Bosmere Junior School

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

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Mrs Kathryn Robinson Headteacher Bosmere Junior School South Street Havant Hampshire PO9 1DA

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 23 January 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 January 2013.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

School leaders have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your passionate and committed leadership, and relentless drive for improvement, have ensured that teaching is strong across the school and pupils are doing well. The leadership team accurately identify the strengths of the school and areas which can be further developed. Staff feel supported and valued as a result of your collaborative and developmental approach. Consequently, staff work hard to meet your expectations and do their best for the pupils.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Parents and carers and grandparents speak very highly of the school. One commented that, ‘There is no better school in the area. I could not send my child anywhere else.’ They have a strong appreciation of the high-quality pastoral care provided for individual pupils. A number of parents I spoke to provided detailed accounts of the specific ways in which the school meets their children’s needs.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They speak with enthusiasm about the ‘fun activities’ on offer. These include special themed days, for example the Roald Dahl and Celtic days, as well as events such as the Tudor banquet and buggy club. These activities exemplify your efforts to enrich the curriculum and motivate pupils to learn.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

At the time of the last inspection, leaders were asked to ensure that teachers adapt learning tasks within lessons, so that pupils make more rapid progress. They were also asked to encourage pupils’ independence and provide useful feedback so pupils know how to improve their work. In the two years since you joined the school, you have ensured that these identified areas have improved. As a result, pupils take more responsibility for their learning, particularly in English and mathematics. Teachers provide work at the right level and frequently adapt tasks within lessons, if required. Teachers’ feedback is purposeful and enables pupils to improve their work. As we agreed, teachers could, at times, move the most able pupils on more quickly. Although pupils demonstrate independence in the core subjects, they do not show the same confidence in their learning across the curriculum.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in 2017 were good. However, leaders rightly identified that pupils’ progress and attainment in reading were slightly less strong than in writing and mathematics. The most able pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, do not always achieve the higher standards of which they are capable. Your action to improve outcomes in reading is bringing about improvement. There is more to do to fulfil the potential of some of the most able pupils.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Senior leaders and governors have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that pupils are kept safe. The procedures for recruiting staff are robust. Leaders ensure that all adults who work or volunteer in school have been through thorough and appropriate safeguarding checks. Governors monitor these processes each term and ensure that they are as rigorous as possible.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Safeguarding training ensures that every member of staff knows what to do in the event of a concern. The designated safeguarding lead follows up reported concerns with determination to ensure that pupils’ needs are met. The school’s work with outside agencies is very effective and pupils are supported well. Record-keeping is rigorous and information-sharing between leaders and staff is consistently strong.

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Short inspection of Bosmere Junior School

Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They were keen to share their understanding of bullying, including cyber bullying. Pupils commented that bullying does not really happen at Bosmere, but that if a pupil upsets another pupil, it is sorted out straight away.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders and governors have a strong understanding of teaching and learning across the school. Through effective coaching and mentoring, you have developed middle leaders so that they know the strengths and next steps for their areas of responsibility. They are working successfully with teachers to improve practice further. Governors are very involved in school life. They volunteer in the school, for example by helping in class or running clubs after school. However, they successfully separate this from their governor role, so that they provide useful challenge and hold you effectively to account.  Leaders check on the quality of teaching regularly, identify what could be further improved and provide coaching for staff. In turn, staff are reflective and constantly look for ways to improve their practice. Leaders’ focus on high-quality feedback from teachers, both verbal and written, brings about visible

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Inspection findings

improvements in pupils’ work, although sometimes the most able do not do as well as they could. There has been a significant focus on encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their learning. As part of this, teaching assistants are being trained to use their time to support learning well, without providing pupils with too much help. Pupils know exactly what they are working on to improve in English and mathematics. This determination and commitment to learning from pupils is also evident in some other subjects such as science and history. However, in other areas of the curriculum pupils are less independent.  Reading has been a focus for development. Through detailed analysis of pupils’ reading skills, leaders identified where there were gaps and adapted the school’s approach to teaching reading. As a consequence, pupils are attentive in lessons, appreciate opportunities to discuss their answers with their peers, and are

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Inspection findings

confident in sharing their reasoning with the whole class. The work in pupils’ books shows that they are improving their skills for reading for meaning, inferring from the text and providing evidence for their thinking.  When disadvantaged pupils join the school in Year 3, there is a gap between their achievement and that of their peers. Although this gap has reduced in the last two years, the outcomes of this group of pupils continue to be behind that of other pupils nationally. Senior leaders plan carefully how the specific needs of these pupils will be met, and how the funding to support this is used. For example, an extra teacher in each year group supports individuals and groups with their learning. There is also personalised support, such as help with attendance and punctuality. Leaders regularly check how well these pupils, particularly those who are most-able, are doing and ensure that they are a

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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

 teachers plan learning tasks and opportunities that will challenge and stretch the most able pupils, particularly those that are disadvantaged, so that more achieve the higher standards  pupils are encouraged to take responsibility for improving their skills, knowledge and understanding across the curriculum.

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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 Hampshire. 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 the deputy headteacher to discuss the school’s effectiveness. Together, we visited lessons to observe pupils’ learning and look at work in their books. I met with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body, a group of staff and some pupils from Years 4 and 5. I also spoke to a representative from the local authority. I gathered views from parents and carers in the playground at the beginning of the school day, and considered 38 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, including 24 free-text comments. I evaluated the school’s safeguarding arrangements and reviewed a range of documentation including: an evaluation of the schools’ effectiveness; the school development plan; minutes of governors’ meetings; and record of checks on teaching and learning. I also took account of 22 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire.

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