Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

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

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Mrs Sally Akers Headteacher Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School School Hill Wargrave Reading Berkshire RG10 8DY

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 17 April 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 2014.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and the head of school have a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further improvement. You set extremely high standards and will only accept the best for pupils. Together, you have planned and prioritised improvements methodically over time. Leaders have developed effective assessment procedures across the school. You use this information well to identify any pupils falling behind in their learning and to organise appropriate additional support to help them catch up.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

Pupils like their school a lot and talk with great enthusiasm about the positive impact of teaching on their learning and well-being. Pupils are confident, friendly and enthusiastic. They are rightly proud of their school and feel very safe and well cared for. Parents are positive about the school and praise the care provided and your leadership. One parent said: ‘My child loves learning at the school and is excited to go.’ They like the way in which the school communicates and works closely with them. Parents also appreciate how well their children are helped to learn, including those pupils with any particular needs. One parent, whose views were typical of many, said: ‘The teachers are extremely approachable, the environment is safe, the learning is varied, and the after-school activities are excellent.’

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

You have a highly skilled team of governors who have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have a thorough knowledge of their roles and responsibilities and carry them out diligently and effectively. Governors give you and your leadership team a strong level of challenge as well as support to enable the school to improve further.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

At the last inspection, leaders were asked to ensure that the lower-attaining pupils were set work that is at the right level of difficulty. These pupils are challenged well and make good progress in English, mathematics and other subjects. Leaders were also asked to enable staff, including some middle leaders, to monitor teaching and learning more effectively. Subject and middle leaders check teaching and learning well and scrutinise pupils’ work in detail. Consequently, they identify areas of strength accurately and tackle robustly any aspects where improvements are needed.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

Although achievement in mathematics is currently good, pupils’ progress is not as rapid as it is in reading and writing. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use their mathematical skills in other subjects. You are also aware that there are times when the level of challenge does not stretch the most able pupils sufficiently to enable them to achieve even higher standards.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

Leaders and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and understood by staff. Detailed checks are completed meticulously on all those who work at the school to ensure that they are fit to do so. You, your staff and governors ensure that there is a strong culture of vigilance across the school. Staff undertake regular training to make sure that they are up to date with the most recent legislation. The designated safeguarding governor completes intensive checks to confirm that agreed procedures are adhered to fully.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

You, as the school’s designated safeguarding lead, have a very good understanding of safeguarding and an exceptionally strong commitment to supporting pupils and keeping them safe. Leaders follow up referrals swiftly and make sure that they get the best outcomes for the most vulnerable pupils. You have high expectations of other services, such as children’s social care, and challenge them robustly when needed.

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Short inspection of Robert Piggott Church of England Junior School

You and your staff know the pupils and their families very well and this is a real strength of the school. Relationships are positive and help pupils to feel safe. All staff who completed their questionnaire, and the overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, agree that the school keeps pupils safe.

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Inspection findings

 The mathematics leader has a precise understanding of pupils’ strengths and weaknesses and any gaps in their learning. She is working effectively with teachers to address these areas, for example in calculation. As a result, pupils make rapid progress in mathematics. Pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills are particularly strong. However, pupils do not use their mathematical skills widely enough in other subjects. Occasionally, the most able pupils’ progress in mathematics is not accelerated because staff do not challenge their thinking sufficiently. As a result, they do not make the progress that they are capable of.  Together, we looked at how well disadvantaged pupils are supported to progress well in writing. You have taken decisive action. Leaders have completed a detailed analysis of disadvantaged pupils’ achievement and identified necessary improvements accurately. Subsequently, staff have been supported well to

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Inspection findings

improve disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes in writing. As a result, disadvantaged pupils’ understanding and use of a wide range of complex vocabulary have improved. They write confidently and at length. Current disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes are good and indicate that they are making more rapid progress than before. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is rising quickly.  I also examined boys’ progress in writing. Teachers plan learning opportunities well and this gives boys a rich experience of writing in various styles. Teachers use imaginative classroom displays and interesting texts to enthuse boys and encourage their creativity effectively. As a result, boys make good progress in writing and are motivated to write high-quality extended pieces of work. For example, boys have been inspired by reading ‘The storm breaker’, and used the ideas from the story meaningfully in their own writing. Boys’ spelling, punctuation

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Inspection findings

and grammar skills are also good. The school’s assessments and pupils’ work show that a high proportion of boys are already reaching age-related expectations and greater depth in their understanding. However, there are times when the learning opportunities for some of the most able pupils do not challenge them. This slows the progress that they make.  My final focus during the inspection was the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and the persistent absence both of disadvantaged pupils and boys. You have tight procedures for managing and understanding the reasons behind any pupil’s absence. You support families effectively to ensure that their children attend regularly. You have put in place a detailed tracking system for all pupils, enabling you to spot any decrease in a pupil’s attendance quickly. You also work very cooperatively and effectively with the local authority to ensure that pupils attend

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Inspection findings

school regularly. As a result, there is marked improvement in the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and a significant reduction in the persistent absence of boys and disadvantaged pupils.

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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 make more rapid progress in mathematics and use their mathematics skills in all areas of the curriculum  the most able pupils are challenged more consistently to extend their skills and understanding.

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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 Oxford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wokingham. 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 head of school to discuss the school’s effectiveness. I held discussions with six governors, including the chair of the governing body, and met with your school improvement adviser. I met formally with a group of pupils and spoke with other pupils throughout the school day. Together with you and your head of school, I observed lessons in every class. I looked at a sample of books and pupils’ work. I examined documents, including information about the safeguarding of children, and the progress that they make. I also looked at the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan. I considered 35 responses and free-text comments submitted to the inspection questionnaire, Parent View. I also considered the online responses from 23 members of staff.

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