Oakfield Junior School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Debrah Willemse Headteacher Oakfield Junior School Bell Lane Fetcham Leatherhead Surrey KT22 9ND

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 24 January 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in December 2012.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

Since joining the school a year ago you have built the trust of the staff and embedded the school’s ‘5C’ values of ‘curiosity, confidence, cooperation, caring and courage’. As governors rightly pointed out to me, these values not only help pupils make a success of their time at Oakfield, but also prepare them well for the next stage of their education and life in wider society.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

You have recently reorganised the leadership team to focus more sharply on making improvements. You and your new team have a clear emphasis on improving the quality of teaching and learning. As a result, pupils are currently making good progress throughout the school. The whole school team wholeheartedly support the improvements that you are making. Your very skilled governing body is closely monitoring the improvements, and appropriately challenges you to raise standards further still.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

It was a real pleasure to meet your pupils. Throughout the school and in the learning centre they are very willing to talk about their learning and explain how teachers help them to improve. The excellent levels of attendance demonstrate how much pupils enjoy coming to school. Almost without exception, pupils we saw together during my visit were focused on their learning and stimulated by the interesting and challenging tasks they are given. More and more pupils are developing a ‘can do’ attitude to learning. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to meet together in assemblies, and especially celebration assemblies where pupils who have demonstrated the school’s values are rewarded. Around the school pupils are polite and friendly. At lunchtimes, pupils appreciate the freedom to choose to eat inside or outside and whether to play games, chat with friends or pursue another activity inside. Whichever choice pupils make, they do it sensibly, and pupils I spoke

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

to assured me this is always the case. Pupils I spoke to about behaviour told me that everyone gets along well. Any kind of falling out is infrequent and any kind of bullying is rarer still.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

At the time of the previous inspection, the school’s leaders were asked to make improvements in the quality of writing and pupils’ presentation. There were clear improvements in the outcomes for writing in assessments between 2013 and 2015. A greater proportion of pupils than found nationally achieved the new, more challenging expected standard in writing in national assessments in 2016. The proportion of pupils demonstrating a greater depth of skill in writing and attaining the higher level in spelling, punctuation and grammar national tests was below your expectations and the national average. However, you have rightly recognised this, and have set it as a focus of your work to make improvements.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

Attainment at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics has historically been high, and this has remained the case. You and other school leaders are, however, acutely aware that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, could be making more progress from their starting points. Your current school improvement plan rightly focuses on this.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

Although the majority of parents are happy with the school, a minority do have some concerns around a number of issues that I shared with you anonymously. Together with the governing body, you recognise that there is some work to do to address parental perceptions so that they fully understand the good work going on in the school.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

The leadership team has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are generally rigorous and of a high quality. A few administrative omissions, not related to the safety of pupils, were put right during the inspection.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

Leaders and governors understand the most likely risks to pupils’ safety, including their mental health, and take appropriate steps to address them. Staff receive appropriate up-to-date training that enables them to keep pupils safe. The fact that every pupil is known as an individual by teachers and leaders means that any issues caused by changes in behaviour can be picked up quickly. The support available for the most vulnerable pupils is extensive and helpful. There are positive and productive links with other agencies when these are required.

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Short inspection of Oakfield Junior School

A few parents expressed concerns about the security of the school site. Governors and leaders are aware of the concerns, have assessed the risks and have plans to make improvements. During the inspection, I checked the security of the school site and talked to pupils extensively about safety. Pupils were very confident that the school is a safe place. Pupils manage risk well and are aware of boundaries.

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Inspection findings

 During this inspection, I focused on current pupils’ progress in writing, how leaders ensure that teaching enables all groups to make good progress, and the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. I also investigated how well the curriculum promotes high standards across a wide range of subjects and prepares pupils well for the future.  The cross-curricular approach to writing is working well. Work is based on a wide variety of interesting and challenging texts. Assessment information and guidance is used well by staff and pupils. As a result, pupils take pride in their work and are making good progress because they know what is expected of them.  The current focus on spelling is very evident throughout the school. Pupils are developing a range of strategies to help them improve in this area. However, there are occasions when pupils are asked to spell words out of context when

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Inspection findings

they do not understand what they mean. Many pupils are improving their ability to spell tricky words correctly. Nonetheless, some pupils still make errors when spelling simpler essential words and forget to use capital letters for days of the week and months of the year.  Together with your leadership team, you have implemented a programme of more helpful checks on the quality of teaching and learning. These checks provide you with accurate information about the progress different groups of pupils are making. You are determined to further accelerate the progress pupils make, and have the capacity to achieve this.  During my visit I saw a wide range of evidence showing how the most able pupils are being challenged in many different subjects. This ranged from studying Shakespeare in English to reasoning about complex problems in mathematics. In pupils’ books I saw examples of pupils analysing different sources of evidence in

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Inspection findings

history and demonstrating a deep understanding of adaptation, variation and selective breeding in science.  You and your team know the disadvantaged pupils very well. Effective teaching is allowing these pupils, including the few most able disadvantaged pupils, to make similar progress to their peers in the school. However, we agreed that disadvantaged pupils are not yet making accelerated progress from their starting points to diminish the differences in achievement with other pupils nationally.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those who attend the learning centre, make good progress from their starting points. Within the centre, short focused tasks that are tailored well to pupils’ individual needs help them to make good progress. The centre is characterised by high levels of enjoyment, even when the pupils are being challenged. For example, I saw pupils enjoying completing mathematical tasks using appropriate practical

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Inspection findings

equipment.  Each afternoon, pupils from the learning centre are welcomed in to mainstream classes and are helped to succeed by their supportive teaching assistants.  I saw evidence of pupils meeting and exceeding national curriculum expectations in a wide range of subjects. Year 6 work in science, and making marionettes in design technology, was particularly impressive. Well-planned topics, the extensive range of extra-curricular clubs, and interesting school trips enhance pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Where teaching is less effective, pupils are not given clear guidance on how to improve their skills and knowledge. As a result, pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are sometimes less engaged in tasks where they do not fully meet their needs.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 remaining differences in the quality of teaching are addressed so that all pupils are challenged and supported as necessary to make rapid progress  the progress of disadvantaged pupils is accelerated further to diminish the remaining differences in attainment with other pupils nationally  current work to improve pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar is refined to focus on the strategies that are working well, ensuring that pupils understand the meaning of the words they are being asked to spell.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with the headteacher, a group of school leaders and three governors, including the chair of the governing body. I also held a discussion with a representative of the local authority. I visited all classrooms and the learning centre at least once during three learning walks. Two of these learning walks were carried out with the headteacher and one with the leader responsible for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. I looked at a wide range of pupils’ work in different subjects with school leaders. I analysed school documentation, including records relating to safeguarding and checks on recruitment. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and considered 72 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire, as well as five letters and one email from parents. I spoke to pupils informally in their classrooms during lessons and around the school during lunchtime. I looked at 19 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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