Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

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

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Andrew Stockton Headteacher Sarisbury Church of England Junior School Allotment Road Sarisbury Green Southampton Hampshire SO31 7AP

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 8 February 2018, 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 June 2013.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in certain areas. This may indicate that the school is improving towards being outstanding. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

Pupils are proud to attend Sarisbury Junior School. Pupils, parents and carers and staff recognise and value the strong, caring ethos that you have created. Teachers thoughtfully plan lessons that pupils find interesting and engaging. Pupils are enthusiastic learners who thoroughly enjoy the topics they find out about. They are clear that they enjoy coming to school and feel very well looked after. One pupil summed up the general view when he said, ‘You never really have a bad day here.’

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

You have successfully addressed the areas identified for improvement by the last inspection. The developments you have made to teaching, learning and assessment across the school have improved rates of progress for all pupils. The role of year- group leaders has been increased. They are now senior leaders in the school with a very effective overview of the impact of teaching on pupils’ outcomes. You have strengthened the work of learning support assistants so that they now make a significant contribution to the rapid progress that pupils make.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

You have successfully introduced a more consistent focus on the progress of each pupil during lessons. You ensure that pupils work independently and that their tasks stretch their learning. Older pupils recognise these improvements. They said that they have more responsibility for their own learning, and they like this. They reported that teachers are always there to help, but never tell them the answers. Parents appreciate this more individualised approach to their children’s learning. As a result of this work, pupils’ outcomes have improved since the last inspection. The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected level and the higher standard in English and mathematics is higher than both local and national averages.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

Governors are committed to the school and share your ambition for the pupils. They have a thorough understanding of the day-to-day workings of the school. Governors maintain strong oversight of the work of leaders, with regular visits to the school and clearly defined link roles, such as the year-group link governors. In this way, they maintain close scrutiny of the school’s actions to further improve pupils’ progress. However, although governors have a great deal of knowledge of the school, they are not using this information to precisely identify those aspects of the school that are working well and those that need to be further improved.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

Safeguarding is effective. Pupils are happy and feel safe and well looked after. They said that ‘Everyone cares about everyone.’ Parents and staff agreed that pupils are safe and happy.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

Leaders and governors ensure that all of the correct checks and training are undertaken to ensure that all staff and volunteers keep pupils safe. The curriculum makes a very significant contribution to pupils’ knowledge about how to keep themselves safe. It also prepares them well for the next stage in their education and for adult life. For example, pupils are currently learning about the international rights of the child to help them understand their own rights and responsibilities and how this might affect others.

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Short inspection of Sarisbury Church of England Junior School

Pupils are clear that there is no bullying in the school. They reported that this is because of the ethos of the school and that teachers act immediately if pupils raise any concerns. Pupils also really appreciate the Year 6 pupils, known as the ‘peace team’, who help to prevent and deal with difficulties at breaktimes. This broad approach results in a school community that helps each other. One child explained this by saying, ‘Children help you here, even if they are not your friend.’

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Inspection findings

 Disadvantaged pupils make the same very good rates of progress as other pupils. The small cohorts mean that some national information does not accurately reflect the progress they achieve from their starting points. The school’s own tracking information and pupils’ work in books show the very strong progress these pupils achieve. This is the result of the increasingly individualised approach teachers adopt and the more general improvements to teaching across the school. Teachers now plan with very secure knowledge about what each pupil knows and can do. They use this information very effectively to anticipate and deal with pupils’ misconceptions.  Leaders are reflective and constantly seek ways to further improve outcomes for pupils. Detailed and accurate tracking of what pupils know and can do precisely identifies those pupils who need to make more progress. Teachers spend time with these pupils to gather detailed information that informs planning and, in

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Inspection findings

some cases, leads to specific additional support. This approach is making a strong contribution to the progress pupils make.  The curriculum is designed to interest and engage pupils, and it does this very successfully. For example, pupils demonstrated genuine enthusiasm when writing about imaginary animals when learning to create a non-chronological report. Themes, such as Mary Anning and the Titanic, are carefully employed to successfully cover a number of curriculum subjects. For example, work on Mary Anning and her discovery of dinosaur fossils covers science, history and geography. Pupils greatly enjoy their personal development learning. The school identifies key learning behaviours that underpin the expectations of this aspect of the curriculum. Resilience, independence, motivation, communication, reflection and cooperation are effectively developed to help children take a greater ownership of their learning and progress.

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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

 they more precisely identify and monitor areas that need to improve.

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Next steps for the school

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

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I met with you and the assistant headteacher to discuss a range of topics including safeguarding and pupils’ progress. I also met with five members of the governing body, two year-group leaders and a group of learning support assistants. I spoke on the telephone to a representative of the local authority. With you and the assistant headteacher, I visited classrooms and looked at pupils’ work. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and talked to children at playtime and during their lessons. I met a group of pupils and reviewed their work. I observed the behaviour of pupils at breaktimes and spoke to them about the school. I reviewed school documentation, including the school’s policies and procedures for safeguarding. I took account of 126 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 68 written comments. I also considered 37 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and 280 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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