Doddinghurst Church of England Junior School

Inspection of Doddinghurst Church of England Junior School Church Lane, Doddinghurst, Brentwood, Essex CM15 0NJ

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Russell Davies. This school is part of Osborne Co- operative Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Paul Griffiths, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Trisha Jaffe. There is also a deputy CEO, Louise Coates, who is responsible for this school. 17 and 18 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Doddinghurst welcome visitors with smiles and kindness. They love to learn and have a good work ethic. Pupils learn a broad and interesting range of subjects. These help to develop and nurture their talents and interests. Pupils are knowledgeable about the subjects they learn and enjoy the learning experiences that the staff provide. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the different sporting clubs, activities and tournaments the school provides. They are proud to represent their school and they try their best. Pupils of all sporting abilities are encouraged to take part in these events. This helps pupils to learn about the importance of keeping healthy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils and pupils try hard to live up to them. They behave well because they understand the clear rules that are applied fairly. Pupils have positive relationships with each other and the adults in the school. Pupils are happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have responsibilities in the school that teach them about being positive role models. For instance, they can become prefects or school councillors. Pupils know that these jobs come with important duties and responsibilities.

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better?

The school has developed ambitious curriculum plans. These are broad and develop pupils’ knowledge over time. The school has carefully planned all the steps of knowledge that pupils need to learn to be ready for secondary school. Staff have secure subject knowledge. They explain new learning to pupils clearly and in a way that pupils can understand. Pupils’ ‘learning passports’ help them to recap past learning and think about the subject-specific language they need to remember. Pupils achieve well.

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better?

Teachers carry out checks on pupils’ understanding. In most subjects, these checks are used effectively to adapt the subject plans. When this happens, pupils’ misconceptions are addressed alongside any gaps in their knowledge. However, this is not the case in all subjects. This means that sometimes pupils’ misconceptions are not addressed quickly. Teachers do not always identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge accurately.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. Pupils enjoy reading and sharing books with school staff. The school makes sure that pupils practise reading every day. These lessons help pupils to read more fluently and to learn a deep and rich vocabulary. Pupils who are not yet fluent readers learn a well-planned phonics programme. Skilled staff teach them effectively. This enables pupils to develop into confident and independent readers. 17 and 18 October 2023

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. The school creates an inclusive environment so that all pupils can have support if they need it and be independent when they can. Support staff are skilled and know pupils’ strengths well. They ably help pupils develop into confident learners and individuals. Most pupils with SEND make strong progress.

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Pupils understand democracy. Similarly, pupils are elected to some roles in school. Pupils learn how to debate and express their opinions when learning about topics such as environmental issues. They understand and can explain how these will affect their future lives. Pupils know that everyone is an individual and that differences should be respected and celebrated.

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Pupils are polite and well-mannered. They show courteous attitudes to visitors and adults. In lessons, pupils are calm and there are few instances where pupils’ behaviour disturbs learning. Older pupils show kindness and compassion towards younger pupils.

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Leaders of the school and the trust work well together. They have the same aims and ambitions for pupils. The trust supports leaders to work with other schools. This means they are not working in isolation and can share what works well. Governors ensure they check what school leaders tell them and they create an important link to the community.

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Pupils attend well. The school promotes and encourages good attendance. Leaders see how the school can best support pupils whose attendance is falling.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not always identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and check for misconceptions accurately or quickly enough. Therefore, pupils have misconceptions and gaps in knowledge that are not immediately addressed, and they do not make as much progress as they could. The school must ensure that assessment is used consistently and effectively in all subjects to support planning to address any misconceptions and identify where important knowledge needs to be revisited. 17 and 18 October 2023

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 17 and 18 October 2023

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School details

Website www.doddinghurst-jun.essex.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Doddinghurst Church of England Junior school converted to become an academy in June 2019. When its predecessor school, Doddinghurst Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged as requires improvement overall.  The school has a Christian religious character. The school’s most recent inspection of its religious character under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in June 2017. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  The school does not use any alternative providers of education.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 17 and 18 October 2023

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 Inspections are point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and computing. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions with the curriculum lead, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector met with the trust chair, the deputy CEO and several school governors, including the chair of governors.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher and the trust special educational needs coordinator, the trust IT lead, middle leaders and class teachers.

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 The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtime and in lessons.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of staff, leaders and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector considered the 53 responses and 23 free-text responses made by parents to the survey, Ofsted Parent View. The inspector also considered the eight responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire and the 37 pupil responses to the pupil survey.  The inspectors examined a range of documents provided by the school, including leaders’ school development plans and the school self-evaluation document.

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Inspection team

Jessie Linsley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Stanton Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 October 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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