Alverstoke Church of England Aided Junior School

Alverstoke Church of England Aided Junior School The Avenue, Alverstoke, Gosport, Hampshire PO12 2JS

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders, staff and governors are united in a common goal to keep pupils safe and help them achieve of their very best. An ethos of improvement and ambition exudes from all involved in the life of the school.  The school values of love, grace and hope are evident throughout the school. Staff, governors and parents value the thoughtful and determined actions of leaders and teachers. Everyone works very well together to keep making the school even better.  Pupils attend school regularly and behave extremely well. They are respectful and supportive of each other, and of staff and visitors. Pupils are cared for exceptionally well.  The comprehensive curriculum equips pupils well for the future. Pupils’ thinking and interpersonal skills are developed well across a broad range of subjects.  Plentiful high-quality opportunities develop pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding effectively. Pupils are prepared

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

extremely well for moving onto secondary school and for life in modern Britain.  Teachers use their strong subject knowledge effectively to help pupils make good progress. They know how well pupils are achieving and plan next steps in learning carefully.  Pupils make very good progress in writing by the end of Year 6. In 2016, the proportion of pupils achieving age-related expectations and a greater depth of learning in writing was well above the national average.  The percentage of pupils currently in school who achieve at least age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics is typically at least in line with the national average.  The most able pupils achieve well but do not make rapid enough progress from their high starting points, especially in mathematics. Learning does not challenge them consistently to use higher order reasoning skills.  Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

make rapid progress. This is because staff understand their needs well and remove barriers to learning effectively.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics and especially reading has been weaker than writing in the past. Leaders’ actions to address this are making a difference but have not currently led to consistently rapid progress across all year groups in reading and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate rates of progress for the most able pupils, especially in mathematics, by using assessment information meticulously to shape the development of deeper reasoning, so that more pupils achieve a greater depth of learning.  Ensure that the quality of teaching consistently matches the beacons of excellence already evident within the school, by ensuring that best practice is shared effectively.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

 The headteacher leads his team with absolute clarity towards providing the best possible quality of care and education for all pupils. Staff and governors work tirelessly to improve the school’s effectiveness. As a result, teachers and parents recognise this school as one that ‘doesn’t sit still’ but continually strives to become even better.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher work very effectively together to motivate and support all of the staff. They evaluate accurately the school’s strengths and seek to address the priorities they identify for future development. As a result, a culture of high aspiration pervades the school.  Staff are reflective about their skills, and strive to improve their practice. They participate in frequent and useful training linked closely to school priorities and individual need. Pupils reflect that they are ‘proud of the staff’, and recognise how staff help them to do their very best.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

 Leaders and governors manage staff performance rigorously, with a constant focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for pupils. Staff rise to the challenge and expect to be held to account for the difference that their work is making to pupils’ futures. Consequently, the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes continue to improve.  Pupils enjoy a rich and thoughtfully developed curriculum that meets their academic and pastoral needs well. Their learning across a broad range of subjects is integrated seamlessly alongside their English and mathematics work. Pupils enjoy their work in lessons, which helps them to make good progress, both academically and emotionally.  Staff make use of every opportunity to promote learning throughout the day. At lunchtimes, pupils engage in purposeful activity and practise their social skills. Pupils enthuse about the many different extra-curricular clubs and events that enrich their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

learning, such as arts, sports and drama clubs, as well as catch-up support for mathematics. These help them to be confident, well-rounded and active learners.  Leaders use pupil premium funding and sports premium funding extremely well. Governors check carefully to make sure it is making a difference. Disadvantaged pupils attend school regularly and achieve well, because barriers to learning are removed or reduced. A physical education specialist teacher works alongside class teachers to ensure that pupils learn effectively and staff develop their teaching expertise. This supports the sustainability of high-quality sports provision for the future.  Staff, governors and pupils exude the Christian ethos that is central to the life of the school. This supports the development of pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural skills effectively. Pupils understand the key attributes of being a citizen in modern

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

Britain, and demonstrate them through their actions on a daily basis.

