Leesland Church of England Controlled Junior School

Leesland CofE Controlled Junior School Gordon Road, Gosport, Hampshire PO12 3QF

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 New leaders have improved the school this year. However, previously very slow improvements mean that neither outcomes for pupils nor the quality of teaching are much better than at the time of the last inspection.  Standards are not high enough, although many pupils are starting to catch up on their weaker learning last year and before.  The most able pupils are not achieving high enough standards. Not enough is expected of them.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium are making better progress now but gaps between the standards they achieve and others nationally have not closed much and are still too wide.  Too little teaching gauges pupils’ learning over the course of a lesson. Different groups of pupils are not offered significantly different kinds of challenge very often.  Pupils like the feedback on their work that teachers give them but not all are supported to use it consistently well.  Some pupils chat in lessons and this reduces the

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This is a school that requires improvement

quality and the quantity of their work.  Governors do not yet offer good levels of challenge and support to senior leaders. They do not monitor key indicators of the quality of the school’s work closely and often.  Systems to monitor pupils’ achievements do not provide good information about the progress made by key groups over the year or key stage.  Regular reviews of pupils’ progress do not bring about rapid and sustained changes to learning. Senior leaders do not visit lessons very often.  Pupils are not well informed about their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

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The school has the following strengths

 New leaders know what needs to be done to improve the school and they are currently making a positive difference.  Pupils are well cared for, safe and happy in school.  Leaders are reaching out to parents and beginning to involve more in the life and work of the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes for all pupils, especially:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the most able pupils eligible for the pupil premium, to close the gaps between them and other pupils nationally and others in the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

ensuring that teachers probe pupils’ understanding at key points in lessons and respond appropriately providing work to all groups of pupils that matches their learning needs and offers them appropriate levels of challenge ensuring that the systems to promote good behaviour in lessons and attitudes to learning are used consistently and effectively making sure that all pupils use the feedback they are offered to improve their work raising expectations teachers have, especially of the most able pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

improving governors’ capacity to offer strong and productive challenge to leaders using high-quality performance information improving the quality of information that leaders and teachers have about the progress being made by every group in each class over the year and since the start of the key stage linking decisions taken in the regular pupil progress meetings much more closely and quickly to changes in teaching and learning monitoring rigorously the implementation of new policies and practices promoting fundamental values more explicitly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has not improved significantly over the last two years. This is a consequence of very slow rates of improvement in the year immediately after the previous inspection.  The new executive headteacher and associate headteacher set about speeding up the rate of improvement of teaching and learning this year and have gone some way towards making up for lost time. They are successfully implementing a range of effective strategies and better ways of working; many are still quite new and some are only recently making a difference. Improvements are apparent. However, the school is still at a catch-up stage to make up for previous weaknesses.  Leaders show pride in their achievements so far and have high expectations of themselves and others. Sometimes this leads to inflated judgements of the quality of some aspects of the school’s work. More recent judgements are more realistic and therefore have better capacity to support the school’s next

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

steps.  Development planning shows ambition and it focuses on what matters. There is a lack of precision in some strategies, however. The role of frequent and rigorous monitoring of the success of new ways of working is understated. Leaders do not visit lessons often enough to ensure that actions are implemented immediately and changes embedded.  Leaders rightly prioritise the quality of teaching for improvement. Teachers are having to make significant changes to their practice and a few are unconvinced yet of the benefits of all that is asked of them. This is because the good thinking behind the changes is not always reinforced through close monitoring and frequent feedback.  Systems to monitor how well pupils are learning are relatively new. They give good information about current standards but do not yet yield important information about how much progress groups of pupils in each class and year group are making from their various starting points. This compromises the capacity

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

of leaders to gauge the impact of their work and to make adjustments to the organisation of teaching and learning.  Teachers with responsibilities for various subjects are beginning to understand the significance and potential impact of their work. They currently tend to see their work in terms of tasks and duties rather than directly influencing the quality of pupils’ learning in their subject. They rarely visit lessons to see first-hand what the quality of learning is like across the school.  The performance management systems to reward good teaching were ineffective last year and led to many teachers being rewarded despite outcomes for pupils being disappointingly low. These systems have been overhauled and are now being run with much more attention to the impact of teaching on learning.  Systems to care for pupils’ needs are of good quality because they are based on a genuine sense of compassion and care and they are operated with close attention to detail. Strong messages are given

