Haymoor Junior School

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

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Mrs Kate Carter Executive Headteacher Haymoor Junior School Ashdown Close Canford Heath Poole Dorset BH17 8WG

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 24 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in October 2012.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

Following the school’s academy conversion in April 2015, there has been a period of high staff turnover and turbulence. Together with other leaders, including the new head of school and standards leader from September 2017, you are taking the right actions to tackle weaknesses and raise pupils’ achievement. For example, pupils’ outcomes in mathematics and writing have improved notably. Your recent actions are also improving pupils’ enjoyment of, and progress in, reading.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

Pupils say that they enjoy coming to school. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about developments and the current direction of the school. The majority of parents and carers are also supportive. For example, around two thirds of those who responded on Parent View said they would recommend the school. These views included comments such as, ‘I feel that Haymoor offers excellent teaching to a range of pupils’ and: ‘My daughter has made very good progress. She is given targets that stretch her abilities…she is happy at school, feels safe and has a lovely group of friends; she really enjoys coming to school.’ However, there is a minority of parents who expressed concerns, particularly about staff changes and communication. You and other leaders understand this and have introduced parent forum meetings to improve communication and build relations. This remains an important area for you to tackle and resolve.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

The quality of teaching is good. You ensure that rigorous systems and processes are focused on pupils’ progress. Together with other leaders, you check pupils’ progress every half-term to hold teachers to account. You identify pupils who are making slow progress and use this information to introduce additional support or interventions. You have also ensured that identified pupils form part of teachers’ appraisal. This places pupils at the heart of teachers’ efforts to raise achievement. The ongoing and relentless focus you place on outcomes is bringing about the necessary improvements, including in reading for current pupils.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

You have successfully addressed weaknesses in teaching identified at the last inspection. You have ensured that teachers plan work to meet pupils’ needs. Leaders use indicators and measures effectively to check pupils’ progress. For example, targets are used to enable trustees, senior leaders and teachers to tackle underperformance. At the previous inspection, writing was highlighted as an area for improvement. Pupils’ writing skills have improved significantly. Pupils write at length for a variety of reasons to practise and develop their skills. They are enthusiastic, especially when writing about topics of interest, such as ‘Viking invaders’ or curiosities, including ‘alien artefacts’ left in the hall.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

However, pupils’ reading skills have not improved at the same rate. Results in national tests and assessments have placed the school in the lowest 20% in 2016 and 2017. You have taken action to improve this so that pupils’ current achievement is improving rapidly. However, there are still some pupils, especially lower-attaining disadvantaged boys, who need to catch up even more quickly. Together with other leaders, you fully recognise that improving pupils’ reading is key to enabling them to be prepared for the next stage in their learning and their life chances beyond. This ethic is now improving the culture of reading widely across the school.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

Your effective and well-trained team ensures that safeguarding requirements are fully met and fit for purpose. Staff are also well trained and know how to look after pupils. They have a good understanding of how to care for pupils, including recording observations and escalating matters in an appropriate and timely manner. Along with other members of your team, you are diligent and dedicated in protecting pupils. For example, you have followed professional advice and acted swiftly to apply the school’s disciplinary policy when this has been needed.

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Short inspection of Haymoor Junior School

Pupils say they feel safe and happy. They show tolerance and respect when working, moving around the school and playing. In discussions with me, pupils could clearly explain what bullying is. They also said it does not happen often and they trust staff to deal with this. Pupils know the different forms that bullying can take. They are also aware of how to stay safe online, for example by protecting personal information and data. You work diligently with others to promote a strong culture for safeguarding pupils. This is continually at the heart of your work.

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Inspection findings

 Due to disappointing results in previous years’ tests, reading was the primary focus of this inspection. The first key line of enquiry considered what leaders do to ensure that phonics is being well taught to pupils who arrive at the school without having met the phonics standard from key stage 1.  You ensure that pupils are swiftly identified and have a programme to help them catch up. This is often delivered through a particular phonics programme, especially for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. Together with regular checks on pupils’ progress, they are being supported to start catching up well.  However, the progress of some pupils is not as rapid as it should be because pupils are not using high-quality phonetically decodable reading books to support their development. In addition, personalised support plans for pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities, are not sufficiently precise or matched to

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Inspection findings

phonics skills and understanding.  The second key line of enquiry looked widely at the teaching of reading and evaluated how well leaders’ actions are raising achievement.  You have implemented a reading policy and now have a clear rationale for the teaching of reading. In addition, you have trained staff and are ensuring that continuing professional development is in place to help teachers understand what high-quality teaching of reading is. For example, you have ensured that a high- quality text is central to topic work and have introduced daily guided reading sessions. This is helping pupils to read more often and with structure and purpose. However, teaching is not yet enabling some pupils to gain an extensive range of vocabulary for reading. This prevents them from having the tools or a strong foundation to tackle the more advanced skills of comprehension, inference and deduction.  The teaching of reading is improving. As a result, outcomes are rising well in

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Inspection findings

most classes and year groups. Teachers know the pupils well and plan work to meet their different needs and abilities. A large part of this is also due to the work of teaching assistants with identified pupils through interventions. In the majority of cases, interventions to boost pupils’ reading skills and confidence are working well. This is particularly true of the programmes which the school uses, including for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. However, there are still some intervention sessions that lack the precision to move learning on quickly. Teachers’ and teaching assistants’ use of assessment information is variable. This restricts targeted pupils’ ability to build quickly on what they know, understand and can do.  Pupils enjoy the breadth of reading activities currently promoted through the school. For example, ‘reading races’ and having access to a much-improved library for recreational reading are contributing to them reading widely and often.

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Inspection findings

This is improving the way that pupils view reading and is providing many with greater opportunities to be inspired and increase their time reading in school and at home.  A further key line of enquiry evaluated what is working well so that writing and mathematics outcomes have improved recently.  Following the appointment of specialist teachers in mathematics and English, pupils and staff have been enthused and energised. Leaders have used the breadth of the curriculum to deepen pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding. Teachers plan meaningful mathematics and writing through other subject areas, with a focus on problem-solving and mastery. In addition, the mathematics and English subject leaders have effectively targeted gaps in pupils’ knowledge through gap analyses and scrutinising pupils’ work. For example, arithmetic in mathematics and spelling, punctuation and grammar have been targeted. This

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Inspection findings

has brought about sustained improvement in pupils’ basic skills, knowledge and understanding in mathematics and writing.

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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

 interventions for all pupils are of the same high quality, with the necessary detail and aspiration to enable targeted pupils to make rapid progress  teachers extend pupils’ range of vocabulary to be able to improve pupils’ comprehension and understanding of a range of texts  they improve communication and strengthen relationships with all parents to enable the best possible interaction between home and school for the pupils.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Poole. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I worked extensively with you, including visiting classrooms together and undertaking joint learning walks. I also talked with pupils during lessons and listened to them reading often through a range of inspection activities. I scrutinised safeguarding records and we discussed a wide range of related matters, including staff recruitment, training and vetting arrangements. I also reviewed processes and systems in relation to exclusions. I spoke with pupils and staff about their views of safeguarding. I met with representatives of the board of trustees and reviewed school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation summary and records of trustee visits. I also read recent reviews of the school undertaken by the school’s link improvement partner, who is also a national leader in education. I took full account of the 67 responses on Parent View, as well as reviewing the free texts received through the inspection. I also talked with some parents and took their

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Information about the inspection

views into consideration. Furthermore, I considered the views of pupils and staff through meeting with them and analysing their responses to the surveys for the inspection.

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