The Windmills Junior School

Inspection of The Windmills Junior School Dale Avenue, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 8LS

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 2 and 3 November 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school. The school’s values of kindness, respect, courage, curiosity, independence and perseverance underpin pupils’ daily school experience. They understand the importance of these values and strive to model them. This creates a culture where, for example, pupils understand that bullying has no place because it conflicts with the value of kindness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe at school. They learn how to keep themselves safe, including online. Pupils are secure in their relationships with staff and each other. They know what to do if they have any worries and are confident that staff will help them to resolve things.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. They understand what is expected of them. They are polite and respectful. This means that the school is a friendly and well-ordered environment in which pupils thrive. They demonstrate maturity in understanding that some pupils need additional support to manage their behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations are high. Pupils respond well and are keen to do their best. They present their work carefully and work hard. Pupils relish the challenges that their teachers set them. They achieve well across the curriculum and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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better?

Leaders have taken effective action to improve the school since the previous inspection. They have designed an ambitious and carefully ordered curriculum that provides a high-quality education for pupils. Effective subject leadership supports the implementation of the curriculum well. Subject leaders are beginning to monitor the impact of their subjects, although this process has been hampered by the pandemic.

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better?

Leaders have placed global citizenship and the school’s values at the centre of their curriculum. This is effective in helping pupils to learn about themselves and the wider world. For example, when learning about the five pillars of Islam, pupils considered which of the school’s values were needed for each commitment and which they would find the most challenging.

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better?

Clear curriculum plans support pupils to build their knowledge sequentially across subjects. This helps pupils to draw on prior knowledge and supports them in achieving well. For example, in art, pupils explained how previous learning about colour wheels and blending supported them in painting scarab beetles as part of their learning about Ancient Egypt.

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better?

Training has ensured that there is a high level of consistency in approach across the school. Teachers keep a constant check on when pupils would benefit from a quick recap of previous learning or more focus on an important area. Any misconceptions 2 and 3 November 2021

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are quickly identified and explained so that learning does not slow or stall. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their learning needs carefully identified. These needs are well supported in English and mathematics, but occasionally this support is less well considered in foundation subjects.

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Leaders have raised expectations in writing. Pupils write well for a range of purposes. They present their work carefully, using rich vocabulary. This is well supported by their extensive reading. Leaders have ensured that pupils enjoy a diverse range of high-quality texts. Pupils are voracious readers. Those pupils who need additional help to catch up with reading benefit from books that are carefully matched to their needs and support from staff who are well trained in phonics.

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Pupils enjoy their learning. They are inspired by the interesting work their teachers set for them. They are keen to answer questions and share their experiences and opinions. Pupils listen carefully to their teachers and follow instructions. This helps lessons to flow smoothly and supports both learning and enjoyment.

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Diversity is valued here. Through careful selection of books and areas of study, leaders have ensured that pupils develop a broad cultural understanding and are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Governance has strengthened since the previous inspection. Governors have the information and skills they need to help drive strategic school improvement. Leaders, including governors, carefully consider staff workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that safeguarding systems are robust. Staff are routinely trained and updated to help them identify risks. Record-keeping, including pre- employment checks, is meticulous. When appropriate, leaders work closely with other agencies to help keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Staff, pupils and parents and carers express high levels of confidence in this. The curriculum provides pupils with information to help them to stay safe. They are clear about what constitutes harassment, both online and in daily life, and know what to do if they have worries.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Subject leaders have not yet monitored the implementation of their subject plans for all pupil groups. This means that any necessary refinements, for example for pupils with SEND, have not yet been fully identified or actioned. Leaders should 2 and 3 November 2021

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ensure that all subject leaders are supported in fully evaluating the impact of plans for all pupil groups.  Provision for pupils with SEND has strengthened. However, further evaluation and refinement are needed to ensure that pupils with SEND make sustained and secure progress across the curriculum. Leaders should continue to provide training for staff to help them fully meet the needs of this group of pupils across all subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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 pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 2 and 3 November 2021

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

6 and 7 February 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has three classes in Years 3, 4 and 6. There are currently four classes in Year 5 to accommodate larger numbers of pupils in this year group.  The governing body has been restructured since the previous inspection. A new chair of governors took up position in September of this year.  Since the previous inspection, school leaders have commissioned a number of reviews into aspects of the school’s work. They have worked closely with the local authority to improve provision.  The school does not use alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders, and have taken that into account in their evaluation. 2 and 3 November 2021

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 During the inspection, the lead inspector met regularly with the headteacher. Inspectors also held meetings with the special educational needs coordinator, those responsible for managing the spending of additional funding for catch-up provision and disadvantaged pupils, and the safeguarding team. The lead inspector met with governors, including the chair of the governing body. The lead inspector also had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors conducted deep dives into English, mathematics, art and history. For each deep dive, an inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Records associated with safeguarding were reviewed, including the single central record and appointment procedures. The inspectors spoke to staff about their

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safeguarding training and spoke to pupils about the support they have in understanding how to keep safe.  An inspector spoke to a group of parents at the school gate and reviewed responses to the staff, pupil and parent Ofsted questionnaires. A letter from a parent was also considered.  A group of staff met with an inspector to share their views about the school, including on workload and well-being. Inspectors met with groups of pupils and spoke to them on the playground and around the school.

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Inspection team

Deborah Gordon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mrs Fisher-Pink Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 November 2021

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