Church Crookham Junior School

Church Crookham Junior School Tweseldown Road, Church Crookham, Fleet, Hampshire GU52 8BN

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is an outstanding school

 Church Crookham is a strongly inclusive, happy school.  Leaders and governors have been extremely successful in addressing the areas for improvement identified at the time of the previous inspection.  Substantial and sustained improvements in pupils’ progress since the previous inspection have had a significant effect on attainment, securing marked year-on-year increases in standards over the past three years.  All groups of pupils achieve exceptionally well, including disadvantaged pupils and the most able.  Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their education by the end of Year 6 because of their high achievement and excellent attitudes to learning.  Excellent teaching and effective use of assessment ensure learning builds strongly on pupils’ understanding, so that they make rapid progress across all year groups.  Leaders and teachers insist that all pupils do their very best. They combine very high expectations

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This is an outstanding school

with extremely effective support for those pupils who need extra help.  The curriculum provides pupils with a wide range of exceptionally interesting learning opportunities and many thought-provoking experiences.  Pupils enjoy learning science and achieve well in this subject. However, as yet they are not recording their findings to the same standard as the rest of their work.  Parents are strongly supportive of the school’s work. They have complete confidence in the school’s leadership and management and in the quality of teaching.  The governing body provides extremely effective support and challenge for the school and its staff.  Pupils behave exceptionally well throughout the school. Rigorous safeguarding procedures and caring relationships mean that pupils are very safe.  Pupils participate enthusiastically in an extensive range of activities which contribute to their love of learning and to above-average attendance.

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This is an outstanding school

 Pupils speak articulately, confidently and perceptively about their learning, views and feelings.  Pupils’ outstanding outcomes illustrate the school’s success in securing ‘Achievement for All’.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen pupils’ understanding of how to record the results of science investigations.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 Church Crookham is a highly inclusive and cohesive school. All pupils and members of staff are valued and the quality of pastoral support is exceptional.  Leaders have extremely high expectations of all staff and pupils, making sure that everyone has the opportunity to discover their strengths. They ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities to access learning and benefit from all the school has to offer. Leaders make sure that teachers expect the best of themselves and of their pupils. All members of staff share the senior leaders’ vision for the school, each playing a valuable part in the school’s success.  Subject leaders regularly check that improvements in teaching and learning are sustained in all classes. For example, they frequently work alongside senior leaders to look at the quality of pupils’ work in their books. Subject leaders work very effectively with teachers to develop their practice, teaching alongside

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

them in the classrooms, delivering training and providing colleagues with advice about how to teach particular topics.  The school is a busy and active community, with lots going on during the school day. Strong relationships contribute to pupils’ well-being, ensuring they feel known, valued and safe. For example, leaders, teachers and support staff routinely greet and chat to pupils as they move between lessons, asking about their day and checking that they are happy.  Leaders take particular care to make sure that the children of service families play a full and active part in school life. They have developed highly effective induction procedures, working closely with parents to help those pupils who arrive part-way through the school year to make friends and settle quickly. Initiatives such as the ‘Military Mates’ club give pupils and parents a pleasant and positive environment to get to know each other while enjoying a wide range of activities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 Leaders have secured further improvements in pupils’ behaviour since the previous inspection, lifting the quality of behaviour to the highest levels. This has contributed substantially to the school’s success in securing pupils’ outstanding achievement.  Pupils show incredibly strong respect for adults and for each other. For example, during the inspection they listened intently to a Paralympian’s moving account of her experiences and ambitions, asking questions sensibly. Pupils are very well prepared with the academic and social skills needed to support them in their future lives in modern Britain.  Leaders use pupil premium funding very effectively to ensure that the relatively small numbers of disadvantaged pupils achieve their full potential. Leaders make better use of funds to target pupils’ needs much more precisely than at the time of the previous inspection, employing teachers to coach pupils in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

