Setting

Mrs Anne Perriam Interim Headteacher Vigo Junior School Vigo Road Andover SP10 1JZ

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Vigo Junior School

Following my visit to your school on 29 and 30 September 2015, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Vigo Junior School

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in October 2014. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Vigo Junior School

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Leaders and managers are not taking effective action towards the removal

The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring inspection.

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Leaders and managers are not taking effective action towards the removal

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be published on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Hampshire.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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place in October 2014

 Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that:  – all teaching has a clear purpose and that pupils know what they are expected to learn  – all teachers have high expectations of pupils’ achievement, especially the most- able pupils  – teachers make effective use of assessment information in order to give pupils work that contains sufficient challenge, particularly for the most able  – all teachers give pupils clear advice about how to improve their work and check that pupils follow this advice  – all teachers check pupils’ understanding effectively during lessons and adapt teaching if necessary.   Improve pupils’ progress and results in reading by:  – ensuring that pupils have more frequent opportunities to read aloud in school so that teachers are able to check how well they are progressing.

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place in October 2014

 Ensure that leaders and governors act with greater urgency to bring about improvements to pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching by:  – focusing strongly on the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress when checking and managing the quality of teaching – evaluating the school’s performance rigorously and accurately, with due consideration of national minimum expectations of pupils’ achievement – making certain that the school development plan clearly identifies when necessary improvements are expected to be in place – checking the school’s progress towards the necessary improvements regularly and rigorously.

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place in October 2014

 An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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place in October 2014

 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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Evidence

During this monitoring inspection, seven lessons were observed, including three jointly with the headteacher. I met with you, the assistant headteacher, the English leader, the teacher with responsibility for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, class teachers and two representatives from the local authority. I also met with the Chair of the Governing Body. I scrutinised school documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, records of leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching and local authority notes of visit. I evaluated the school’s action plan. I spoke to parents at the start of the school day. Records relating to keeping pupils safe were checked. I also observed an assembly.

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Context

Since my previous visit, there have been several changes to the leadership team. One of the executive headteachers left at the end of June. The other executive headteacher has taken full responsibility and now leads the infant and junior school. The deputy headteacher was seconded to a different school at the beginning of the autumn term until December 2015. An assistant headteacher joined in June 2015 and has responsibility for mathematics and teaching and learning. A teacher with responsibility for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs retired at the end of the summer term. Since June 2015, the teacher with responsibility for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs from Vigo Infant School has been working across both schools. A new phase leader for Year 3 joined in September 2015 from the infant school. A new parent governor has joined the governing body.

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Context

A newly qualified teacher with responsibility for Year 3 pupils left in June. A class teacher with responsibility for Year 5 pupils left at the end of the summer term. A temporary teacher with responsibility for Year 3 pupils joined in September 2015. Seven teaching assistants left at the end of the summer term. Nine new teaching assistants joined in September 2015.

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Context

The school has started a phased expansion from two-form entry to three-form entry. The admission number this year increased in Year 3 from 60 pupils to 90 pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils

Unvalidated data show that attainment at the end of Year 6 in 2015 in reading, writing and mathematics is higher than in previous years. End-of-year results show that standards in mathematics were broadly average at the end of Year 6 and just below average in reading and writing. In Year 6 in 2015, more pupils made expected levels of progress and achieved the standards expected for their age than in previous years. Effective teaching and well-targeted additional resources ensured that gaps in these pupils’ learning were addressed successfully. However, progress for pupils in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 was slower, particularly in reading and writing. Pupils in these year groups are not catching up quickly enough.

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Outcomes for pupils

The school’s information indicates that many pupils in current Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 made insufficient progress last year. Although some aspects of teaching have improved, lessons do not yet cater well for all groups of pupils. Tasks are not adapted sufficiently sharply to cater precisely for individual pupils’ learning needs. Too often, higher-ability pupils repeat learning or consolidate skills they have already grasped. Equally, lower-ability pupils often complete activities planned to meet the needs of average-ability pupils. Teachers are beginning to make some appropriate adaptations to lessons, including varying the resources available to different ability groupings. However, variations made are not sufficiently focused on the level of challenge required by learners.

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Outcomes for pupils

The school has an above average proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have begun to implement additional support including introducing more targeted programmes. However, these do not always meet pupils’ specific learning needs. For example, additional reading support has been introduced in Year 3 and Year 4, but support for mathematics is less well developed. This work is at a very early stage and, consequently, leaders are unsure of its impact on accelerating pupils’ progress.

