Great Bradfords Junior School

Great Bradfords Junior School Marlborough Road, Braintree, Essex CM7 9LW

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Great Bradfords Junior School is a welcoming, inclusive community. Pupils of different ages get on well together, happily playing and learning together.  The school is well led and managed. The headteacher has promoted the school’s core values well to create a warm and successful learning environment.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good across the school, because leaders have rigorous systems in place to check teachers’ work and address any weaknesses.  As a result, attainment is rising in reading, writing and mathematics and pupils are making good progress.  The school’s well-planned and interesting curriculum promotes positive attitudes to learning in all subjects. It supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. They provide challenge and support in equal measure, which has contributed to the

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This is a good school

school’s improving effectiveness.  Leaders ensure that pupils are safe and secure. Relationships in the school are good. The school promotes pupils’ welfare very well.  Behaviour is good both in lessons and around the school. It makes a positive contribution to pupils’ learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always check that pupils learn from their spelling errors to improve the quality of their writing.  Younger pupils in particular do not always write neatly and present their work to a high standard.  In a minority of lessons, the most-able pupils are not given work that challenges them at the right level, to ensure they make the best possible progress.  Subject leaders are not fully involved in checking how good teaching is.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and accelerate pupils’ progress further by making sure that teachers consistently: – use assessment information effectively in order to provide the most-able pupils with tasks that challenge them at the right level – correct spellings where appropriate and expect well-presented work in pupils’ books. Improve leadership and management by fully involving subject leaders in checking on the quality of teaching.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher has successfully communicated the school’s core values to all pupils and staff. All adults care about the welfare of pupils and, in return, pupils value their education. The school motto ‘Together we learn; together we grow’ is at the heart of the school’s work. Parents who expressed their views on Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and those spoken to during the inspection are very supportive of the school.  Strong leadership from the headteacher is ensuring that teaching is consistently good and achievement is rising across the school. She is effectively supported by her deputy, special educational needs coordinator and a good governing body. There is a culture of strong and consistently effective teaching, learning and assessment and good behaviour across the school. This is enabling all pupils to make good progress.  The school’s evaluation of its work is accurate and feeds appropriately into school improvement planning.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Targets set for teachers to improve performance are closely linked to raising standards.  The leadership of teaching is very effective. Leaders’ robust and systematic checks on the work of teachers ensure good quality provision and identify any need for further training, which is swiftly put in place. The subject leaders for mathematics and English have good subject knowledge and know what needs to happen to ensure that standards continue to improve in these subjects.  School assessment systems are developing to meet the needs of the new curriculum, and the school has an accurate system for measuring pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, subject leaders are not fully involved in checking the quality of teaching because of their own teaching commitments.  The school works closely with other schools in the Teaching School Alliance. This provides effective training and enables the sharing of good practice, which has contributed to rapid improvements in the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

quality of teaching.  The local authority knows the school well and has provided valuable feedback to help the school to quality assure its own self-evaluation.  The promotion and celebration of British values is an everyday part of the school’s work and permeates the rich curriculum. Pupils show care, respect for, and tolerance of others because leaders and teachers successfully develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness and their understanding of other cultures and faiths through a wide range of experiences. Pupils learn about other cultures and countries in history, geography and religious education lessons. They also develop their understanding through their personal, health, social and cultural education. Participation in the school council helps to develop pupils’ understanding of the democratic process.  The curriculum is broad and interesting in all years. It builds upon prior experiences and skills and meets

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

requirements well. Interesting topics stimulate pupils to write at length and this is reflected in work displayed around the school, for example writing about life cycles in science, how to make a Viking helmet, writing a diary entry in Anglo-Saxon style. Such topics are engaging and enjoyable for pupils and this contributes to their good learning and progress.  A wide range of extra-curricular clubs is provided, which pupils enjoy attending. These include a range of sports such as boys’ and girls’ football, netball, gymnastics and dance. There are also homework clubs and clubs for such activities as gardening, cooking, chess, choir and recorders.  The pupil premium funding is used effectively to provide both academic and pastoral support to those who need it. This ensures that the progress of eligible pupils is accelerated. Discrimination of any form is not tolerated in school. All pupils experience the same good opportunities to succeed. The school

