Hart Plain Junior School

Hart Plain Junior School Hart Plain Avenue, Cowplain, Waterlooville PO8 8SA

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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

 The headteacher and her senior team lead the school with a strong set of values and clear expectations that are understood by all.  Leaders consistently prioritise pupils’ welfare and the continual improvement of teaching and learning. They have driven improvements in all aspects of the work of the school very strongly over recent years.  Staff and pupils feel proud to be a part of their school community and enjoy their successes.  Good teaching is now supporting the good progress of all groups of pupils.  Teachers have good subject knowledge. They have high expectations of pupils’ achievements. The good information they have about pupils’ current progress is used very well in their planning.  Pupils enjoy and value learning. The majority take a pride in behaving consistently well. The support that a few need to meet the school’s high standards of behaviour is very effective.  Many parents like how easy it is to talk with senior

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This is a good school

staff and teachers, and how quickly any problems are sorted out.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Sometimes pupils who have special educational needs or disability do not make rapid progress because work is not well adapted to their needs.  Not all staff are trained in the use of phonics (the sounds that letters make) to support all pupils’ rapid progress in reading and writing.  Some pupils do not always make the best use of their time in lessons.  More remains to be done to help some parents to work closely with teachers to enable their child to get the best from all the school has to offer.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Promote outstanding progress for all groups of pupils by: ensuring that, whenever necessary, pupils who have special educational needs or disability have work which is adapted to their needs making greater use of phonics to support the development of younger pupils’ reading and writing, and to help any pupils who need to catch up with their reading skills eliminating any time-wasting by pupils in lessons supporting all parents to work with the school to ensure that their child attends reliably and learns well.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher and her senior team give the school good leadership. They have established a clear set of values based on courage, respect, integrity, aspiration and happiness that are understood by all. These values are evident in all aspects of the school’s work.  Leaders take a firm and consistent response to addressing any need for improvement. All the issues identified at the last inspection have been tackled successfully. Improvements in teaching and learning have been rapid and secure over recent years. The result is that much of the teaching is at least good, the quality of pupils’ learning has improved dramatically, and the school is a safe and happy community.  Leaders and subject coordinators use a wide range of strategies to collect useful information on the quality of pupils’ learning. They include frequent short visits to lessons, usually with an agreed focus, longer and more searching observations of the quality of teaching and learning several times each term,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

and regular assessments of how well pupils are progressing towards the standards expected of them.  Subject coordinators for English and mathematics are very focused on promoting good learning. They play a major part in the frequent scrutinies of pupils’ work. They use the information obtained rapidly and effectively to drive improvements. The work of other subject coordinators is at least sound and is improving because it is emulating this good practice.  The school’s development planning is based on clear and relevant priorities. Key documents contain useful prompts for leaders and governors to gauge how well they are making progress meeting them. This progress is regularly reviewed, and senior staff and governors use their findings well to decide their next steps. Good use is made of analyses of the performance of pupils by the end of key stage 2 in previous years. However, current plans contain relatively little information about expectations of current

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

pupils’ achievements and how well key groups are doing at various points in the year.  Training for teachers involves a good blend of general skill development, often guided by subject coordinators and sometimes with local authority support, and targeted support for individual teachers. Leaders manage the performance of teachers very effectively. Teachers’ targets are related closely to the quality of pupils’ learning as well as more general contributions to the life of the school. Checks on progress against these targets are frequent and support is provided whenever necessary.  Leaders have adopted a new pupils’ assessment scheme and have used it to refresh their whole approach to the organisation of learning. Every pupil’s gains in learning are measured and recorded at several key points in the year. The analyses undertaken are thorough. There is a continual refocusing of provision in each subject for individual pupils, groups of pupils and classes as a result. The system does not yet