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

about equalities and the valuing of diversity as a part of this. As a result pupils are open to new ideas and show interest in, and appreciation of, differences. The school does not promote a good understanding of how loving relationships can take many forms, however.  The school’s Christian foundation also supports pupils’ moral and spiritual development. Its values are summed up as ‘love, grace and respect’ and staff use these as the basis for all interactions throughout the day. Leaders prioritise developing pupils’ broader cultural and social development. Opportunities recently include ‘Let’s Get Cooking’ sessions, a wide variety of events and good participation in Sport Relief activities, a trip up the Spinnaker Tower for Year 4 and a theatre group visit to bring ancient Egypt to life for pupils in Year 3.  Topics covered are wide-ranging and interesting. They provide for a good balance between the core skills of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

English and mathematics and the wider range of subjects that pupils must learn. Pupils’ artwork is displayed attractively around the school and pupils obviously enjoy their participation in rock school and other musical and performing arts events. Pupils’ spiritual development is covered in religious education lessons. Pupils learn about Christianity, Hinduism and Islam but miss the chance to have visitors in assemblies representing a range of faiths, and the opportunity to visit places of worship other than churches.  The pupil premium is spent on a wide range of provision to support the welfare and progress of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This includes running nurture groups and other support for some pupils’ emotional and social needs and the funding of residential and other trips and visits for some pupils. In addition there are various catch-up and intervention opportunities in English and mathematics

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

and funding for a family support worker who maintains strong and productive relationships with families facing challenges. The regular ‘chill and chat’ sessions are one way in which leaders are helping to forge better links between home and school. A deployment club is run to support pupils from service families who have a parent who is working away from home. Overall, the grant is more effective in meeting the social and emotional needs of pupils than their learning needs.  Serious shortcomings in the quality of the leadership of provision for pupils with special educational needs or disability have recently been addressed. The associate headteacher is currently undertaking the role of special educational needs coordinator until a new appointment can be made. She has already improved the quality of provision significantly, identifying needs more accurately and putting in place strategies to help teachers and teaching assistants to provide help for pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders use the PE (physical education) and sport premium well to broaden opportunities for pupils to enjoy a wider range of sports and become healthier as a result. A PE specialist supports the development of the curriculum and provides training to all staff to improve their teaching of sports and fitness. As a result sports festival entries have increased four-fold this year from low levels last year, participation in extra-curricular sport has doubled and new activities such as golf and cricket are being enjoyed.  The local authority has provided some good support for the work of the school since the last inspection. It worked closely with governors to address the need for significant responses to its continued under- performance last year and has given good support this year to the new senior leaders and to subject leaders in English and mathematics and in provision for pupils with special educational needs or disability.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Some local authority reports have reflected the school’s inflated judgements of its overall progress since the last inspection and have therefore not served senior leaders or governors well.  The school benefits from being part of a federation with the neighbouring infant school. Staff working across both schools and others who liaise closely with their counterparts there ensure that there is continuity of experience for pupils from Reception to Year 6. The transition from Year 2 to Year 3 is well managed and learning in Year 3 is faster as a result. Parents appreciate receiving similar messages from both schools.  The governance of the school Governors show dedication to the school. They have recently undertaken a review of their own work, producing an action plan in response, and some have undergone training. All governors have a special role, linking with year group and subjects. There is a designated governor for safeguarding who visits

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the school to check on systems and processes relating to the welfare of pupils. However, they are not yet providing good levels of challenge to leaders. This is because they do not have detailed knowledge about how well the school is progressing using important key indictors of performance. For example, they are not aware of the gaps between how well pupils eligible for the pupil premium are doing in each year in mathematics and English compared with others in the school and nationally. Neither are they well informed about overall standards and the extent to which whole-school targets are being met at key points in the year. Governors are overseeing the new performance management arrangements to reward the best teachers and appreciate the vital role of pupil outcomes in making pay decisions. Good oversight is provided for the school’s finances, which are well managed as a result.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Good systems are in place to ensure that all appropriate

