Grange Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Grange Junior School Grange Junior School, Franklin Road, Rowner, Gosport, Hampshire PO13 9TS

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Outcome

Grange Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a caring school where relationships between pupils and adults are strong. Pupils are polite and respectful to adults and each other. The school values of nurture, challenge, safety, resilience and respect are woven through everything. Pupils strive to be awarded the daily ‘respect’ badge, and talk about the importance of celebrating differences and respecting others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy breaktimes, and look forward to all playing together again when the building work is completed. Bullying is rare, and is dealt with promptly. Pupils feel safe and know that if they have any concerns they can talk to an adult. As one pupil said, ‘Adults are good at solving problems quickly.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that their teachers expect them to work hard and do their best. They listen well and readily contribute to lessons. Pupils are keen to learn. Science ambassadors and members of the eco team talk enthusiastically about their involvement in the ‘worm’ project about composting.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders work hard to support pupils and their families. The club for pupils from forces families helps them to feel part of the community. Most pupils enjoy school, but a few do not attend as regularly as they should to benefit from their learning.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum which is broad and covers the full range of subjects in the national curriculum. Subject leaders have ensured that teachers understand what pupils should already know and remember, and the end points they need to get to. This enables them to build on pupils’ previous learning and fill in any gaps in knowledge and skills, including for those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

The mathematics curriculum helps pupils to make links between different concepts. Teachers have strong subject knowledge, and plan lessons that gradually develop pupils’ 1 and 2 March 2022

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knowledge. They assess pupils’ understanding carefully, and address any misconceptions before moving pupils’ learning on.

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Reading is a priority for leaders. They are determined that all pupils will read well and develop a love of reading. In reading lessons, pupils learn how to understand and interpret texts. In Year 4, pupils read a chapter on evacuees, and use their inference and comprehension skills to write about how they think the evacuees were feeling at the railway station. Leaders are aware of a small number of pupils who are struggling with their reading. Currently, the school does not have a clear programme in place to teach phonics, nor does it have the books that would enable this group of pupils to practise their skills and become fluent readers.

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Other than that, pupils with SEND are well supported and their needs are met. There are clear systems in place to support early identification of pupils’ needs. Leaders intend for all pupils to learn the same content and teachers skilfully adapt tasks to support learning for pupils with SEND.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and do not distract others from their learning. Those who do struggle to manage their own behaviour are supported well. Pupils’ personal development is well planned. Leaders are particularly ambitious for pupils to understand how to be good citizens, and to form strong and happy relationships. To this end, leaders organise the ‘Great Grange Citizen’ week, which is built around the school’s values and British values. Visitors from organisations, such as the air ambulance and Guide Dogs for the Blind, speak to pupils about their jobs and the skills they need. This helps to widen pupils’ horizons and reinforce what makes a good citizen.

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Pupils enjoy the various residentials they attend. Trips add value to their learning, for example visiting Titchfield, which has a Tudor mansion, to look for features of a Tudor house.

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Staff appreciate leaders’ support for their well-being. They recognise that leaders are thinking of their workload in the introduction of the marking system. There is a strong team feeling across the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained. They know how to protect pupils, and are always vigilant. Staff understand the procedures for reporting concerns, which are acted on immediately. Leaders work well with different agencies, and are determined that pupils and their families will receive the support they need. Pupils learn how to stay safe in a range of situations, including road safety and being online. During the inspection, administrative errors around staff checks were identified. Leaders addressed these promptly and effectively. 1 and 2 March 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff do not have the skills or resources to provide expert support for the small number of pupils who have not learned to read by the time they join the school. As a result, a few pupils do not catch up quickly enough to become fluent readers. Leaders should ensure that a systematic phonics programme is in place, and that all staff are trained to teach it.  There is a small group of pupils who are persistently absent. This has an adverse impact on their learning. Leaders need to develop further strategies to ensure that these pupils attend regularly.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2013. 1 and 2 March 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 1 and 2 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211548 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteachers Leiza Harris Kay Sadler Website www.grangejunior.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school moved into the new school building in November 2021.  The school uses the local authority’s primary behaviour service to support pupils who struggle with their behaviour.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with both headteachers, the inclusion leader, subject leaders, staff and pupils.  The inspector met with members of the safeguarding team to review records, policies and staff training.  Deep dives were carried out in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and science. To do this, the inspector met with subject leaders, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons, observed pupils reading and looked at pupils’ work. The 1 and 2 March 2022

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inspector then considered a wider range of evidence to explore the effectiveness of the curriculum.  The inspector met with representatives from the governing body and an officer from the local authority.  The views of parents and staff were considered through Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Becky Greenhalgh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 March 2022

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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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