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

readily yield headline information about the performance of key groups or whole cohorts of pupils. However, senior leaders continually interrogate it so closely that they always have a very good sense of what is going on.  The school is proud to serve its local community. It is very inclusive and aims to meet the needs of all its pupils and their families. In doing so, it succeeds in promoting equality of opportunity in very practical and effective ways. A wide range of good provision is in place to ensure that all pupils attend well and are safe and well cared for, including a dedicated family support adviser and an attendance officer. This provision is matched very well to pupils’ needs. Nevertheless, leaders are aware that some parents find it difficult to work closely with the school in the best interests of their children. The current very good strategies to involve parents do not always work for everybody.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The school values fairness and respect for differences, and fosters good relationships. Pupils are taught about other cultures and different religions in lessons and in assemblies, and learn how to show respect for differences and to address discrimination. However, there are few visitors in assemblies from faiths other than Christianity and pupils do not get the chance to visit a range of places of worship. Older pupils understand that loving relationships can take a number of different forms but more remains to be done because a few do not translate this into a mature respect for such differences yet. There is a good grasp by older pupils of how democracy works and how their individual rights are exercised in society.  There is a broad range of subject and topic-based learning for all pupils. The school’s website provides a usefully detailed overview of what is taught each half term. Teaching in subjects other than mathematics,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

reading and writing is at least secure but is not quite as strong as in these core areas of learning. Teaching in science, for example, is well organised and uses a good assessment scheme, but schemes of work have only recently been implemented. Leaders are aware that science and some other subjects require close monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the examples of good practice seen by inspectors become well established across the school soon.  Pupils have the chance to experience a range of good-quality cultural and social activities. These include participation in the local music festival and whole-school productions such as ‘Grease’ last year and ‘The Lion King’ this year.  Good use is made of the pupil premium to close the gaps in learning of those pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. It does so through a range of provision to support the welfare and progress of these pupils. This includes a family support adviser and an attendance officer, and the funding of trips and visits and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

other enrichment activities for these pupils. There are also extra opportunities for pupils eligible for the pupil premium to catch up on their learning in small groups and receive extra attention in class from teaching assistants.  The physical education and sport premium is focused well on extending the quality and the range of sporting and fitness-related activities for pupils to enjoy. It funds participation in sports tournaments and higher levels of participation are encouraged. Extra sports and activities introduced as a result include tag rugby, netball, a dance club and ‘active kids’ which is multi-sports based. As a result, over half of pupils now enjoy taking part in after-school activities. Leaders have noticed a strong correlation between participation in these opportunities and academic outcomes, and there are plans to explore this connection further.  The local authority correctly deems the school a low priority for support and intervention. Leaders still

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

choose to make good use of its specialist support in further strengthening mathematics and English, and in the organisation of provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability. The advice received is of good quality and is well matched to the school’s priorities. Regular monitoring visits from the local authority affirm the school’s judgements of its effectiveness but also offer very good challenge to leaders’ work.  The school works well with a number of other local primary schools and with the local secondary school. This involves useful work around agreeing assessment judgements around standards, sharing good practice in teaching and learning, and agreeing common approaches to how gaps between those eligible for the pupil premium and others can be closed even faster. Occasional work around developing teaching skills is undertaken with the Solent Teaching Alliance.  The governance of the school

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Governors have a good knowledge and understanding of the school’s work. They visit classrooms often and scrutinise the information given to them about pupils’ outcomes. This information is used to ask usefully probing and challenging questions in meetings with senior leaders. Their work helps to promote clarity around leaders’ thinking about the school’s current strengths and its future development. Governors regularly check the balance and depth of their own skills and respond by undertaking training and keeping up to date with developments. They monitor the health of the school’s finances closely and are thorough in their approach to carrying out all statutory responsibilities. Governors keep a close eye on whether pupils’ outcomes are in line with expectations. They have a good knowledge of the quality of teaching and always want to know how effective any steps have been in tackling any underperformance. A governor pay committee checks that only teachers who

