Fairisle Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Fairisle Junior School Fairisle Road, Lordshill, Southampton, Hampshire SO16 8BY

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Outcome

Fairisle Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff know and care for every pupil well in this inclusive school. Pupils know that adults have high expectations of them both in their learning and behaviour. They rise to the challenges set. The school ethos of ‘expect success’ is woven into everything.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. They move around the school in a calm and purposeful manner. In class, pupils have strong and positive attitudes to their learning, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work hard and do their best. Pupils are polite and respectful to adults and each other. Relationships are strong. Pupils rightly trust the adults to listen to any concerns or worries they may have. They feel safe. Pupils know what bullying is and that the adults will deal promptly with any issue if it happens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have many opportunities to take on roles of responsibility. For example, learning leaders recently designed a badge to celebrate the king’s coronation which they gave to everyone at the school. Pupils also decide how to support their chosen charities. Before Christmas, pupils took part in a reverse advent calendar and brought in items for the local food bank.

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

Leaders have prioritised reading. They have brought in a phonics programme and ensured that all staff are well trained in teaching it. Leaders make sure that pupils are reading books that closely match the phonics they know. As a result, pupils that are struggling with early reading skills receive the support they need, and they are catching up with their peers. Pupils enjoy going to the new reading hub and selecting books to read from a variety of texts. Pupils look forward to choosing a book from the vending machine on their birthdays.

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

Leaders have high ambitions for all groups of pupils, especially those with SEND. They have designed a curriculum that is broad and engages pupils’ interests. The well-designed 4 and 5 May 2023

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mathematics curriculum enables pupils to practise and secure key mathematical concepts quickly. Leaders have recently undertaken a review of the foundation subjects to ensure teachers know what all pupils should know and remember in all year groups. In most subjects, pupils’ learning builds upon what they already know and can do. For example, in history, pupils talk about how their learning in previous years is helping them now. Leaders acknowledge that in a few subjects, further work is still required to fill any gaps resulting from the pandemic.

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Teachers start each lesson by recapping prior learning. They ensure pupils understand and use the correct subject vocabulary. At the end of each lesson, teachers check what pupils have learned. Help is then provided for pupils who are less confident. Pupils with SEND and those with barriers to their learning receive effective support. This is particularly strong in reading and mathematics, which enables these groups of pupils to keep up.

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The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has effective systems in place to identify barriers to successful learning for pupils with SEND. Teachers adapt tasks to ensure that learning is embedded. However, leaders acknowledge that more adaptation in some foundation subjects is necessary to ensure pupils with SEND have no gaps in their learning.

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Staff follow the behaviour policy consistently. As a result, classrooms are calm. Pupils concentrate, listen and respond well. They know the school rules of ‘respect, ready and safe’ and the consequences if they do not follow them.

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Pupils’ wider development is a high priority for leaders. Pupils develop into responsible citizens. Leaders encourage them to think for themselves and to influence school policy, which they do through their various leadership roles. Pupils have a strong age-appropriate understanding of the importance of treating everyone equally. They also respect differences between other religions and cultures. Pupils understand that discrimination of any sort is wrong.

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Leaders are sensitive to teachers’ workload. Staff appreciate the time given to develop their subjects.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that all staff are well trained to recognise and report concerns. The safeguarding team act promptly when contacting external agencies. They are persistent and tenacious in making sure support is in place for vulnerable pupils and their families. Leaders have designed a curriculum which enables pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe in and out of school. Pupils learn how to stay safe in a range of situations. For example, they know that they must create individual passwords and not share passwords or give out personal information over the internet. 4 and 5 May 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The important changes leaders have made to some foundation subjects are not yet fully implemented. As a result, pupils have some gaps in their subject knowledge and skills. Leaders need to ensure that the content in all subjects is well sequenced and tasks adapted appropriately to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2018.

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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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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. 4 and 5 May 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 and 28 February 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school became part of Bridge Education Trust (Southampton) on 1 March 2023. Bridge Education Trust is a cooperative trust comprising a federation of six schools.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.

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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.  Deep dives were carried out in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, looked at samples of work and spoke to pupils about their learning. The inspector listened to pupils read and talked to them about their reading.  The inspector spoke to the curriculum leader, reviewed subject plans and discussed recent changes to the curriculum.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders, staff and pupils. 4 and 5 May 2023

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 The SENCo and inspector looked at a range of books belonging to pupils with SEND.  To evaluate the school’s safeguarding arrangements the inspector carried out a range of activities. These included reviewing the school’s single central record of recruitment checks, procedures and record-keeping and speaking to staff and pupils.  The inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke remotely to the school improvement 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 4 and 5 May 2023

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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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