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

welcomes pupils from all backgrounds and ensures they are fully included in all the school does.  The primary sports funding is well used. The school is a member of two sports partnerships. A sports coach is employed by the school. This enables professional development for teachers and ensures that pupils benefit from high-quality teaching across a broad range of sports and skills. They enjoy participating in sports activities.  The governance of the school – The school benefits from the support of an effective governing body. Governors are diligent in evaluating the quality of their own work and carry out their statutory duties effectively. They have a good understanding of the quality of teaching, how this impacts on pupils’ attainment and progress and how this compares with the performance of other schools. – Governors regularly review the school’s performance data and have benefited from training in this

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

area to enable them to ask more searching questions. They conscientiously set and review the headteacher’s targets for improving the school. – The governing body knows how additional funds, such as the pupil premium, are used. Dedicated governors are responsible for each area of additional funding. – Governors are well informed about the link between staff performance and salary progression, including awards for additional responsibilities. They ensure that pay awards are fair and consistent.  Arrangements for safeguarding are effective and meet statutory requirements. Governors give safeguarding arrangements an appropriately high priority, regularly checking that procedures are complete and up to date. Staff are well qualified and alert to pupils’ needs and well-being during the day.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 There is much strength evident in teaching, which is securing rapid improvement for pupils. Pupils’ learning during the inspection, their work in books and the school’s own records provide evidence that teaching is good. This is enabling pupils to make good progress in all subjects and year groups.  Teachers have secure subject knowledge, which they use to plan interesting activities across all subjects. For example, pupils in Year 6 who were learning about Romeo and Juliet enjoyed using drama to show that they could empathise with characters.  Teachers make good use of technology to help them to explain key concepts to pupils, which motivates pupils and helps to deepen their understanding. For example, pupils in Year 5 were excited when learning about regular and irregular shapes. Teachers use questioning well to extend pupils’ learning.  Pupils appreciate the interesting lessons that teachers plan and most show very positive attitudes to their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

learning, listen attentively to teachers’ explanations and are keen to get on with activities.  Classrooms across the school are vibrant and provide excellent support for and celebration of pupils’ learning. Colourful displays in corridors also celebrate pupils’ learning and reflect the rich curriculum.  The teaching of reading is good. Well-organised guided reading sessions take place across all year groups. Pupils enjoy reading and have been enthused by the introduction of a scheme which brings a competitive element about the number of books they read. Reading has a high profile across the school and there are reading areas in all classrooms.  Teachers give pupils regular opportunities to write for different purposes and in a range of subjects. For example, the staging of a crime scene enthused pupils in Year 5 to write high-quality newspaper reports.  Mathematics teaching places a strong emphasis on ensuring that pupils gain a secure understanding of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

mathematical concepts and are confident in solving problems. Pupils in Year 3, for example, were learning about inverse and deepened their understanding by creating division facts from multiplication facts.  The school marking policy is applied consistently across the school. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and write useful comments which help pupils to improve their work. Pupils use their purple pens to respond to marking and this helps them to make good progress. In English, however, teachers do not always show pupils where they have made spelling mistakes or check that pupils have learned from their mistakes and are using correct spellings in their later writing.  Teaching assistants usually support pupils’ learning effectively when working in small groups or individually. Occasionally, some are less effective while the class teacher is explaining things to the whole class.  Teachers usually plan work to challenge pupils at the right level. Occasionally, in some mathematics

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

lessons in particular, they do not check or adapt work early enough during lessons to ensure that the most-able pupils are making sufficient progress in deepening their knowledge and understanding.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. It is underpinned by the school values: be safe; be kind; be responsible. These values permeate school life.  Pupils say that they feel safe and parents endorse that this is the case.  Pupils are confident when talking to adults. They enjoy and respond well to opportunities for discussion in pairs and groups during lessons, contributing to their good learning.  Pupils have a range of opportunities to take on responsibility, such as through the school council, being play monitors and running the stationery and snack stalls. Year 6 pupils also help younger pupils at lunchtime at the infant school next door. Pupils also raise money for various charities.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe, including when using the internet. They are aware of various forms of bullying and are confident that, if they have any concerns, adults will deal with these

