Setting

Mrs Patricia Hatt Murston Junior School Sunny Bank Sittingbourne Kent ME10 3QN

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School

Following my visit to your school on 24 September 2015, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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School

The visit was the second monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in December 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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School

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, the chair and vice chair of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. I evaluated the improvement plan and other documents provided by the school. Short visits to all of the classes were carried out with the headteacher. I talked to a group of pupils over lunch.

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Context

An acting deputy headteacher, who is a specialist leader of education, and another teacher who is the mathematics leader joined the school at the beginning of this term. Teaching has been rearranged so that pupils are taught in single age classes Ofsted

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Context

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk each morning. Two new part-time teachers have joined the school to support this change. The governing body has been strengthened with the recruitment of two experienced governors. The local authority is currently consulting on proposals to amalgamate Murston Infant School and Murston Junior School. If this proposal goes ahead, the schools will merge officially and become a new all-through primary school in September 2016.

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Main findings

There is now much greater clarity of purpose and sharper focus on those areas identified as requiring improvement at the time of the section 5 inspection. The school’s improvement plan has been simplified, with appropriate actions to be taken and milestones identified throughout the year so that leaders can easily evaluate whether actions are successful. This is a huge step forward since the first visit. There is greater clarity about roles, responsibilities and accountability. The leaders, including the governors, check regularly and carefully to make sure that agreed actions are being carried out and are having the intended impact on pupils’ achievement and behaviour.

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Main findings

There was a pleasing improvement in the progress made by Year 6 pupils at the end of the last academic year. All of these pupils made at least expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Three quarters of the pupils made better than expected progress in reading. Almost half made better than expected progress in writing and one third in mathematics. Writing remains the weakest aspect. The school is tackling this and there are good examples of pupils’ writing on display throughout the school. Even so, school leaders need to make sure that pupils are routinely expected, and have sufficient opportunity, to write regularly and at length.

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Main findings

The school has a calm and happy atmosphere. The classes and corridors are bright and welcoming with pupils’ work on display as well as useful support materials. The adults have worked hard to provide stimulating areas such as the ‘dragon’s lairs’ in some of the classrooms. During this visit pupils behaved well in lessons and in the hall at lunchtime. They respond well to routines and respect the school’s rules. They generally understand what is expected of them in lessons. Attendance is still a concern and a small group of pupils miss too many days of schooling.

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Main findings

Ofsted may carry out further monitoring inspections and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The local authority is providing valuable support. It arranged the appointment of the acting deputy headteacher and supported the strengthening of the governing body. The local authority’s six-weekly progress and challenge meetings are valuable opportunities for senior leaders and the improvement adviser to evaluate how well the school is doing and set the next steps. The support and advice of the local authority improvement adviser is valued by the school. She has helped to make sure the improvement plan is sensible, specific and appropriate. The school also works with a group of local schools to identify and share good practice and training.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Kent. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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