Crawley Ridge Junior School

Crawley Ridge Junior School Graitney, Crawley Ridge, Camberley, Surrey GU15 2AJ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school has been through a very difficult time in recent years. This has reduced its capacity to sustain good outcomes since the previous inspection.  There have been several changes to the teaching team since the previous inspection. Consequently, actions taken by school leaders in the past, to improve teaching, have not led to it being consistently good.  Since September 2016, the acting headteacher, supported by an effective governing body, has introduced actions for improvement but these have not yet been embedded across the school.  The quality of teaching varies. Although teaching is often lively and engaging, the work provided for pupils, particularly the most able, is not always at the right level, especially in mathematics.  Teachers make insufficient use of assessment information to plan work that builds on and extends what pupils can already do.  Pupils do not always behave as well as they

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

should in class. When they have work that is too easy, they chat among themselves and do not concentrate.  There are times when pupils behave boisterously when they move around the school. This happens when they are not directly supervised by adults.  In some years, too little time is allocated for subjects other than English and mathematics. Pupils do not develop their knowledge and skills in a broad range of curriculum subjects.  Some middle leaders lack the confidence and skills to challenge weak progress and do not hold teachers to account for poor learning.  The school improvement plan is not yet sharp enough on how to improve teaching. Some of the key areas needing to be developed have not been identified in the plan.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

The school has the following strengths:  Current leaders and governors have brought stability to the school and are beginning to reverse the decline in standards. The acting headteacher has allocated time for senior leaders to carry out leadership and management work.  The curriculum is enriched with a stimulating range of extra activities that promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively.  The school provides good-quality care for pupils so that they feel safe and secure in school.  Pupils produce high-quality art work with examples displayed well around the school.  Pupils’ writing is improving owing to new initiatives taken by leaders

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase rates of progress in mathematics, particularly for the most able pupils by: – closing the gaps in pupils’ basic numeracy skills so they are able to solve problems more efficiently and quickly – providing more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their skills to reason and deepen their understanding – extend teachers’ understanding of the new mathematics curriculum.  Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by: – planning work for pupils which builds on and extends what they already know and understand – making sharper use of assessment information to set challenging targets for all pupils – raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils could achieve  Improve leadership and management by: – making clearer links between self-evaluation and development planning so that those aspects of the school’s work most in need of improvement are targeted – developing the skills of senior and middle leaders so they hold teachers to account

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

for the progress pupils make – altering the curriculum balance in all year groups so that pupils have more time to develop their skills and knowledge, step-by-step, in subjects other than English and mathematics.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Significant changes to the leadership team have prevented the school from maintaining a good quality of education since the previous inspection. The school has been through a period of instability and so actions leaders have taken, particularly to improve teaching, have proved difficult to embed. Currently the school is led by an acting headteacher and an acting assistant headteacher.  The acting headteacher has reorganised the leadership structure to provide additional time for leadership activities. However, some middle leaders do not have sufficient skills to support and improve their colleagues’ work. They do not challenge weak performance or drive improvement in their subject or area of expertise. Several of them do not make accurate use of progress information to bring about rapid progress in lessons.  At present, senior leaders have not yet used information to identify the precise actions

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

needed to improve the overall quality of teaching. They do not make enough use of performance information to determine the most important improvement priorities. Consequently, the actions planned do not yet include all those most in need of development.  In the upper years, the curriculum is too narrow as too little time is allocated to subjects other than English and mathematics. Pupils do not learn enough to develop their skills and knowledge in subjects, including history and geography, from year to year. The strong emphasis on English and mathematics leads to some pupils losing interest in learning in these subjects.  The acting headteacher has begun to bring about improvements. With the support of effective governors, she has set appraisal targets for teachers that are linked to pupils’ progress. Consequently, improvements can already be seen in some subjects, particularly in writing.  The acting headteacher has begun to introduce some actions to improve teaching. She

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

knows where it is weak and is providing support and guidance to help improve practice. The local authority provides tailored support for subject leaders to help them to raise standards in their subject. However, more needs to be done to secure consistently good teaching.  Leaders use the local and wider area very well to deepen pupils’ understanding of the spiritual, moral, cultural and social diversity found in modern Britain. For example, pupils in Year 6 recently visited Neasden Hindu Temple. This stimulated their imagination and helped them to gain an insight into the way in which those of the Hindu faith worship.  Additional funding is used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils. Some is used to provide tailored support for these pupils in class as well as where individual support is needed. Other funding is used to help with the costs of educational visits so that these pupils have the same opportunities as others.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Pupils benefit from a variety of sporting activities provided by additional sports funding. This has raised the profile of sports across the school. Pupils compete against other local schools in events including netball, cricket and cross-country. Part of the funding has been used to train Year 5 pupils as sports leaders who are charged with encouraging younger pupils to be active.  Parents have confidence in school leaders. They say that the school is improving and that staff are approachable and listen to their concerns. Parents particularly value the presence of school leaders at the school gate at the start of the day.