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Personal development and welfare

quickly and effectively.  All pupils have the opportunity to participate in active sport and are developing their understanding of how to live healthily.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and courteous to each other and to adults. They regularly hold open doors without being asked and stand back to allow other pupils and adults to pass.  Pupils show consistently positive attitudes to learning. In lessons, they listen well to each other and their teachers, which contributes to their good progress.  Around the school, in the playground and when eating lunch, pupils’ behaviour is consistently good.  Pupils understand the system of rewards and sanctions and feel that this is fair and that most pupils behave well. Parents also say that behaviour is good.  Pupils attend school regularly. Attendance has improved since the time of the last inspection and is now above average. Exclusions are rare.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Outcomes for pupils are good due to the rapid improvements that leaders have made in teaching, learning and assessment. Consistently good teaching in all year groups is enabling all pupils to learn well and to make good progress. The quality and quantity of work in books demonstrates the good progress that pupils in all year groups, including the most and least able, are now making from their starting points.  The way that the school assesses pupils and records assessment information has been revised to meet the raised expectations of the recent National Curriculum. Current tracking shows that almost all pupils are achieving well in reading writing and mathematics. Boys are achieving as well as girls in all year groups. Disadvantaged pupils are achieving well across the school in all subjects. Groups of pupils who have fallen behind benefit from purposeful and effective intervention programmes which accelerate their

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Outcomes for pupils are good

progress and help them to catch up.  Assessment information for subjects other than mathematics and English is less well developed. However, pupils’ work shows that they are working well towards meeting the standards expected for their age group. The good opportunities provided to apply literacy skills across the curriculum show that pupils are making good progress in other subjects.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress because their needs are identified early and they are given the appropriate support they require. The progress of these pupils is carefully tracked by the special educational needs coordinator, to ensure that their needs are being met effectively.  Published data for 2015 show that boys’ attainment at the end of 2015 was below national averages for mathematics and writing. The proportions of pupils who made expected progress were lower than

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Outcomes for pupils are good

national averages for reading and maths, and the proportions that made better than expected progress were below national in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the school baselines pupils on entry to Year 3 and school data show that progress from these baselines is stronger than is indicated by the published data. This cohort also experienced some inconsistency in the quality of teaching lower down in the school. School tracking information shows that all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, made good progress while in Year 5 and Year 6. However, this did not wholly make up for slower progress due to the disruptions in teaching that they had previously experienced. Leaders and managers have acted with rigour to ensure that teaching is now consistently good in all year groups, which is enabling all pupils to make good progress.

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School details

Unique reference number 114984 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10001926

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School details

This inspection 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 355 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karen Ogan Headteacher Fiona Dorey Telephone number 01376 326739 Website www.gtbradfordsjuniorschool.org.uk Email address admin@greatbradfords-jun.essex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 September 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is average. Pupil premium funding is for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Since the previous inspection there have been a number of changes in teaching staff.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 33 lessons or part lessons, including 10 which were jointly observed with the headteacher.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of pupils’ work in books.  Discussions were held with school staff, six governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors talked to pupils about the school’s work, listened to some pupils read and talked to them about books that they enjoy.  Inspectors observed various aspects of the school’s work and considered a range of policies and documents. These included information about pupils’ attainment and progress, planning and monitoring documentation, the school improvement plan and self-evaluation summary, safeguarding policies, and behaviour and attendance records.  A case study of the school’s work to support vulnerable pupils was considered.  Account was taken of 40 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to

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Information about this inspection

parents as they were delivering their children to school and also spoke to those who were attending a coffee morning and performance by the school choir.  The questionnaire responses received from 17 pupils and 28 staff were also considered.

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Inspection team

Joan Beale, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Susan Cox Ofsted Inspector Caroline Drumm Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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