Ringwood Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Ringwood Junior School Hightown Road, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 1NH

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Outcome

Ringwood Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are full of enthusiasm for their school. Leaders and staff support pupils well and develop their talents and interests. Pupils enjoy their lessons because teachers make learning enjoyable. They want to achieve success. Even the youngest pupils expect their work to challenge them. They say that ‘learning is fun’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders’ ambitions for ‘limitless learning’ extends to pupils’ personal development. Pupils’ views help leaders to keep improving what the school offers. Pupils understand the firmly rooted values that help everyone to work together. They know how to be considerate within the community and beyond it. For example, pupils helped to raise funds to reroof their twin school in Kenya.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Older pupils relish the opportunity to apply for a wide variety of ‘jobs’ that help the school to run smoothly. They are proud to wear the badges that identify their special roles. Pupils of all ages appreciate that there is something for everyone among the large selection of available clubs. Pupils say that bullying hardly ever happens. If it does, they know what to do to make it stop. They feel safe to learn because they trust the adults in school to help them.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders, governors and staff have the very highest aspirations for pupils. Pupils respond positively. Throughout the school, pupils behave well. Classrooms are purposeful because pupils let teachers get on with their job. Pupils listen to the adults, joining in their lessons keenly because they want to learn.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils are well prepared for their move to secondary school. This is especially the case with reading, writing and mathematics. The school inspires pupils to succeed in these subjects. Year 6 pupils like writing because they have ‘really cool stuff to write about’. Other subjects and a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities motivate pupils equally well. 19–21 November 2019

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Pupils treasure the time that they spend reading. On entry to the school, leaders make it a priority to develop pupils’ confidence and fluency. Teachers ensure that all pupils learn how to read with understanding. Pupils access books by a wide range of authors and challenging books. They respond well to their teachers’ choices. Year 4 pupils identified complex vocabulary and grammar in a book about Shackleton’s adventure in the Antarctic, for example. By Year 6 pupils are confident they have all the necessary reading skills to tackle any text.

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Teachers understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There is some helpful extra teaching in place to overcome the difficulties these pupils may experience. This might take place before, during or after the lesson. Pupils with SEND benefit from being in the same lesson as the rest of the class. However, when reading and writing, classroom learning activities do not reliably meet their needs well.

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Pupils learn science, history and geography through carefully planned and engaging projects. These cover what pupils need to learn in a logical order. Pupils greatly enjoy the visits and visitors associated with their work. Learning subject-specific vocabulary enables pupils to talk confidently about their ideas. Teachers help pupils to remember what they are learning. Pupils are becoming adept at recalling facts and information. They like to do this. However, pupils do not develop as thoroughly the skills they use in their learning. This means that pupils do not build fully on all they have previously learned, to help them with their future learning.

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Leaders successfully promote pupils’ personal development. They provide a large number of interesting clubs, including some that pupils have chosen. Pupils are proud to represent their school at sports events and to take part in performances. Parents, carers and pupils appreciate what the school offers. If pupils need help to make sense of their emotions, they get it. Staff go out of their way to include disadvantaged and other vulnerable pupils in school life.

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Teachers have a thorough knowledge of the subjects they teach. This is because leaders develop staff expertise. Staff say that leaders have created a strong team. They maintain a sharp oversight of everyone’s well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are vigilant and create a strong culture of care. They are quick to spot any concerns about a pupil’s welfare or safeguarding. The designated leader ensures that pupils and families have timely support.

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Safeguarding

There is comprehensive training for staff and governors, in line with their responsibilities. Leaders are alert to any risk factors in the community. Staff ensure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe when they are using technology. Governors support leaders to ensure that effective recruitment checks are in place for staff and volunteers. 19–21 November 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have thought carefully about how the curriculum content in each subject should be sequenced and they keep this work under review. However, in science and some of the foundation subjects, planning does not explicitly help teachers to focus sharply on how pupils will build subject-specific skills, knowledge and understanding. Leaders need to continue refining the curriculum so that pupils have more opportunities to apply and develop fully, over time, what they know and can do.  Pupils with SEND benefit from the extra help they receive to be fully included in the curriculum. On occasion, they do not have well-matched learning tasks or resources for literacy. Leaders need to ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are met precisely so that they consistently achieve as well as they can.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 26–27 April 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and 19–21 November 2019

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pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route.

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Inspection number 10111360 Type of school Junior

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Appropriate authority The governing body

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Website http://www.ringwood-junior.hants.sch.uk

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Date of previous inspection 26–27 April 2016

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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes since the previous inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the two assistant headteachers, one of whom is the special educational needs coordinator. I spoke to the local authority’s school improvement adviser on the telephone.  I carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, science and geography. I met with curriculum leaders, teachers and groups of pupils in each year group. I visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.  I checked the school’s single central record and the procedures for the recruitment of staff. In addition, I met with the designated safeguard lead and some of the deputy leaders. I spoke to a range of staff to find out how pupils are kept safe. I talked to pupils informally during break and lunchtime.  I met the chair of the governing body and four other members of the governing body.  I considered 98 responses to the Parent View survey, including 51 written responses. There were 28 responses to the staff survey.

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Linda Jacobs, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 19–21 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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