Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School

Inspection of Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School Salisbury Terrace, Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire PO13 9DL

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 November 2021

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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 23 to 24 November 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

In this small seaside town, pupils thrive at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior. They are zestful and love to welcome visitors to their school. In classrooms and on the playground, pupils are eager to learn and play with one another. This was not the case before. Adults really care for all the children. Their friendly greetings and conversations make pupils feel good about themselves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have made it crystal clear the way that they expect all pupils to behave. Any previous poor behaviour is no more. Leaders act quickly to keep everybody safe. The school’s six ‘SAILS’ badges highly motivate pupils. They know the only way to achieve the coveted awards is to follow the school values consistently. Pupils feel protected and listened to. They know that an adult would solve any worries about bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that they must work hard. They embrace the outdoor opportunities the wider curriculum offers. The school is metres from the beach. Pupils learn how to keep safe in water and the role of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Pupils are developed in the arts through singing at prestigious venues in London. Leaders focus on widening pupils’ understanding of different cultures to their own.

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better?

The tenacious new leadership team has turned this school around. Parents are thrilled with how far the school has come. Leaders rightly focused first on ensuring that all pupils behave. Classrooms are now calm places where other pupils do not disrupt learning.

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better?

Leaders have worked efficiently in constructing a curriculum that is ambitious and is focused on knowledge. In the core subjects, for example mathematics and science, plans are well sequenced so that the content develops incrementally. Staff are confident in teaching these subjects. They present information clearly and check regularly what pupils are remembering.

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better?

In some other subjects, the curriculum is not fully there yet. Some content choices do not help pupils learn a sophisticated amount of knowledge. In addition, the order in which this knowledge is set out does not help pupils to build successfully on what they have learned before. Consequently, this can sometimes lead to teachers selecting activities that do not demand enough from pupils. These can often be fun, but they do not ensure that pupils are thinking deeply about what they need to know. Leaders recognise all of this and are already addressing these areas.

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better?

Reading is front and centre. The library offers pupils a broad selection of books that develops them into successful readers. Older pupils read confidently. Teachers prioritise vocabulary and ensure that pupils learn new words all the time. 23 to 24 November 2021

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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some pupils have started school not reading fluently. Interventions are firmly in place to catch pupils up. Nonetheless, not all staff know how to teach phonics well. Currently, there are some inconsistencies in teaching methods and the use of resources. This is slowing down how quickly pupils are taught to read. Leaders know this and have acted without delay. They are in the process of introducing a new phonics programme that will make clear to all staff how to teach a child to read effectively.

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The experienced special educational needs and disabilities coordinator ensures that staff deliver what is on a child’s support plan. The identification of any child with additional needs is well considered and enables pupils to access the same learning as their classmates. Staff do not allow pupils with SEND to be overly reliant on help. They strive to make all pupils as independent as possible.

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Governors provide the right balance of support and challenge to school leaders. They have sought to strengthen the relationship with the infant school to benefit all pupils. Governors are well informed about developments to the curriculum. They understand they need to probe further into pupils’ learning of subjects other than English and mathematics. Leaders and governors are warm hearted and check in on staff’s well-being regularly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding team has a sharp eye on all children. They do their utmost to protect them. The pastoral work that leaders do is noteworthy. They work tirelessly to follow up actions and check in on pupils and families. Record-keeping is meticulous. Leaders can explain any safeguarding case with real clarity. They are resolute in making difficult decisions if needed.

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Safeguarding

Staff know exactly how to raise a safeguarding concern. They know that leaders take what they say very seriously. In the curriculum, pupils learn pertinent safeguarding topics to help them stay safe both online and in person.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are some inconsistencies in how staff support pupils who are unable to read fluently. Leaders know this and are in the process of implementing a new systematic phonics programme for those pupils who have not met reading expectations for their age. Leaders need to ensure that all adults are expertly trained to teach the school’s new phonics programme effectively.  In some foundation subjects, content choices are not ambitious enough, and knowledge is not carefully sequenced from Years 3 to 6. Therefore, pupils are not 23 to 24 November 2021

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always learning essential knowledge in the right order. However, it is clear that leaders are working on the sequencing of knowledge into clear steps so that pupils learn the curriculum successfully. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.  Sometimes, teachers choose activities which do not help pupils to learn the planned knowledge. Consequently, pupils do not always show they are knowing more and remembering more. Leaders need to develop teachers’ expertise in how to implement the school’s curriculum so that pupils acquire detailed knowledge 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. 23 to 24 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200869 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Mrs Lyndsay McLees

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 23 and 24 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher started as assistant headteacher just before the last inspection. She became co-headteacher in January 2020 and then substantive headteacher in January 2021. The leadership team was then restructured and a new deputy headteacher started in September 2021.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector met those responsible for governance, including the chair, and discussed leaders’ actions with a representative from the local authority. 23 to 24 November 2021

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, computing and history. This involved discussion with leaders about these subjects and the curriculum plans, visits to lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work, and discussions with pupils, teachers and teaching assistants from the lessons visited about the subjects.  Pupils were observed reading to a familiar adult by the lead inspector.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors spoke with staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding leads to examine records and actions. This included sampling case files to explore how the school identifies and supports pupils at risk of harm. A team inspector reviewed checks on the safer recruitment of staff.  Inspectors met with pupils from different year groups to talk about their learning and experiences at school.  The views of staff, including 25 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff, were

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considered.  The 41 written responses to Ofsted’s Parent View were taken into account.  The inspection team looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school improvement plan and self-evaluation form, policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, behaviour records, pupil premium strategy, published information about pupils’ performance and minutes of governance.  Inspectors looked at information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

James Broadbridge, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Tracy Good Ofsted Inspector Alison Bradley Her Majesty’s Inspector 23 to 24 November 2021

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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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