Mayhill Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Mayhill Junior School The Bury, Odiham, Hook, Hampshire RG29 1NB

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Outcome

Mayhill Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Staff know pupils well and treat them with care and respect. Pupils are polite, enjoy their work and show high regard when listening to their classmates’ views and opinions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well at Mayhill. Leaders and teachers are determined in their efforts to support every pupil to be successful both academically and socially. Leaders ensure that pupils learn skills that enable them to be safe while away from school. Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet. They explained to me why it was important to keep personal details safe and why they shouldn’t share passwords.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers provide a range of opportunities for pupils. Learning is enhanced through visits to places such as Stonehenge and The Living Rainforest. There is a wide range of clubs on offer, including those for ceramics, ukulele and sewing. These clubs are very popular with the pupils, and many are full.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that bullying rarely happens. When it does, they know that staff will deal with it quickly. Pupils play well together, enjoying the wide range of games that are organised by the older pupils at lunchtime.

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

Leaders have planned a broad and exciting curriculum, which they have adapted to meet the needs of all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Staff ensure that pupils are fully involved in all school activities. Pupils with SEND learn well and make good progress. Pupils of service families are very well supported. There are strong links with the local RAF base. Many pupils of service families join during the year. There is a well-planned programme to ensure that their social and emotional needs are met, so they settle quickly into their new school. 3–4 December 2019

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In nearly all subject areas, leaders have set out the content to be taught in a way that enables pupils to build their knowledge and skills over time. Where subject leaders are new in their roles, for example in design technology, subject leadership and curriculum development are less advanced. School leaders are aware, and helpful training for these new staff is under way.

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Reading is a priority of the school. Pupils who have not reached the expected standard in phonics when they join in Year 3 are given extra support to enable them to catch up. High-quality texts are used throughout the school, for example during guided reading sessions. Reading comprehension work is well planned and builds on pupils’ previous skills and learning. Pupils are regularly exposed to a rich vocabulary, for example through access to texts by carefully chosen authors. Pupils are developing positive reading habits. They read regularly at school and at home. Pupils who read to me read fluently and were able to make predictions as to what might happen in the text. Typically, by the end of key stage 2, pupils reach above-average standards in reading.

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Science is a strength of the school. The subject leader has developed a programme of work that builds on pupils’ prior learning. Knowledge and skills are arranged in a carefully sequenced progression and pupils can recall learning from previous years. Pupils explained to me how what they had learned in Year 3 about light had helped them to understand their current work about space.

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Staff work hard to promote pupils’ wider development. Leaders make sure that pupils learn about other faiths and cultures, including those found in modern Britain. Pupils learn about democracy by, for example, electing house captains or through the Year 5 ‘Fight for Freedom’ topic.

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Leaders ensure that the well-being of every member of staff is a priority. Staff say they appreciate the changes introduced to reduce their workload.

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Governors know the school well. They support leaders and staff and hold them to account. This helps to make sure the quality of education remains good.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong safeguarding culture across the school. The leader for safeguarding ensures that all staff have the training and up-to-date information they need to keep pupils safe. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns about pupils’ well-being. All adults undergo rigorous safety checks before working with pupils.

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Safeguarding

Governors regularly check that safeguarding procedures are followed effectively by all members of staff. Pupils say that they feel safe at school. They told me that there is always an adult they can talk to if they have any worries. 3–4 December 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subject leaders have only recently been appointed and, as a result, their leadership skills are still developing. Leaders should continue the planned programme of training for these colleagues, to ensure that pupils’ learning in all areas of the curriculum is well developed.  Pupils’ learning in nearly all foundation subjects is well planned and sequenced. A minority of these subjects, including design technology for example, require further development. Leaders should redouble their work in less well developed subjects to ensure that teaching builds pupils’ knowledge and skills reliably as they progress through the school.

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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 in May 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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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 pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 3–4 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111382 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 May 2016

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Information about this school

 Children from service families from the nearby RAF base make up approximately one third of the pupils at the school.  Several members of staff have been appointed since the previous inspection, including teachers, learning support assistants and administrative staff.

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Information about this inspection

 I did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and music. I spoke with subject leaders, staff and pupils, and visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.  Pupils from Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6 read to me.  I considered the views of parents and carers by analysing 60 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and 34 additional free-text comments. The views of 68 pupils who responded to Ofsted’s online pupil survey were also analysed.  I met with staff to discuss their workload and well-being. The views of 16 staff who responded to Ofsted’s staff survey were considered.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, staff, pupils and representatives of the governing body. A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local 3–4 December 2019

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authority.  I reviewed the school’s record of safeguarding checks, including the single central record of employment checks. I spoke to pupils about how they keep themselves safe and whether there is any bullying in school. I met with the designated lead for safeguarding and spoke with staff about their understanding of their safeguarding duties.

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Inspection team

Brian Macdonald, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 3–4 December 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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