Westfield Junior School

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

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Mrs Margaret Greig Headteacher Westfield Junior School Westfield Road Hinckley Leicestershire LE10 0LT

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Short inspection of Westfield Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 1 March 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 January 2013.

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Short inspection of Westfield Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since the last inspection, there have been a number of changes to the staff and governors. This has contributed to there being sustained improvements in the school. The vast majority of parents I spoke with and the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, expressed the view that the school has changed for the better. Parents hold you, the school and the staff in high esteem. One parent told me that she particularly values how the school is very inclusive of families. They say that they are involved in school life and feel engaged in children’s learning. Another told me that the school has an engaging and caring culture and that communication with parents ‘is great’.

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Short inspection of Westfield Junior School

The pupils enjoy coming to school. Levels of engagement in learning are high in each class. There are effective routines evident in all classes, ensuring that the pupils work cooperatively and purposefully together. Pupils are also actively encouraged to work independently and to take wider responsibility across the school, for example, as playground mediators, eco-representatives and school council members. Pupils are confident and respectful of each other and of adults. Pupils are eager to share their work. They took delight in discussing special projects with the inspector, such as the ‘Frozen World’ that included building an igloo, and a Second World War experience that included visiting an exhibition about the London Blitz at Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire.

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Short inspection of Westfield Junior School

You have worked closely with middle leaders to modernise the curriculum, tackle underachievement among both the most able and disadvantaged pupils, and build effective, improved and well-received relationships with parents. You have focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning across all classes. Class teachers and teaching assistants are consistent in their approach to assessing pupils’ learning and planning next steps accordingly. They communicate this to pupils simply and effectively and this is helping an increasing number of pupils to make good progress in securing their knowledge and understanding. Although published outcomes do not yet show better attainment for disadvantaged pupils, the improving quality of teaching means that they are now making faster progress.

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Short inspection of Westfield Junior School

The leadership team and the governing body know both the school’s strengths and what needs to improve. However, plans for improvement do not routinely identify targets precisely enough or use information about pupils’ progress well enough. The plans for improvement lack milestones to indicate success, through which leaders, teachers and governors can be held fully accountable for the impact of their actions.

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Short inspection of Westfield Junior School

The moderate learning difficulties unit (MLDU), known as the IH (inclusion hub), is a strength of the school. Pupils who have a complex range of needs make good progress from very low starting points. Every effort is made to ensure that the pupils are integrated into the main school and have good access to all school curriculum opportunities, clubs, visits and specialist teaching.

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Safeguarding is effective

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of good quality. Annual safeguarding audits and external advice are sought to review the school’s procedures and practices, which results in further improvements in the care and protection of pupils. You and your team, including the family worker, take a great pride in knowing each pupil and his or her family well. This ensures that prompt action is taken when necessary. Leaders are tenacious in seeking external support for the small number of pupils who have additional social and behavioural needs. There is good evidence of the positive impact of this support on the progress, attendance and behaviour of these pupils over time. Leaders, designated safeguarding leads, governors and staff undertake regular training relevant to child protection and safeguarding issues.

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Inspection findings

 You and your leadership team have introduced effective assessment and tracking systems that provide an analysis of the progress and attainment of individual pupils. Leaders hold teachers to account for the progress of each pupil on a termly basis, ensuring that progress targets are met. Subject leaders monitor subjects in detail and provide effective support and challenge for all teachers to ensure pupils’ good overall progress in English and mathematics. While pupils’ progress targets are usually ambitious, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve could be even higher, especially for the most able pupils and those who are disadvantaged.  Teachers and teaching assistants in the main school and the MLDU deliver effective programmes of additional support and intervention. These are increasing the rates of progress for pupils of all abilities and backgrounds in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Inspection findings

 Adults’ questioning of pupils is effective and well thought out and extends pupils’ understanding, their vocabulary and their ideas. In mathematics, reasoning and problem-solving skills are being developed well and pupils clearly enjoy the challenges set. Pupils are motivated to learn through imaginative lessons and engaging challenges. One pupil described carrying out a grammar exercise in an English lesson as ‘never having so much fun with a colon.’  Girls and boys read to me with confident fluency. They were able to consider the punctuation when showing expression in their reading. Pupils make good use of their phonic knowledge when necessary to sound out unfamiliar words. They talk with self-assurance about the type of books they like and their preferred authors. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about their library and the selection of books available.  The levels of pupil attendance are good and above the national average. The

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Inspection findings

higher than average number of extended absences among pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has been the result of health issues. This has had a disproportionate impact on these pupils’ attendance rates. However, publishing weekly attendance figures, celebrating good attendance, challenging absences promptly and positive relationships with external support agencies show that leaders are taking all possible steps to maximise pupils’ attendance.  Curriculum teams lead subject areas including English and mathematics, with teachers taking lead roles. These are well established and the teams’ work ensures that an exciting curriculum is carefully thought through, planned and delivered. The curriculum is broad and varied and includes music, languages, sport and drama. The varied and interesting curriculum incorporates the teaching of British values well. Pupils speak knowledgeably and respectfully about each

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Inspection findings

other and with tolerance and understanding of people with different faiths and lifestyles. Pupils told me that learning is fun at Westfield Junior School because they are allowed and expected to explore, investigate and find things out for themselves.  Senior leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school’s performance and the actions required to improve the school further. While these plans have enabled the school to improve, they do not offer sufficient detail or pupil progress information to enable leaders to prioritise actions and governors to challenge the rate of progress as well as they might.

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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

 the good teaching, learning and assessment result in improved outcomes for all pupils, regardless of ability or background  plans for improvement clearly identify next steps with clear milestones for success, through which leaders, teachers and governors can be held fully accountable for the impact of their actions.

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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 Leicestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and your deputy headteacher. I also met with some middle leaders, three governors, Year 6 pupils, and parents at the start of the school day. I considered the responses of parents to Parent View and those of staff and pupils from the electronic questionnaires. We visited nearly all classes in the school, spending a short time in each, and looked at a sample of pupils’ work together. I viewed a range of documents. These included the school’s own evaluation of its performance and plans for further improvement, including information on how the pupil premium is spent. I examined a number of other policy documents, including those for child protection, safeguarding and special educational needs. I scrutinised safeguarding records, the single central record and child protection files. I looked at the school’s website, which complies with Department for Education guidance on what schools should publish.

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