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Governance of the school

 Governors play an active role in supporting the school. Their experience and expertise equips them well for the role. They demonstrate a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and priorities, and share leaders’ aspirations to make the school even better.  Governors are a visible part of the life of the school. They visit regularly and work openly with staff, asking thoughtful and challenging questions to hold leaders to account and ensure their own understanding. They use a range of evidence carefully to support them in their roles.  Governors undertake a range of training to ensure that they are suitably knowledgeable. Most recently, they undertook training in relation to new pupil- performance information. They understand and fulfil their responsibilities, and check regularly that policies and processes are fit for purpose. This supports the safeguarding culture that is evident throughout the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff and governors place pupils’ welfare at the centre of everything they do. As a result, pupils are cared for exceptionally well.  Leaders and governors review safeguarding policies and practice regularly to make sure they are fit for purpose. Staff and governors refresh their training frequently to make sure they understand their responsibilities. They are constantly vigilant and carry out their duties with diligence, even outside of normal working hours.  Leaders are acutely aware of pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Staff work closely with experts from beyond school to provide the additional support that these pupils and their families need. This helps these pupils to attend school regularly and to feel safe and looked after. Many parents and pupils commented on how effectively and promptly staff respond to any concerns they may have.

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Safeguarding

 Pupils are informed well about how to keep themselves safe, because of the high- quality opportunities they experience within the wider curriculum. Learning as part of the personal development learning programme is supported well by visiting speakers and extra-curricular activities and events. Consequently, pupils have a well-developed understanding of risks, including when on the internet and using social media, and know how to protect themselves from harm.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Across the school, pupils are motivated and keen to learn. They work well with each other and with other adults who support them in lessons. Pupils are increasingly independent in their learning, using resources and help from each other to move on when they ‘get stuck’.  Where teaching is most effective, pupils are highly engaged and active participants in their learning. Pupils make rapid progress over time because they drive their own learning on. Teaching is matched precisely to developing pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding across the broad range of the curriculum.  Teachers use their secure subject knowledge to plan lessons effectively. They use their understanding of what pupils can do to match future learning activities carefully to different pupils’ starting points. Pupils access a wide range of useful resources during lessons, which help them to access their work and make consistently good progress

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

over time.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make rapid progress, because teachers plan their learning particularly carefully. Other adults who work with these pupils in school are highly skilled and knowledgeable. This enables them to provide effective support and care which help these pupils to flourish and achieve well.  Teachers assess pupils’ learning consistently and accurately, validating their judgements with each other and with colleagues in other schools. Teachers use what they learn to identify and plan for the next steps in learning for different pupils in their classes. Leaders review assessment information carefully to identify pupils who are not doing as well as they should, and put steps in place to accelerate their progress.  While teaching is consistently good across the school, it does not always match the highest standards evident within the school. Leaders recognise this and are using

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

training and coaching effectively to support all staff in strengthening their practice further. Staff value how this helps them to develop their skills even more.  Pupils rise to the high levels of challenge from their teachers in their written work. At times, pupils’ technical accuracy reduces, so that the overall quality of their work is not as good as it could be. This prevents some of the most able pupils from working at the greater depth of which they are capable.  In mathematics, opportunities for the most able pupils to develop their reasoning skills are not developed sufficiently well. Pupils do not routinely use what they know to help them deduce what they do not know. As a result, they are not challenged consistently to make rapid progress from their higher than average starting points.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils and parents overwhelmingly recognise that the school is a safe and nurturing place to be. As one pupil said, ‘I love my school, it makes me happy.’  Pupils learn how to communicate sensitively and thoughtfully with each other about important issues and values. The diverse curriculum helps them to practise listening to each other and to consider each other’s views. This enables pupils to feel safe and respected. As a result, bullying incidents are rare, but are managed well if they occur.  Leaders ensure that pupils’ transition into the school in Year 3 and preparation to move on to secondary school at the end of Year 6 are managed extremely well. Staff work closely with colleagues from local infant and secondary schools to share important information that helps pupils with additional needs to be supported effectively, so that