particular aspects of their learning, for example. Over the past two years this has made a substantial difference to disadvantaged pupils’ achievement, virtually closing the gap in achievement between this group and other pupils nationally in 2015.  The breadth and quality of the curriculum are particular strengths of the school, contributing significantly to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Leaders provide an extensive range of activities and opportunities to enhance pupils’ learning, their physical health and their emotional well- being, with something on offer to suit all tastes and abilities. For example, pupils’ impressive solo performances of Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ during the inspection, very ably accompanied by pupils playing the keyboard, illustrate the school’s commitment to ensuring that everyone can be proud of their achievements.  Leaders and teachers effectively plan science to ensure pupils develop experimental skills as well as a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

confident understanding of scientific knowledge. However, leaders have identified that, while pupils learn how to record their findings in different ways, this aspect of their learning could be improved even further.  Special events, such as ‘International Week’ contribute very well to pupils’ learning and to their enjoyment of school. For example, pupils were enthused by the recent ‘Health and Fitness Week’. They talk knowledgeably about why a balanced diet is important and about whether advertisements for junk food should be banned on television until later in the evening.  ‘Fantastic Fridays’ give pupils regular opportunities to participate in an impressive range of motivating events and activities, such as designing and decorating t-shirts, visiting a television broadcasting company and participating in activities at a local sports park. A wide selection of popular clubs provides further opportunities for pupils to learn and excel in a new skill, including netball, cross-stitch, judo and cookery.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 Leaders and staff promote British values particularly well. They build regular opportunities into the school day for pupils to consider the significance of British values, such as tolerance and mutual respect, in relation to issues such as the current refugee crisis in Europe and those relating to Anne Frank’s diary.  Pupils learn about a range of world religions. Visits, such as the recent Year 4 trip to a Buddhist temple, contribute very well to their understanding and respect for beliefs and cultures.  The primary physical education and sports premium is used very effectively to build teachers’ confidence in teaching sports and to support pupils’ achievement in physical education.  Numerous parents expressed confidence in the school during the inspection through the Ofsted online questionnaire, as well as in comments made to inspectors. Almost all of the comments made were positive, referring frequently to: the breadth of the curriculum; prompt and serious responses to any

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

concerns raised by parents; staff commitment; pupils’ progress; support for pupils with additional needs; and the school’s happy, inclusive ethos. The overwhelming majority of parents are clearly very pleased with the school’s work.  The governance of the school Improvements in the role played by the governing body since the previous inspection ensure that governors make a strong contribution to the school’s leadership and management. Sharpened assessment procedures provide them with a more accurate and reliable picture of pupils’ learning than before. Governors know how funds such as the pupil premium are spent and how well these are used to support pupils’ achievement. Governors regularly question leaders about the quality of teaching and learning, holding leaders firmly to account for pupils’ achievement. They supplement discussions about progress information with frequent visits to the school, so they can see the school’s work in action and check leaders’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

commentary for themselves. Governors are extremely well informed about the school’s performance in relation to other schools nationally. They share leaders’ and teachers’ high expectations for all pupils and are committed to securing the very best education for everyone. Governors have worked closely and very successfully with senior leaders to steer the school through the recent expansion, with minimal disturbance to pupils’ learning.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders give safeguarding arrangements an extremely strong focus, ensuring that arrangements are rigorously maintained so that pupils are very secure. The Chair of the Governing Body completes robust checks on safeguarding procedures. For example, she regularly questions members of staff about what steps they would take for hypothetical safeguarding and child protection issues in a wide range of circumstances. This, along with other routine checks, ensures