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

checks are made on people who work with pupils in the school. Training is regular and of good quality. Recent training on the prevention of extremism and radicalisation and the role of the ‘Prevent’ programme has been provided for key personnel. All of this work is steered by a safeguarding policy that, although thin on detail in some aspects, is a good guide for staff on how to respond quickly and effectively to support the welfare of pupils. Staff show high levels of care for pupils and liaise closely with all relevant outside agencies. They work well with parents to maintain a good culture of safeguarding in the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because it has not promoted rapid and secure learning for all groups of pupils since the previous inspection.  Leaders have adopted a commercially available strategy in mathematics in response to the urgent need to secure better learning in this subject. It does not closely match the requirements of the new national curriculum in mathematics; leaders are aware that adaptations need to be made. As a result teaching in mathematics is now better organised but the development of important skills such as mathematical reasoning is not yet strong because teachers pose too few interesting and challenging mathematical problems for pupils to grapple with.  Aspects of teaching have improved recently. The teaching of English is currently stronger than that of mathematics. Reading and writing skills are promoted through good planning based on well-sequenced tasks. Baseline assessments inform teachers and pupils of learning needs. The final written pieces often

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

demonstrate secure learning. Teachers’ feedback is often against clearly understood objectives. While many pupils respond well, some do not pick up important learning points and continue to make the same mistakes in later work.  Teachers’ questioning tends to operate at the level of checking pupils’ grasp of the initial stages of the tasks set. It is rarely used to extend and deepen pupils’ thinking very much. It therefore sometimes fails to promote deep learning.  Because teachers occasionally lack insight into the quality and extent of pupils’ learning they sometimes do not provide different stimuli and resources for different groups. Different levels of challenge are often presented as options but pupils make these choices and sometimes do not choose well.  Uncertainty around what very high standards look like in the new national curriculum compromises the capacity of teachers to offer the most able pupils high-level challenges and promote rapid progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Pupils told inspectors that ‘a lot more’ could be asked of them in terms of work output and quality, especially in mathematics.  Sometimes pupils do not get on with the work very quickly or efficiently. Movement between tasks is not often done smartly and efficiently. This is because some teachers do not consistently promote very high expectations of pupils’ behaviour.  Teachers know their pupils well. They are aware of the individual circumstances of every child, for example who is eligible for the pupil premium. They show good levels of care and support for pupils’ welfare in the classroom and beyond.  Teaching assistants provide useful support for specific pupils. Sometimes they do not play an active enough role in lessons because there is not enough good-quality communication between them and the teacher about how to accelerate learning.  Some good specialist teaching is provided for some pupils. For example a part-time speech and language

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

therapist works across the two schools in the federation, focusing on early intervention and screening in order to close gaps in learning quickly.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Leaders, teachers and support staff know pupils well and show high levels of care for their needs. Pupils appreciate this and wanted inspectors to know that they feel very safe and very well looked after. When asked what was best about this school they confidently answered ‘The teachers!’, and explained that ‘they are nice and look after everyone’.  Pupils are confident that if they have a problem there is always someone to listen and help them. They explained that relationship problems in school are rare but they do happen. The ‘bully box’ is used when appropriate and pupils are confident of an effective response. Staff use pupil conferencing meetings to discuss individual pupils’ needs, identify barriers to learning and find solutions. However, actions tend to relate to pupils’ welfare rather than their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 Links with a range of outside agencies are good. Referrals about medium- and high-level concerns are timely and responses are prompted when necessary. Provision in school is wide-ranging and effective. There is good support for developing some pupils’ emotional and social skills in the nurture club. Well- trained staff provide good support and liaise between teachers, home and other staff thoughtfully and effectively.  A deployment club for pupils from service families is run by specialist staff. It offers pupils the chance to talk about their experiences, meet others in similar situations and have some of their emotional needs understood better and met.  The family liaison worker provides very good support for pupils and their families who have more challenging needs and circumstances. She has gained the respect of everyone she works with and is often able to secure much better levels of attendance and learning than would otherwise be possible for

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Personal development and welfare

some pupils.  Attendance is above the national average because of leaders’ consistent emphasis on its importance to all pupils and parents. There is a range of practical and inventive responses to the needs of some families that is reducing the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  The majority of pupils are very positive about their work and their time in school. However, there is sometimes a steady undercurrent of chatting in many classes that slows learning. Some pupils can get little done at such times and then have to try to catch up. Teachers do not always address this as effectively as pupils themselves would like.  Pupils describe bullying as rare and say that when it happens it is noticed and dealt with by teachers very well. A few spoke of the use of unkind words and name-calling by some.  Systems to encourage better behaviour have changed recently. Previously, pupils who were disrupting learning were taken out of classrooms. This affected their learning and led to misunderstandings on the part of pupils and their parents about this being, in the words of one parent, a ‘soft option’. Now behaviour is supported in classrooms and everyone can continue getting on better with their learning.

