Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Miss Carmella Reece Headteacher St Peter's Church of England Aided Junior School Church Avenue Farnborough Hampshire GU14 7AP

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England Aided Junior School

Following my visit to your school on 9 June 2021, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to confirm the monitoring inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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England Aided Junior School

The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and has taken place because the school has received two successive judgements of requires improvement at its previous section 5 inspections.

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England Aided Junior School

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. I discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in my evaluation.

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England Aided Junior School

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

in order for the school to become a good school.

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

The school should take further action to:

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

 improve pupils’ reading further and make sure the curriculum is effective in every subject so that pupils achieve consistently well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)  make sure these priorities figure prominently in leaders’ and governors’ plans for improvement, and their monitoring and evaluation processes.

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Context

The headteacher took up her post permanently in January 2021, having been temporarily seconded to the school from February 2020. Since the last section 5 inspection in 2019, 13 members of staff have left the school and 10 have joined. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) completed her training and took up this role last year. Five governors have left and four have joined.

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Main findings

You have forged ahead with making important improvements, wasting no time since you joined the school last year. Parents and pupils recognise these positive changes and appreciate leaders’ and teachers’ efforts. Leaders’ expectations of staff and pupils are rising rapidly. You have dealt with challenges head on because you want the best for all pupils. Governors’ oversight of the effectiveness of leaders’ actions is more precise. They are increasingly asking leaders for concrete evidence of how the school is improving.

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Main findings

Pupils’ behaviour is now much better. They work more productively in lessons and play together more happily at breaktimes. This indicates the high expectations you have swiftly brought to all areas of the school’s work. The pupils I spoke to were very enthusiastic about coming to school, valuing the strong relationships they have with their teachers and their friends. They said that they enjoy learning and they are looking forward to the return of school clubs and other extra-curricular activities. They are proud of the school and feel valued.

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Main findings

You are rightly ambitious that every pupil leaves the school able to read confidently and fluently. There is more work to do to achieve this. Staff are helping pupils to enjoy reading regularly, both at school and at home. Pupils make good use of the library and reading features greatly in daily life at school. After very recently reviewing the support for pupils who need extra help to catch up, leaders have provided new training for staff and are planning to introduce new approaches. You recognise these are vital changes to make sure that all pupils can read at an age- appropriate level.

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Main findings

The depth and quality of pupils’ learning is improving at an appropriate rate in most but not all subjects. You acknowledge that improvements to the curriculum are further forward in some subjects than in others. For example, English, mathematics, art and design, and science are relatively strong. This shows that training to improve teachers’ subject knowledge and leaders’ careful work to design the curriculum are paying off. Leaders are taking the same approaches in subjects such as languages and geography, where pupils’ learning is getting better. However, improvements have been slower in subjects such as music and history.

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Main findings

Although leaders are united in their aspirations for pupils with SEND, pupils’ achievement is variable. As yet, adapting the curriculum across subjects to meet pupils’ needs has not been enough of a focus. The SENCo is spearheading important work to tackle this and make sure pupils with SEND achieve at least as well as other pupils.

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Main findings

You have set targets and created plans that have steered leaders’ actions with urgency and focus, resulting in the improvements made to date. You and governors have also established systems to evaluate the progress being made. Leaders recognise that these plans and processes are ripe for review. They do not focus sufficiently on what are now key priorities in improving the quality of education so that it is solidly good. Improving pupils’ reading and developing an effective curriculum in all subjects, including for pupils with SEND, are now top priorities to ensure pupils achieve consistently well.

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Additional support

The local authority and the diocese work together to monitor the progress the school is making regularly. They know the school well. Leaders make good use of the challenge and support they receive. The local authority has also provided a range of useful advice and help in a number of curriculum areas.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I met with you, other leaders, five governors, representatives of the local authority and diocese to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. I spoke to some parents and pupils. I visited lessons in each year group and looked at a range of pupils’ work. I considered a number of documents, including curriculum planning, minutes of governing body meetings and the school’s improvement plan. I took into account 15 responses to the staff survey and 74 parental responses to Parent View, including 71 free-text comments.

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Evidence

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Guildford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website. Yours sincerely

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