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

obtain at least good outcomes for pupils and contribute strongly to the broader aims of the school are rewarded with pay rises. Governors monitor the use of special funds, including the pupil premium, to ensure that this money is spent wisely and has the desired impact.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Good systems are in place to ensure that pupils are well looked after and are aware of risks and how to deal with them. Checks on any adults who work with pupils are thorough and good records are kept. Safeguarding training for staff and governors is regular and kept up to date, including the training on recognising and responding to extremism and radicalisation. Designated staff work closely and appropriately with outside agencies and with parents to respond to any issues around pupils’ welfare. They ensure that responses are timely and effective. There is a healthy culture of safeguarding in the school. All staff share information, especially any concerns,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

readily, and work together to keep pupils safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers are aware of the precise strengths and learning needs of all pupils. There are regular assessments of how well pupils are gaining in knowledge and skills. Teachers continually check pupils’ levels of understanding throughout lessons. This enables teachers to plan accurately and to support the good progress of all groups reliably.  Pupils receive good-quality feedback on their work that sends them clear messages on how to improve. They use the advice on their written work particularly well and many weave teachers’ suggestions into their own drafting and redrafting to produce a better final product.  Mathematics is taught with a good emphasis on developing fluency and encouraging a flexible response to problems. The development of mathematical mental images is encouraged and this gives pupils good techniques to apply to future problems. Occasionally, the teaching of mathematical strategies and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

approaches is less effective. This is usually because the ideas discussed are not based firmly enough on a specific mathematical idea and become too abstract or too general.  Reading is taught well because teachers are encouraged to try out different approaches. Few teachers or teaching assistants are skilled in the use of phonics, however. This occasionally compromises the impact of teaching on the development of reading skills in younger pupils and on older pupils who still struggle with reading. Some pupils read little at home despite much encouragement from teachers and offers of help to parents with ways of supporting this.  Teachers’ concentration on ensuring that as many pupils as possible possess the full range of skills, techniques and knowledge required ensures that the great majority are at least working to a standard in line with expectations. Some are exceeding those expectations. For example, the quality of work seen in

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

some Year 5 writing books was more in line with expectations by this point in Year 6.  The most able pupils usually receive work that has been adapted to their particular needs. They are always encouraged to deepen their understanding by being adventurous, using different approaches and weighing up the benefits of one against the other. These strategies are successful.  The learning of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is well supported through the close attention of teaching assistants and some extra support from teachers. The type of work and the pace of lessons are often demanding. Sometimes pupils with special needs or disability do not keep up because tasks have not been adapted to meet their needs, or extra resources provided to give them some additional support.  A few pupils occasionally waste time in lessons. This usually involves being slow to move from one activity to the next or chatting. Teachers respond by using well-understood and effective responses to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

move pupils on with the work more quickly.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  The great majority of pupils arrive at school with an enthusiasm to learn. They enjoy lessons and like it that their teacher works closely with them to check that they understand the work.  Rewards are used well to recognise exceptionally good work, special acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, and consistently good behaviour. Parents and pupils like the fact that reliably good behaviour and cooperation are recognised and rewarded. Pupils regard the system of rewards, such as half-term treats and the core value award, as fair and say that it motivates them to behave well. The rewards system also strongly supports pupils’ developing confidence as learners by reinforcing their successes.  Leaders place an appropriately very high priority on the welfare and safety of pupils. Nearly all parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and pupils themselves, say that the school

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Personal development and welfare

is a happy and safe place to learn. There is a good awareness of potential risks and steps are taken to minimise their impact. For example, pupils can talk confidently about how the school has taught them to look after themselves online and they understand how unkind comments on social media can be a form of bullying.  Leaders have very high expectations of pupils’ attendance and punctuality. As a result, overall attendance is around the national average despite the poorer attendance of a few pupils, many of whom are eligible for the pupil premium. A family support adviser and an attendance officer work closely, and often very successfully, with these families to ensure that their children attend regularly and on time. Leaders exercise care and compassion when appropriate, but nevertheless insist on pupils being in school and learning well. They respond appropriately firmly when this is not the case after several warnings and