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

that the school continues to give safeguarding a very high priority.  Leaders and governors are knowledgeable about the risks of radicalisation and extremism. They work tirelessly to ensure that every pupil has a friend or an adult they can talk to about any concerns, so no one feels isolated. There is no sense of complacency among staff or governors. All are alert to pupils’ physical and emotional well-being.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations of all pupils, regardless of their ability or background. They skilfully adapt their teaching to accommodate pupils’ wide-ranging needs so that all learn extremely well.  Teachers are very knowledgeable about how to deepen and extend pupils’ learning. They use strong subject knowledge to very good effect, planning learning that engages and challenges their pupils. Teachers use questioning extremely well to test and explore pupils’ understanding.  Teachers and teaching assistants interject promptly to help any pupils who may be finding the work hard during lessons, including pupils with special educational needs or disability.  Teachers consistently follow the school’s marking and feedback policy, so that pupils are clear about teachers’ expectations and about the next steps in their learning. Pupils say that their teachers’ feedback helps them to improve their work, a view supported by the quality of work in their books.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Mathematics teaching gives pupils a strong framework of key mathematical knowledge and skills to ensure that they achieve well. Teachers encourage pupils to explain their thinking when tackling mathematical problems to clarify their understanding of mathematical concepts.  Teachers equip pupils extremely well with the skills needed to write effectively. They make sure that pupils learn how to write for different purposes and audiences, giving them regular opportunities to practise and improve their writing skills.  Confident science teaching progressively builds pupils’ knowledge and understanding as they move through the year groups. However, while teachers give pupils regular opportunities to display science results in different ways, pupils are not yet achieving as well in this aspect of their science work.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils love school. They attend regularly and arrive punctually in the mornings, dressed smartly in the school’s uniform.  Pupils are intuitive and perceptive about their own learning and well-being. For example, pupils told inspectors that they know and appreciate how hard adults work to help them to develop their learning and confidence. Pupils themselves say that they value their teachers’ roles in demonstrating positive relationships, good manners and commitment to do well. One pupil commented, ‘I’m proud of this school because teachers set a good example and get on with each other really well’.  Pupils articulate their ideas and views extremely well. They thoughtfully consider and debate thought- provoking issues, such as how to challenge cruel or bullying behaviour should it arise.  Pupils are aware of some of the complexities of moral issues, such as Nelson Mandela’s forgiveness of his

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Personal development and welfare

prison wardens and aggressors. They empathise strongly with others. For example, they are very sensitive about the feelings of those who have parents serving abroad.  Pupils feel exceptionally safe, as illustrated by comments such as, ‘there’s nothing to worry us in school’. Regular sessions to develop pupils’ personal and social skills ensure that they are knowledgeable about safe practices, including when using technology. They develop a confident understanding of their own responsibility in making good choices.  Pupils carry out responsibilities, such as ‘playground pals’, with great maturity, contributing to the school’s strong caring culture.  Pupils widely participate in the school’s extensive range of clubs, saying that there is ‘something for everyone’.  Attendance rates have improved substantially since the previous inspection and are much higher than the national average. The proportions of pupils who are persistently absent have fallen sharply, with virtually

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Personal development and welfare

none in 2015. A small number of pupils with more substantial additional needs are very well supported so that they attend as regularly as possible.  Pupils and parents are justifiably proud of their school. Pupils speak confidently and proudly to visitors about their school. The overwhelming majority of parents who completed the Ofsted online questionnaire feel that pupils are safe, happy and well cared for by the adults in the school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils behave extremely well throughout the school and are keen to get on with their learning. They have fun and behave safely during breaktimes. Pupils’ impressive behaviour makes a significant contribution to the quality of learning. Pupils themselves say that high standards of behaviour are typical in school, helping them to get the most out of lessons.  Pupils’ respect for each other and for adults is very high. They happily initiate conversations with adults, confident in the knowledge that adults will listen. This contributes to pupils’ strong sense of personal safety. For example, pupils say that adults listen carefully if they are hurt or struggling with work, giving them helpful support.  Thorough, consistent behaviour management procedures underpin pupils’ excellent behaviour. Adults provide extremely effective support for those pupils who find it harder to behave, with evidence of

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Behaviour

improved behaviour as a result. Pupils are very clear about how they are expected to behave and they understand the consequences of their actions.  Pupils say that there is very little misbehaviour and hardly ever any bullying. They say that adults swiftly sort out any concerns and that any incidents do not recur. This view is supported by records of pupils’ behaviour over time.  All parents who expressed an opinion in the Ofsted online questionnaire feel that pupils are well behaved.