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Governance of the school

 The acting chair of governors took over during the autumn term and has quickly reviewed the way in which governors carry out their responsibilities. He initiated an audit of governors’ skills and restructured the way in which the governing body is organised. Minutes from governors’ meetings show that they provide a high level of challenge to school leaders. Governors know that pupils do not make enough progress and they are determined that improvements will be made. They are ambitious for the school and make regular visits to see for themselves how well the school is led and managed.  Governors ensure that all statutory policies and procedures, including those for keeping pupils safe, are in place. They regularly monitor and review to ensure that the school meets all requirements. They carefully check the school’s finances to ensure that money, including additional funding, is spent wisely and accounted for.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have a strategic view of where they see the school in the future and they hold leaders to account for ensuring that the school improves to provide all pupils with the best possible education.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The safeguarding policy is up to date and is regularly reviewed and evaluated. The school site is safe, clean and well maintained, both inside and outdoors.  The school makes careful checks on all adults, including governors, who visit the school and on those who join the school as members of staff. Scrupulous checks are made when recruiting new staff. All staff and governors receive regular training and are well informed about safeguarding matters. Staff and governors recognise their moral duty to be confident that all pupils are safe.  Once, in the recent past, a safeguarding procedure was not followed precisely, but the acting headteacher, the governors and the local authority immediately dealt with the situation correctly and ensured that it could not happen again.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is not consistently good, particularly in mathematics. Not all teachers have high enough expectations for what pupils can do. Some teachers have not embraced the requirements of the new mathematics curriculum and so give pupils work that is too easy for them. This means that pupils learn too little and do not move forward as quickly as they should.  Teachers do not routinely use information about pupils’ progress to plan work that builds on and extends what they can already do, which slows their progress. There are too few occasions when teachers pick up on pupils’ misconceptions and then probe their understanding or adjust their teaching accordingly.  Although some teachers plan work thoughtfully, others do not cater for pupils’ different starting points and abilities. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do well, as they receive good support for learning assistants. Other pupils,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

particularly those who are most able, do not reach the higher standards of which they are capable.  Where teaching is stronger, activities are very well planned to capture pupils’ interest and enthusiasm. For example, in a Year 6 English lesson, pupils thoroughly enjoyed recalling and then writing about their recent visit to Neasden Temple. They were inspired to produce some sensitive and thoughtful pieces of work.  Some teachers ask pupils searching questions that make pupils think hard. In a Year 5 science lesson, the teacher asked pupils to consider why there is night and day. This led to an explanation of the movement of the earth around the sun and helped pupils to understand why the days become longer in spring and shorter in autumn.  There are good working relationships between adults and pupils and, consequently, pupils enjoy school and have very positive attitudes. They enjoy responding to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

teachers’ questions and the opportunities they have to talk to each other and share their ideas.  Some teaching assistants provide effective support to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They help explain what pupils have to do and guide and support them so that they develop confidence and understanding.  As a result of recent training, there have already been improvements to the way in which writing is taught. Teachers build pupils’ vocabulary and help them to improve their use of language to convey their ideas. Most of the pupils’ writing is linked to a theme or visit, and this inspires their imagination and encourages them to write.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Although the acting headteacher has introduced measures to improve pupils’ attitudes and behaviour, a small minority of pupils exhibit unacceptable behaviours that impact on other pupils’ learning.  Pupils have not yet developed independence or resilience because they rely on adults when they do not know what to do or when they get stuck. Some pupils are of the view that work has to be correct all of the time, so they are reluctant to try or take risks. This slows their progress.  Pupils know about different forms of bullying. They say that incidents do arise but that staff are on hand to deal with their concerns. Pupils say that they feel safe in school because staff take their anxieties seriously and there is always someone to help them. They have confidence in peer mediators who have been trained to help in the

