Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

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

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Mr Darren Preece Headteacher Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School Craven Drive Churchdown Gloucester Gloucestershire GL3 2DR

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 22 November 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 May 2013.

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Following your appointment in January 2016, you have worked effectively with other leaders and governors to improve the culture for learning through establishing a truly inclusive and supportive ethos. You have achieved this admirably through building on the school’s ‘gems’ values, so that pupils understand and apply virtues such as kindness, respect and resilience. Pupils and parents strongly endorse the warm and inclusive approach of the school. A view also reflected in parents’ comments, such as: ‘My son has additional needs and the school has worked really hard to support him and the family.’ Pupils also add: ‘This is the best school ever. Every person is unique. Everyone is treated the same in this school.’ Your ambition to see every child flourish is reflected in your actions and vision. These are having a positive impact on the social, emotional and academic

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

Together with other leaders and governors, you work effectively to hold teachers to account. Your systems and processes for checking the quality of teaching and learning are robust. As a result, you have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and are keenly aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Teachers and leaders use assessment information well to check pupils’ progress and identify those who need to catch up or require additional support. This enables pupils to make good progress, although some disadvantaged pupils still sometimes fall behind and find it more difficult to regain lost ground. Teachers are highly motivated and respond positively to different initiatives and well-planned professional development. This means they are continually reflecting on their own practice and trying ways to be innovative and improve. You have created a strong culture where teachers and pupils are encouraged to be reflective

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

and take responsibility for their own improvement.

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

Since the last inspection, you have been particularly successful in adapting how pupils engage with their own learning. Teachers ensure that pupils have strategies, ideas and the confidence to be independent learners. Pupils evaluate their own performance as the norm and are also adept at providing advice and support to each other. You have identified the right areas for continuing to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment which is impacting positively on provision and pupils’ outcomes.

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

At a time when governors and leaders are rightly excited about plans for a federation with the infant school in May 2018, we agreed where work is still needed for further improvement. It is imperative to keep a strong focus on improving academic outcomes for pupils, especially in increasing the proportions of the most able pupils attaining the highest standards (greater depth) in writing. Also, to support pupils to make greater progress in mathematics by ensuring that teachers plan work that builds precisely on their prior skills, knowledge and understanding. Finally, leaders and governors must continue to be relentless in implementing and measuring the impact of the school’s strategy for disadvantaged pupils so that their attendance and achievement can catch up with those of their peers.

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

Together with other leaders and governors you take effective action to keep pupils safe and have a strong culture for safeguarding. Governors check the work of the school and undertake training to be able to hold you to account. Records and systems for protecting pupils, including pre-employment checks for staff, child protection training and updates, are detailed and of high quality. As a result, staff are vigilant and know what to do to log and refer concerns if needed. Your systems are effective in enabling you to take timely and appropriate action on behalf of pupils. You and your team have shown resilience and determination to ensure pupils’ safety and well-being, for example in checking with the local authority if pupils are missing in education and liaising with other external agencies. As one member of staff told me, ‘Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility’, which is a view that permeates through the work of the school.

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Short inspection of Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School

Pupils say they feel safe. They are also complimentary about the range of emotional support, such as counselling services for divorce or bereavement that have been brought in when needed. Pupils trust staff and are comfortable in working with and confiding in them; for instance, they say bullying is not common but know staff will intervene effectively should it happen. Pupils also know how to stay safe and report suspicious behaviour online and that they must not divulge personal details over the internet.

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Inspection findings

 The first key line of enquiry focused on pupils’ progress in mathematics. This is because published data shows a decline in pupils’ outcomes. We looked closely at pupils’ different starting points as they enter the school and examined the accuracy of your baseline information. This, together with other factors such as the mobility of pupils, shows that 2017 published results have been heavily skewed and do not accurately reflect the actual progress made by pupils. Work in pupils’ books confirms that current pupils are making strong progress in mathematics.  Pupils enjoy mathematics and are benefiting from the recent strategies to improve their reasoning and thinking skills. They are confident in testing their own ideas and are able to explain what happens if they use numbers differently in various situations or operations.  Teaching strategies and approaches aimed at securing pupils’ sense of number

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Inspection findings

and place value are effective. Pupils use different apparatus and resources to deepen their understanding of number and calculation. However, there are times when teachers do not always start work or plan lessons from the most appropriate point (based on pupils’ prior learning). This slows pupils’ progress, including for those who need to catch up and/or the most able pupils.  The next key line of enquiry considered how effectively leaders and teachers are ensuring good progress for pupils in writing. Accurate assessment information held by leaders and a thorough evaluation of pupils’ entry points show that pupils’ current progress is strong. We also examined the quality of writing in pupils’ books, which confirms that high expectations are supporting pupils to do well.  The school’s 2017 headline data for writing is adversely affected by various factors, including the movement of pupils in and out of the cohort. Robust

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Inspection findings

evidence shows that the previous cohort of pupils made much stronger progress than is represented by the 2017 key stage 2 test results.  Pupils enjoy writing and are confident in applying their skills and knowledge to a variety of contexts. Teaching strategies are effective in supporting pupils to be enthusiastic writers with the technical accuracy and fluency to write well. If pupils find writing difficult, including lower-attaining pupils or those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, teachers ensure that support plans are well considered and appropriate to meeting pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils make good progress and catch up well.  Teachers do not consistently have the same high expectations of pupils across the curriculum. As a result, there are times when pupils’ writing in other subjects, such as science, history or geography, falls below what they are capable of, especially for the most able pupils.

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Inspection findings

 The third key line of enquiry we agreed was to evaluate the effectiveness of leadership and management. You have established an effective leadership team where leaders know their roles and responsibilities well. Leaders are empowered and make valuable contributions to school improvement through holding others to account, guiding and challenging staff, as well as delivering effective staff development. As a result, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is improving well and there is an effective approach to supporting pupils’ behaviour and welfare.  All leaders, for example the acting deputy headteacher and subject leaders, are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They are effective in checking their areas of responsibility. They are fully aware of priorities for improvement and taking the right steps to address these.  Governors are effective and have struck the right balance of support and

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Inspection findings

challenge. They check the work of the school through visits and assuring themselves through first-hand evidence. Consequently, they know the school well, which enables them to make the right decisions to bring about improvement. However, as we discussed, leaders need to continue working and checking their plans to ensure that disadvantaged pupils can do as well as their non-disadvantaged peers. There is still a difference between the attendance and outcomes for disadvantaged pupils compared to their non-disadvantaged peers, which needs to be diminished.

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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

 pupils write to the same high standards across the curriculum, especially those capable of achieving greater depth  teachers plan work for pupils in mathematics which builds precisely on their prior knowledge to accelerate their progress further  all leaders continue to focus their efforts on improving the attendance and outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.

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

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Information about the inspection

We agreed the timetable and activities at the start of the inspection. I worked extensively with you, including reviewing pupils’ books together and checking the accuracy of baseline data and assessment information. I scrutinised safeguarding records and we discussed a wide range of matters related to safeguarding, including staff recruitment, training and vetting arrangements. I reviewed evidence to show how you work and liaise with multi-agency partners to keep children safe. Together, we visited all classes across the school. We scrutinised a sample of pupils’ workbooks and I spoke with pupils in line with our agreed key lines of enquiry. I also met with representatives of the governing body and reviewed school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation summary and records of governors’ visits. I also held a discussion with the local authority adviser. I took full account of the 54 responses on Parent View as well as other surveys, including the

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Information about the inspection

54 free-texts received for the inspection and letters provided through the inspection.

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