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 Pupils make very rapid progress in all year groups and across a broad range of subjects. Pupils develop a deep and secure knowledge and understanding in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as in other subjects such as science and history.  In 2015, pupils’ attainment was well above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. High standards in all subjects at the end of Key Stage 2, combined with exceptional personal and social skills, prepare pupils in Year 6 extremely well for the next stage in their education.  Pupils make very rapid progress in reading and writing. They regularly write at length, putting their understanding of grammar and punctuation into practice and developing writing stamina. The quality of pupils’ handwriting and the presentation of their work have improved markedly over the past year, helping pupils to organise their work and to write more fluently and speedily. The most-able pupils

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

acquire a deep understanding of more complex features of writing, such as counter-arguments in persuasive letters.  In mathematics, pupils learn how to use strategies, such as number lines and formal calculations, independently and confidently to solve mathematical problems.  Pupils of all abilities, including pupils with special educational needs or disability, make good use of resources, such as word banks and mathematical equipment, to help them to strengthen their understanding of English and mathematics and to work more independently of adult support when appropriate.  Pupils speak articulately and intelligently about what they have learned in a range of subjects, including science. For example, pupils in Year 6 clearly explained the difference between reversible and irreversible changes, electrical circuits and aspects of evolution and classification. They record results of scientific results carefully, using a range of techniques to demonstrate their findings, although they are not quite as

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

confident about this aspect of science.  The most-able pupils make the same very rapid progress as their classmates. In 2015, the proportions attaining the higher levels (level 5) in the national tests were well above the national average in all subjects. The proportions attaining level 6 were above average in reading; grammar, punctuation and spelling and mathematics.  Substantial improvements in disadvantaged pupils’ progress over the past three years have progressively narrowed the gap between this group’s attainment and that of other pupils nationally. Pupils’ work and information about their progress indicate that the school has closed the very minimal gaps that remained in 2015. Disadvantaged pupils make very similar progress to their classmates in all year groups.  The children of service families achieve very well. They make at least the same strong progress as their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics, and often better. Service pupils’ excellent achievement is

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

indicative of teachers’ high expectations of all pupils and the impressive procedures in place to support those who join the school part-way through their primary education. Focused programmes of work for individual pupils and small groups help them to catch up in mathematics and English where needed, making a significant difference to pupils’ confidence, motivation and learning.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make the same very rapid progress as their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils with special educational needs or disability make excellent progress. They become increasingly confident when tackling challenging tasks because teachers and teaching assistants give them prompt support and encouragement.

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School details

Unique reference number 115976 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10002378

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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 439 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karen McManus Headteacher John Abbott Telephone number 01252 617664 Website www.crookham-jun.hants.sch.uk Email address adminoffice@crookham-jun.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 November 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is lower than that found in most schools. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children looked after by the local authority.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  About 20% of pupils are children of service families.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs or disability is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has a privately run breakfast club and an after-school club, both of which are inspected separately.  The school expanded in September 2015. The school has four classes in Years 3, 4 and 5 and three

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed learning in 19 lessons or part lessons, including two that were observed jointly with senior leaders.  The inspection team held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, teachers, members of staff, a local authority representative, parents and pupils. A meeting also took place with the Chair of the Governing Body and two other governors.  The inspection team took account of 149 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 44 staff questionnaires. In addition, they considered the views expressed by parents who spoke with them informally at the start of the school day as well as a large number of written comments sent in to Ofsted during the inspection.  The inspection team observed the school’s work and considered a range of documents, including the school’s improvement plan, information about pupils’ progress, attendance records and safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

policies.  The inspection team looked at a sample of pupils’ work provided by the school, as well as looking at pupils’ work in lessons. They also listened to pupils in Year 3 and Year 6 reading.

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Inspection team

Julie Sackett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Linda Jacobs Ofsted Inspector Penelope Orme 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

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

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