Pennington Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Pennington Church of England Junior School Priestlands Road, Pennington, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 8HX

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 January 2024

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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 and 24 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this welcoming school. A shared culture of high expectations permeates throughout. Pupils want to achieve well. They strive to be ‘the best that they can be’. They appreciate the way adults help them to learn. Pupils really are known as individuals, and the school uses this knowledge to provide pupils with well-thought-through support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is highly inclusive. It is rightly proud of the high-quality pastoral support it offers to all pupils and their families. Pupils behave well. They feel safe in school because relationships are strong. Pupils trust that adults will help them if they have any worries or concerns. They are polite and respectful towards adults and to each other. In group conversations, pupils make sure that everyone is included. They invite one another to speak and provide ideas for their less confident peers to talk about.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take pride in the work they do to improve their school. They value opportunities to volunteer to help others, such as through the eco- and peer-mentor teams. Furthermore, pupils are excited that, by attending their school youth club, they are raising money to buy equipment to make their outdoor spaces even better.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. In many subjects, precisely identified curriculum content ensures that teachers know exactly what pupils must learn. This means that teachers can diligently check pupils’ learning and quickly correct pupils’ mistakes. This is particularly strong in English and mathematics. In these subjects, the school has acted decisively to improve teaching following low statutory test results in 2023. Pupils appreciate the immediate feedback they now receive from their teachers. This helps them to keep up with their learning. As a result of the school’s swift actions, pupils are now achieving well in these subjects.

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better?

However, there are still some examples when teachers are not clear about the most important knowledge that pupils must know before new information is introduced. For example, sometimes, in design and technology and in physical education, the subject knowledge that pupils must learn has not been specified. When this is the case, teachers cannot check on and address what pupils do not know and cannot do accurately enough. This often means that pupils are not ready for the next part of their learning.

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better?

Mostly, teachers design tasks that help pupils to learn well. They present knowledge clearly, using subject-specific language that develops pupils’ vocabulary and builds their understanding. However, sometimes, teachers do not use the most effective strategies to enable pupils to learn as well as they could. Leaders recognise the need to strengthen teachers’ knowledge further in how to help pupils achieve well in every subject. 23 and 24 January 2024

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Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a strength of the school. The school has a robust system in place to identify and meet the needs of pupils who need additional help. Pupils from the specially resourced provision integrate successfully into the school. All pupils with additional needs are supported well to develop their skills across the curriculum.

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The school prioritises reading. A well-structured approach supports those pupils at the early stages of learning to read to develop their phonics knowledge. Strong additional support ensures that pupils who need it catch up quickly with their peers.

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Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. They work hard in lessons and behave well. The school works hard to encourage high attendance. When pupils’ attendance is not what it should be, the school takes appropriate, bespoke action to ensure that attendance improves.

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The school supports pupils’ personal development well. Pupils learn to be tolerant and respectful of difference. They learn age-appropriate knowledge of healthy relationships and how to stay safe when online. Clubs, such as those for gardening, art and various sporting opportunities, help to nurture pupils’ talents and interests.

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There is a shared ambition across the school for all pupils to experience a high- quality education. A highly reflective set of governors works closely with leaders and staff to continue to improve the school. Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel valued, respected and supported to do their job well in continuing to make the key improvements to the school.

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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, the important subject-specific end-points are not identified precisely enough. Therefore, teachers do not have enough clarity on what knowledge pupils must secure before moving on to their next steps. The school needs to refine the subject-specific knowledge that pupils must know and remember so that teachers can check understanding more effectively.  Sometimes, teachers do not design tasks that enable pupils to learn the intended curriculum effectively. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school needs to improve teachers’ subject and teaching knowledge to ensure that they can support pupils to learn well across the whole curriculum. 23 and 24 January 2024

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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). 23 and 24 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Gillian Cunningham

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized one-form-entry junior school.  This is a Church of England voluntary-controlled junior school. Its most recent section 48 Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools took place in June 2023.  The school has a specially resourced provision with six spaces for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. All pupils in this provision have an education, health and care plan.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 23 and 24 January 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school had 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.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and a representative from the local authority. They also spoke to a representative from the diocese.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors also considered planning, documentation and pupils’ work from some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff 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 views of parents and carers were considered through their responses to Ofsted Parent View. The views of pupils and staff were gathered through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including self-evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Sue Keeling, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Judith O’Hare Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 January 2024

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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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