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Behaviour

Both behaviour and progress are better as a result.  Systems to signal the need for more focus and better attitudes have been adopted in all classrooms. These are relatively new but are beginning to make a difference. Rewards are valued by pupils. However, some teachers use house points to recognise the behaviour of some pupils that was no better than should be expected from all.  Rates of exclusion for serious misbehaviour have fallen. This sanction is used very much as a last resort now.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Because pupils’ progress for a substantial proportion of the time since the previous inspection was slow the overall progress made requires improvement.  The achievement of Year 6 pupils in 2015 was well below expectations. Nevertheless, it represented significant gains on outcomes in 2014. Leaders are well aware that there is a lot to be done to bring all groups of pupils up to good levels of achievement from these historically low standards.  Currently pupils’ learning is pacier and more secure because of leaders’ clear focus on good-quality teaching and learning. This better learning is beginning to catch pupils up but this will take time to achieve.  Pupils in Year 6 have gaps in their learning because of previously weaker teaching. The proportion meeting the expected standard by this point in English and mathematics is low despite some obviously faster learning since the autumn term. Overall progress in Year 5 is a particular concern but leaders are

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

aware of this and are responding by tackling the needs of the relatively high proportion of pupils with special educational needs or disability and others in these classes.  Learning in mathematics requires improvement. Many pupils are still hesitant about justifying their approach to a problem and choosing the best method. This is because their problem-solving skills are underdeveloped. Some relatively weak number work persists even in older pupils, and some pupils maintain misconceptions for too long over the course of a lesson.  Outcomes in English are improving more rapidly. Many pupils enjoy reading and do so with pleasure and pride. Some do not read enough at home. Written work shows improvement over the last two terms; paragraphing is accurate and pupils’ use of language and expression is much nearer expectations now. Some punctuation is still inaccurate but teaching is beginning to deal with this effectively.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 The most able pupils make similar progress to others. However, their progress is not as fast as that of their peers nationally because they are not given enough intellectual challenge.  Pupils with special educational needs or disability suffered previously from provision that was not good enough to identify and respond to their circumstances. Current support is much more effective. Better quality individual support in lessons and clearly communicated strategies to enable teachers to guide these pupils’ learning more effectively are beginning to make a big difference. Leaders are aware that more remains to be done to catch up these pupils’ learning to where it should be.  Gaps between the standards achieved by pupils eligible for the pupil premium and others in the school are steady rather than closing. Gaps compared to other pupils nationally remain significant. Historically, the progress made by disadvantaged pupils has been too slow, especially in mathematics. Leaders are

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

aware of this. Disadvantaged pupils are beginning to benefit from special attention and support across the school.

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School details

Unique reference number 116334 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10012258 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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 7−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 267 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Matthew Mckeown Headteacher Claire Wilson (executive headteacher) Anne Wake (acting associate headteacher) Telephone number 02392 580 962 Website www.leeslandschools-fed.co.uk Email address junioradminoffice@leeslandschools-fed.co.uk Date of previous inspection 20−21 March 2014

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Information about this school

 Leesland Church of England Controlled Junior School is an average-size primary school.  The school is part of a federation with Leesland Church of England Controlled Infant School. The two schools have the same governing body.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding to support pupils eligible for free school meals or children looked after) is above average.  Some pupils come from service family backgrounds.  The school works with the Pioneer Teaching School Alliance.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set minimum expectations for attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 18 lessons, involving visits to every class and seeing the work of all teachers. Some of these observations were undertaken jointly with senior staff. Detailed scrutinies of pupils’ work in English and mathematics were undertaken.  Inspectors met with senior staff, governors, other staff and groups of pupils. They had a telephone conversation and a meeting with representatives from the local authority.  The school’s development planning and self-evaluation documents, policies and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.  The 19 responses to Parent View were taken into account along with 15 written comments and some paper-based returns. Inspectors spoke with several parents at the gate at the start of morning school.  Inspectors also took into account the views of the 33 staff who returned questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Alan Taylor-Bennett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Peter Dunmall Ofsted Inspector Susan Child 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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