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Personal development and welfare

offers of help and support.  Teachers give pupils time and opportunity to express any concerns. Pupils themselves say that there is always an adult to share worries with and that responses are appropriate and helpful. Pupils appreciate, and make good use of, facilities such as the ‘worry-bag board’ and the ‘den’ where pupils can go to receive help and support when necessary.  Leaders record and analyse instances of poor behaviour, including any racially based remarks, and use the information to address shortfalls in an individual pupil’s behaviour and cover any broader concerns in assemblies or in special lessons. In this way, the school’s values are continually made explicit and very clear to everyone.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Behaviour in lessons is good and supports the good progress often made. The vast majority of pupils show kindness and consideration to each other. Pupils usually get on with their work with enthusiasm and demonstrate good levels of concentration.  Pupils get on well with each other. Playground prefects and buddies help supervising staff to oversee breaks and lunchtimes and respond to any needs. Inspectors witnessed several small acts of kindness including pupils checking up on their friends who chose to sit out of a game sometimes.  Sometimes, a small proportion of pupils behave poorly in lessons. Other pupils do not like or tolerate this but they are also aware that it is, more often than not, due to some pupils’ more complex needs or circumstances. They appreciate the effective responses of their teacher and other support staff at such times.  Occasionally, boys’ play gets a little rough on the field at break and lunchtimes but reminders given by

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Behaviour

the playground supervisors are quickly heeded.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 All groups of pupils make good progress towards meeting the high expectations of their teachers.  Progress from pupils’ starting points at the beginning of key stage 2 is good in reading, writing and mathematics in Years 3, 4 and 5. Pupils in Year 6 suffered the effects of some previously weaker teaching in their early years in the school, but their very good progress over the last two years has meant that they are now working at the standard expected and are well prepared for secondary school.  Learning in mathematics is lively and thoughtful. Pupils in Year 3 can fill in gaps in their knowledge of some times tables by using their knowledge of others. Pupils in every year group can grapple successfully with open-ended problems that require them to reflect on their initial strategies. Having solved the problem, they can then usually judge which method had been the most efficient and why. Year 6 pupils

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Outcomes for pupils are good

are less confident in solving such problems in mathematics but show resilience and tackle the work sensibly and successfully.  Pupils’ writing skills have developed very well over the last two years. Written work is often expressive, rich and confidently expressed. There is a wide variation in the quality of presentation of written work and the quality of handwriting in all year groups. Not all older pupils are yet joining up their letters.  The standard of reading is good in all years. Many pupils read for pleasure. Progress in younger year groups is not consistently rapid because pupils do not use their phonics skills to sound out unfamiliar, more complex words. Sometimes older readers who need to catch up on their reading skills do not do so as quickly as they might because of this.  Differences in outcomes for those eligible for the pupil premium and others in the school and nationally have been large in the past. These gaps are currently closing. This improvement is due to the good-

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Outcomes for pupils are good

quality individual attention disadvantaged pupils now regularly receive in order to catch them up by filling in gaps in their learning and ensuring that they keep up with current work.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability make good progress because of the accurate identification of their needs and the good communication between the special educational needs coordinator, teachers and teaching assistants around how these needs are best met.  The most able pupils enjoy the generally high levels of expectations of all pupils. They often have opportunities to approach work in different ways according to their interests and needs. They benefit from chances to make their grasp of concepts more profound by thinking differently about problems and having different starting points from the rest of the class sometimes. As a result, the vast majority are on target not only to meet expectations but to demonstrate deeper learning.

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School details

Unique reference number 116244 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10012289

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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 269 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anthony Quinn Headteacher/Principal/Teacher in charge Nicola Tettmar Telephone number 02392 263200 Website www.hartplain-jun.hants.sch.uk Email address adminoffice@hartplain-jun.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 21–22 May 2014

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Information about this school

 Hart Plain Junior School is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding) is above average.  The great majority of pupils are White British. Very few have English as an additional language.  The school works with the Solent Teaching Alliance based in Horndean Infant School.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards that set minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors undertook 17 observations of teaching and learning involving visits to every class and seeing the work of all teachers. Several 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 with a representative of the local authority.  The school’s development planning and self-evaluation documents, policies and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.  The 14 responses to Parent View were taken into account along with 12 written comments. Inspectors spoke with several parents at the gate at the start of morning school.  Inspectors also took into account the views of the 14 staff and 19 pupils who returned questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Alan Taylor-Bennett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Linda Phillips Ofsted Inspector Deidre Crutchley 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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