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Personal development and welfare

any worries are minimised and the handover is smooth. This enables pupils to flourish.  Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, both in and out of school. They know what to do if they have any worries, and trust staff to listen to and help them with any concerns they may have. Pupils understand potential risks, including those associated with the internet and social media, and manage them appropriately.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Almost without exception, pupils are courteous, respectful and considerate to each other and to the adults that work alongside them. They are friendly and welcoming, and talk proudly and with confidence about their school. Pupils, parents and staff talk proudly about the happy atmosphere that results from these positive attitudes to learning.  Pupils manage their behaviour extremely well in lessons and around the school. In class, pupils work effectively together, and remain focused when working independently of the adults in the room. On the rare occasion that a pupil’s behaviour does not meet teachers’ high expectations, effective strategies support the pupil in reflecting on their actions and identifying how to ‘get it right’ the next time.  All groups of pupils attend school regularly, with absence rates well below the national average for primary schools. The proportion of pupils who are persistent absentees has

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Behaviour

reduced significantly and is now very low. This is because leaders monitor attendance very carefully, and take prompt and effective action where the attendance of an individual pupil needs to improve.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils arrive at the school with starting points that are well above the national average. By the end of Year 6, the proportion achieving at least age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics is still well above average.  Pupils who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make very good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils who left the school in 2016 achieved standards that were at least as good as other pupils nationally. Pupils currently in the school are making similarly rapid progress, because of the effective support they receive.  Since the last inspection, leaders have taken decisive action to accelerate the progress of pupils who finished key stage 1 with average levels of attainment. These pupils are now making better progress than they did in the past.  The proportion of pupils who are on track to achieve a greater depth of learning in

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Outcomes for pupils Good

reading, writing and mathematics is increasing. Pupils’ progress across these three subject areas is accelerating as the year goes on. A large percentage of pupils are already achieving at least the expected end-of-year standards in reading and mathematics for their age.  Leaders recognise that pupils did not make good enough progress in reading by the end of Year 6 last year. Staff have reviewed and improved how reading is taught across the school. As a result, pupils across the school are now making very good progress in reading.  Last year, pupils finishing key stage 2 made very good progress in writing. While pupils currently in the school are achieving well in their writing, they are not making consistently strong progress from their typically high starting points, because their technical accuracy is not consistently strong.  Although progress is improving in reading, writing and mathematics over the course of

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Outcomes for pupils Good

the year, it is not doing so consistently across subjects and year groups. In particular, pupils with high prior attainment are not currently making as strong progress as those with lower starting points. Consequently, the proportion of most-able pupils who are on track to achieve a greater depth of learning is not currently as high as it could be.

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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@alverstoke-jun.hants.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11–12 December 2012

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average voluntary aided junior school. It has two classes in each year group, except Year 4, where there are three classes. Pupils arrive at the school with prior attainment which is typically well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below the national average. There is an average percentage of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.  The school has a lower than average percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. A very small proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups and only a very small fraction of pupils speak English as an additional language. Almost a fifth of pupils are from service families.  The headteacher and chair of the governing body were not in post at the time of the last inspection. All of the senior leadership team are relatively new in post, having all

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Information about this school

been appointed to their current posts within the past two years.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which identify the minimum expected standards for pupils to achieve by the end of key stage 2. It is not classed as a coasting school.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  When the school received its most recent statutory inspection of Anglican and Methodist schools (SIAMS), it was judged to be outstanding for its distinctiveness and effectiveness as a Church of England school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited all classes, most jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, to look at learning across a range of subjects and to talk to pupils about their learning. An inspector visited a collective worship event, and observed extra- curricular opportunities around the site before school and at lunchtimes.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other school leaders, and with groups of pupils, teachers and governors. The lead inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority and from the diocese on the telephone. Inspectors also spoke to pupils and parents informally on the playground.  Inspectors looked at a range of work from a number of pupils in Year 3 and Year 5, along with school leaders. They also looked at pupils’ work while visiting lessons.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation and school improvement plan, safeguarding and behaviour processes and

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Information about this inspection

records, performance and attendance information for current pupils, and a number of school policies as part of the school website.  Inspectors took into account 96 responses to the Parent View online questionnaire, including 80 free-text responses. They also considered questionnaire responses from 46 pupils and 10 members of staff, alongside a letter and an email received from parents, and two emails and a letter from members of the governing body.

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Inspection team

Kathryn Moles, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Becky Greenhalgh 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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