Gorse Ride Junior School

Inspection of Gorse Ride Junior School Gorse Ride South, Finchampstead, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 4JJ

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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 26 and 27 April 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thoroughly enjoy attending Gorse Ride Junior School. It is a happy, calm and caring school. Leaders’ vision for pupils to grow, respect and succeed underpins the pupils’ day. There are high expectations for pupils to achieve well, and they enthusiastically strive to do so. Staff go out of their way to make sure pupils develop a broad range of interests and talents. Teachers know each pupil’s learning and development really well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that staff treat them kindly and that there is mutual respect. Classroom behaviour is attentive because teachers make their expectations crystal clear. Pupils’ friendly behaviour makes breaktimes enjoyable. There are lunchtime clubs to attend, equipment to play on and lots to do. There are few reported incidents of bullying. Pupils know to tell an adult if it does happen. Adults are thorough when dealing with pupils’ concerns. Pupils and parents praise the school for its safe and caring ethos.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils readily take on responsibilities, such as being a school ambassador. They are thoughtful towards others. Pupils understand that everyone is different. One pupil summed up the school’s approach by saying proudly, ‘We include everyone.’

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better?

Leaders have worked relentlessly to turn this school around. The curriculum now supports all pupils to learn what they need to know in every subject. Teachers are clear about the content and the order in which to introduce new knowledge. They use assessment well to guide their decision-making. Staff are adept at quickly identifying pupils who fall behind. For example, following the partial closures due to COVID-19, teachers made detailed assessments of pupils’ needs in English and mathematics and used this information to provide tailored help for pupils to catch up.

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better?

Leaders are determined that every pupil will read fluently. A school-wide focus on vocabulary develops pupils’ language and reading comprehension. Pupils who need support have daily practice from the school’s expert teaching team. As a result, all early readers use phonics as their ‘go-to’ strategy when reading unfamiliar words. Rightly, these pupils are proud of their progress.

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better?

High-quality literature inspires pupils’ reading and writing. Pupils relish the books their teachers read with them. Pupils learn how to write their own interesting texts. By Year 6, pupils write with confidence, using grammar with increasing precision. In mathematics too, fluency is strongly promoted. Pupils learn their times tables and develop automatic recall. This supports their confidence to solve complex problems.

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better?

Leaders have designed the curriculum so that every pupil can enjoy success. Some foundation subjects are further forward than others because they have been in place for longer. In these subjects, pupils are challenged by ambitious learning activities which focus on building their knowledge. An impressive example was the 26 and 27 April 2022

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Year 6 project to design and make slippers for a residential visit. Skilful support enables pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to participate fully in lessons. Wherever possible, they achieve in line with the rest of the class. However, in a few subjects, pupils do not have enough opportunity to deepen their learning.

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Provision is less effective for a very small number of pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. Their behaviour is well managed, but their learning needs are sometimes not met successfully. The school is developing support for this pupil group.

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Pupils’ contributions to the school are highly valued. An example of this is the eco- committee, which aspires to make a positive environmental impact. Teachers listen to pupils’ ideas. Pupils inspired a school-wide interest in Black History. Everyone learned the impact of famous contributions, such as those made by Rosa Parks.

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Teachers are proud to be part of the school’s remarkable teamwork. They appreciate leaders’ support to manage their work-life balance. Teachers assert that access to training has improved their practice. Highly skilled governors know the school well and maintain a strategic overview. They make purposeful checks on the impact of the school’s priorities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff are trained to identify and report safeguarding concerns. The designated leader ensures that everyone is kept up to date. Safeguarding leaders respond quickly to any concern and make well-informed decisions about what needs to happen next. Strong relationships with social care and other agencies ensure that children and their families get the help they need. Leaders communicate effectively with families, carers and partner agencies.

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Safeguarding

School staff keep a careful eye on vulnerable pupils to check their well-being. Pupils learn relevant safeguarding themes within the curriculum that help them stay safe both online and in their community.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not implemented as effectively in some subjects as it is in others. Consequently, pupils do not build their skills and knowledge deeply in these subjects. Leaders need to refine how they deliver the curriculum still further so that pupils’ knowledge in all subjects is of a high quality.  Provision is not tailored precisely enough for a small minority of pupils with SEMH needs who find it hard to regulate their behaviour. As a result, these pupils are 26 and 27 April 2022

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not accessing learning effectively. Leaders need to strengthen their approach to help pupils with this level of need learn as well as their peers.

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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. 26 and 27 April 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been no relevant changes since the previous section 8 inspection.  The school uses one alternative provider for therapeutic sessions.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics, English, art and history. This involved discussions with leaders, visits to lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils and staff from the lessons visited. Inspectors also met with other curriculum leaders to discuss subject planning.  The lead inspector observed a sample of Year 3 pupils reading to a familiar adult. 26 and 27 April 2022

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 Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and three other governing body members. Leaders’ actions were discussed with two representatives from the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors spoke with staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding leader to explore how the school identifies and supports pupils at risk of harm. An 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.  Inspectors talked to the special educational needs coordinator and reviewed the plans teachers have made for pupils with SEND. Inspectors checked how these plans were being used by teachers.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the school gate and considered 90 responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey, including written free-text comments.

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 Thirty-three responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and 81 responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire contributed to the inspection. Inspectors also talked to pupils informally in the playground.  The inspection team looked at a range of documentation either on the school’s website or provided by the school. This included the school improvement plan and self-evaluation, policies, curriculum documents, behaviour records and minutes of governing body meetings.

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Inspection team

Linda Jacobs, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Justin Bartlett Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 April 2022

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