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Outcomes for pupils

Many disabled pupils and those with special educational needs made slower than expected progress over the course of last year. This year, leaders have established a more robust programme of support. For example, pupils are participating in helpful reading activities designed to accelerate their progress. However, these are at an early stage and leaders have yet to evaluate the effectiveness on pupils’ overall attainment in reading.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

The pace of improvement in the quality of teaching is too slow. Not enough teaching is securely good or better. Although pupils are much clearer now on what they are learning about, planned activities still do not cater well for pupils’ different starting points. Consequently, for some pupils activities are either too hard or too easy, or simply repetitive. As a result, pupils in most year groups are not making the progress they are capable of.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

In lessons, pupils are now receiving more timely verbal feedback from teachers. In the best examples, teachers keep a close eye on all learners and intervene in a timely manner, asking probing questions to check understanding or offer encouragement. However, in less effective examples, teachers do not always pose questions that explore understanding in sufficient depth. When this is the case, opportunities to challenge or extend learners’ ideas are missed and progress slows. Leaders have set clear expectations for how pupils receive written feedback. Teachers are increasingly providing considered, instantaneous feedback, as pupils complete tasks. However, this is not consistent in all classes. In some, there is evidence that pupils are receiving helpful guidance such as modelled examples of what is expected. In other classes, despite leaders’ clear guidelines, feedback to pupils is too intermittent. In many classes, insufficient attention is given to allowing

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

pupils to learn from their mistakes and correct errors.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Efforts have been galvanised to make learning environments more interactive and relevant to pupils’ learning. Mathematics and English displays now support pupils’ learning better than in the past. In a Year 3 mathematics lesson, one pupil was able to confidently use prompts to expertly find the meaning of the word ‘multiply’, confidently explaining to her group that it means ‘groups of’. Consequently, pupils are able to engage in learning more independently than in the past, developing their calculation skills appropriately. However, opportunities to develop pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics are less common.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Teaching assistants are developing their skills well. They work purposefully alongside pupils and are clear about the role they play in moving learning forward. In one mathematics session, a teaching assistant skilfully developed pupils’ conceptual understanding and mastery of multiplication. In this lesson, pupils, through skilful adult questioning, moved with ease from using repeated addition into using ‘groups of’ to solve simple multiplication calculations. As a result those pupils in receipt of this additional support made rapid progress.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Safeguarding procedures are rigorous. Despite the additional challenges of a number of staff changes, including the sharing of staff across the infant and junior schools, the checks that leaders make on the suitability of adults are up to date and appropriate. Records are detailed and clear.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Class teachers are implementing the new behaviour policy consistently. Pupils understand the school’s reward systems and are keen to learn well and behave appropriately. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They work collaboratively, sharing resources and taking turns. At playtimes, pupils play well together, making good use of the expansive play area and range of equipment available. Levels of supervision are high and adults are vigilant, keeping a close eye on all pupils.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Pupils listen well in assemblies. Assemblies are calm, orderly occasions where pupils are keen to contribute their ideas and thoughts. During the inspection, pupils in Year 3 and Year 4 were enthusiastically considering the characteristics of friendship in order to list the ‘ingredients’ for a friendship recipe. Assemblies are contributing well to pupils’ personal development and staff share high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Attendance is average. Leaders have implemented a new policy and greater attention has been placed on tackling absence. Parents are generally positive about the changes and most commented to the inspector that their child enjoys school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

Despite many changes to staffing, the headteacher has restated her expectations, creating a more cohesive team that is focused more intently on improving the school. There are more regular opportunities for staff to share expertise and learn from one another. However, improvements to the quality of teaching are marginal and progress for many pupils is yet to accelerate in order to allow them to catch up lost ground.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The headteacher has devised a school action plan that focuses on the right priorities. However, it only takes a short-term view and it does not make clear what will be achieved and by when. In addition, targets for pupils’ achievement are too vague. These need to be strengthened to account more strongly for pupils’ starting points so that they are challenging yet realistic. Middle leaders are committed to developing their subjects. However, they too lack clarity about what the school is trying to achieve and by when.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

Since my previous visit, leaders have continued to gather information about pupil outcomes. However, analysis of information gleaned is scant. Leaders and governors are not yet scrutinising information closely. Leaders do not question, interrogate or analyse information in enough depth to determine how groups of learners are performing compared to their peers. Despite completion of an external review, work to evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s spending of pupil premium funding is particularly underdeveloped. As a result, additional resources and support are not always directed to where they are needed most.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

Governors meet regularly and are committed to improving the school. However, they acknowledge there are still weaknesses and improvement, particularly in accelerating pupils’ progress, has been too slow. They recognise that channelling additional support for Year 6 pupils last year reaped some rewards, but concede that this rise in standards was not replicated in any other year group. Governors do not always receive information in enough detail to allow them to offer robust challenge to school leaders.

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External support

The local authority has continued to provide helpful support to school leaders. Officers meet regularly with the headteacher, offering support, challenge and guidance. Useful visits from the English, mathematics and inclusion advisers have contributed well to developing these aspects in school. However, on occasion, some improvement suggestions are not acted upon as promptly as needed. It is unclear what impact some of the targeted support is having on raising standards for pupils.

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