaching is good

are mainly well deployed and make a valuable contribution to pupils’ learning, particularly in developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills.  Pupils know how well they are doing and know what they need to do to improve because of teachers’ clear and helpful feedback. The marking of pupils’ work has improved since the previous inspection. Teachers provide praise for good work and helpful comments to guide them to the next steps of their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement has improved significantly since the previous inspection and any past weaknesses in achievement have been effectively tackled.  Pupils’ enter the school with attainment that is securely above average. Pupils’ achievement required improvement after the last inspection because although attainment was above average by the end of Year 6, pupils were not making enough progress from their good starting points from when they joined the school.  Pupils are now making good progress in all year groups. By the end of Year 6 in summer 2014, attainment was well above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Learning in lessons, the school’s assessments and pupils’ work show that improvements to attainment and progress are being sustained and built upon.  Improvements to teaching mean that the most able pupils are challenged and extended more effectively. As a result, the school has increased the proportion of pupils who attain the higher levels. In 2014, an

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The achievement of pupils is good

above average proportion of Year 6 pupils attained the higher levels in reading and writing. The proportion attaining the higher levels in mathematics was well above average.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because they are provided with learning activities well suited to their specific needs.  The few Year 6 pupils supported by the additional funding in 2014 attained slightly higher standards than the others in writing. They were about five months in front of their peers. Attainment in reading was similar. However, these pupils were about 10 months behind the others in mathematics.  When compared to other pupils nationally, those supported by the additional funding at Haddenham Junior were 10 months ahead in writing and five months ahead in reading. They were three months behind in mathematics.  Current information and inspectors’ observations show that pupils supported by the additional funding are

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The achievement of pupils is good

making good progress and that gaps in attainment continue to close.  Pupils’ skills in speaking and listening are very well developed. They respond with enthusiasm to their teachers’ challenging questions. They make effective presentations to the class about their learning. Many are articulate and confident speakers who possess and use a wide vocabulary.  Pupils make good progress in reading. By Year 6, most pupils have developed effectively the more advanced reading skills of inference and deduction. They interrogate text confidently to establish its meaning. Pupils apply their reading skills effectively in topic work to gather useful information.  Pupils achieve well in writing. They write quality pieces for different audiences and purposes. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are mostly accurate. Pupils take great care and pride in their presentation and their handwriting is neat, fluent and joined. They apply their writing skills very well to different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In mathematics, pupils acquire essential knowledge, understanding and skills very well. They use these effectively to solve challenging and relevant mathematical problems.  Pupils apply their knowledge and skills very well to tackle new projects. For example, in Year 5 they used their imagination in creating their own ‘remarkable animals’. They wrote detailed fact files of their animals to include the name, appearance, diet and habitat. They designed and made their imaginary animal using a range of colourful fabrics and accessories. Careful measuring, cutting and stitching gave rise to impressive finished items.

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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 110347 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 448981

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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 245 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Palmer Headteacher Sue Lewin Date of previous school inspection 6–7 December 2012 Telephone number 01844 291829 Fax number 01844 292534

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Email address

head@haddenhamjun.co.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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

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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Email address

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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