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Personal development and welfare

playground.  Pupils have been taught to keep themselves safe outside school. They have a clear understanding about the dangers associated with modern technology as well as physical dangers from tobacco and some non-medicinal drugs.  The breakfast club provides pupils with a nutritious and healthy start to the school day. Pupils say they enjoy the breakfasts on offer, ‘especially when it’s pancakes’.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. This is because they do not always behave well when not under the direct supervision of adults. This results in them putting themselves, as well as others, at risk of injury, particularly when using the stairs.  While most lessons move smoothly, there are times when learning is disrupted by other pupils. This is because they find the work too easy and are bored. They respond quickly to teachers’ instructions to return to work but, nevertheless, valuable learning time is lost.  Pupils enjoy school, which is reflected in their broadly average attendance. There have been very few recent exclusions and records relating to pupils’ behaviour show few reported incidents.  Pupils are very friendly, polite and helpful. They get on well together and respect each other. They say that staff treat them fairly and equally, and they are encouraged to listen carefully to those who have different views. This generates tolerance and respect

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Behaviour

towards those from backgrounds that are different to their own.  Parents, governors and staff believe that pupils are happy and safe in school and that they behave well. The large majority of parents who responded to the survey or spoke to inspectors would recommend the school to other parents.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils do not make consistently good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from when they join the school. In the national assessments in 2016, fewer pupils reached the expected standard in writing and mathematics than the national average. The percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading was broadly average.  Outcomes in mathematics for current pupils are too low. This is because the work planned for them is at too low a level and does not build on their previous achievement. Many pupils do not have a rapid recall of basic number facts, including multiplication tables, so time is wasted by using inefficient methods to carry out calculations.  There is too little challenge for the most able pupils and so they do not make the progress of which they are capable, particularly in mathematics. There are too few opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills to solving problems that call

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

for reasoning, and so they fail to develop a deep understanding of what they are learning.  Disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to other pupils. Staff identify their specific barriers to learning and they put in early interventions to ensure that these pupils do not fall behind others. They are provided with additional support in lessons which helps them to develop confidence and overcome their difficulties.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make better progress than in previous years. This is because they are provided with support from trained teaching assistants. For example, in a small-group mathematics lesson, the teaching assistant asked questions that probed pupils’ understanding. She broke learning into small steps that helped this group to understand the concept that multiplication is repeated addition.  Pupils have mixed attitudes towards reading and this slows their progress, particularly

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

for less able readers. This is partly because some have reading books that are too easy for them, so they lost interest, and partly because they do not have a secure grasp of reading skills to tackle unfamiliar words.  The most able readers thoroughly enjoy reading and they talk enthusiastically about their favourite books and authors. They have a secure range of skills that helps them to read fluently and confidently and with good understanding. One pupil is looking forward to reading ‘Lord of the Rings’ once she has completed ‘The Hobbit’.  Owing to recent actions introduced by leaders, the quality of pupils’ writing shows a marked improvement. Pupils are becoming more confident in selecting vocabulary to enhance their writing, and they are structuring their sentences in a more sophisticated manner. An improvement to spelling, punctuation and handwriting is increasing their fluency and confidence.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 When pupils have time to study subjects other than English and mathematics, they write at length well, reinforcing their skills. For example, pupils had to write an imaginary letter from Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII, pleading for her life, in connection with work on the Tudors. Apart from practising their writing, this made a valuable contribution to their understanding of British history.  The quality of art is a strength of the school. Work on display and in pupils’ books shows a wide range of skills, such as abstracts based on animal patterns. Topic books from the previous year show some accomplished watercolour paintings based on a visit to a lock on the River Thames.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address admin@crawleyridge-jun.surrey.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11 June 2013

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  There have been significant changes to both the leadership team and the teaching team since the previous inspection. The previous headteacher retired at the end of the summer term 2016 and since then the acting headteacher has been leading the school. Three new teachers joined the school in September 2013 but staffing has not been stable since then.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum expectations for pupils’ learning and progress.  Most pupils are White British and few speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is lower than in most schools, as is the proportion of disadvantaged pupils.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils working in 16 lessons or part-lessons, most of which were observed alongside school leaders. They looked at work in pupils’ books and they observed pupils in the playground and as they moved around the school. The lead inspector listened to pupils reading in Year 3 and Year 6.  Meetings were held with school leaders, two governors, including the acting chair of governors, and groups of pupils. A telephone discussion was held with a representative from the local authority.  Among the documents scrutinised were school improvement plans, minutes from governors’ meetings and records relating to pupils’ learning and progress. Inspectors also scrutinised documents about pupils’ attendance and behaviour, as well as those showing how the school keeps pupils safe.  The views of parents were taken into account by analysing 97 responses to the online survey, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke informally to parents during the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The views of staff were taken into account by analysing 23 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Joy Considine, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jenny Boyd 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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, 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.gov.uk/ofsted

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