Haddenham Community Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Haddenham Community Junior School Woodways, Haddenham, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP17 8DS

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning and are proud to belong to this friendly and inclusive school. They like their teachers and trust adults to sort out any worries or upsets quickly. Relationships are warm and respectful. Most pupils behave sensibly and settle to work quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk confidently about the importance of upholding the school’s values, such as respect, kindness and friendship. They explain how these values help to keep them safe and happy in school. Pupils also know that it is important to keep going when they find things difficult and not be afraid to make mistakes. This reflects the school’s aim for pupils to ‘dare to fall’ and ‘learn to fly’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils communicate real enthusiasm for the clubs and extra activities they can get involved with. They benefit from opportunities to hold special responsibilities, such as being a school councillor or eco-councillor. This enables pupils to take part in decision- making, for example about playground equipment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school aspires for pupils to achieve well and be academically and socially well prepared for secondary education. However, weaknesses in some aspects of the school’s curriculum, including the early reading programme, mean that not all pupils are achieving as well as they should.

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

The school has worked hard to strengthen aspects of its work to reflect the significant rise in the proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Any additional needs are quickly identified. Pupils with social, emotional or mental health needs receive sensitive support. The new inclusion room, ‘The Nest’, provides a quiet space for pupils who need time and support to refocus or regulate their emotions. 26 and 27 March 2024

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Specialist support and intervention programmes are aligned to pupils’ needs well. However, across the breadth of the curriculum, staff do not adapt their teaching well enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This is particularly so for pupils who have literacy difficulties. This means that pupils with SEND do not always achieve well enough.

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Regular reading lessons immerse pupils in good-quality texts, developing their understanding and wider reading knowledge. The school instils a love of reading. However, the school’s support for younger pupils at an early stage of learning to read is not effective. Most relevant staff have not had training in phonics. This has contributed to inaccuracies and inconsistencies in staff’s support and guidance. As a result, pupils who are not yet fluent readers, many of whom are disadvantaged, are not catching up quickly enough.

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There are strengths in the teaching of mathematics and in pupils’ achievement in this subject. Staff are adept at explaining and modelling new concepts. They use the ‘flash back fours’ and regularly revisit prior learning to identify and address misconceptions. The school’s increased focus on recall and times tables is leading to improved accuracy and fluency. Pupils successfully apply calculations in different contexts. They learn how to reason and explain their thinking. As a result, pupils are achieving well in mathematics.

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However, pupils do not achieve well in all subjects. This is because of weaknesses in the design of the curriculum and teaching approaches. In some subjects, the school has not identified or sequenced clearly enough what pupils need to learn. Staff do not cover content in sufficient depth. Consequently, pupils’ learning in subjects such as history and geography is not secure or deep. Additionally, the school does not ensure that pupils present their work with care. Typically, pupils’ work is consistently not of good quality.

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The school’s effective work with families to improve attendance has been successful. Most pupils attend regularly. Behaviour is orderly and pupils demonstrate respect and tolerance. The school’s wide range of curriculum enrichment opportunities contribute well to pupils’ holistic development and enjoyment of learning. Pupils benefit from many artistic, musical and competitive sporting activities.

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Governors maintain appropriate oversight of safeguarding. Leaders and governors are considerate of staff’s well-being and workload. Staff enjoy working at the school and value the team ethos.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The support for younger pupils who are still at an early stage of learning to read is not effective. Most relevant staff have not been trained in early reading. Some do not model sounds correctly or ensure that pupils are using the most appropriate decoding 26 and 27 March 2024

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strategies. Consequently, pupils are not getting the support they need to help them catch up quickly. The school needs to ensure that staff have the knowledge and expertise they need to teach early reading effectively. Additionally, the school needs to make sure that all staff supporting or teaching early reading do so with fidelity to the school’s chosen phonics programme.  In some foundation subjects, such as history and geography, staff do not consistently adapt teaching well enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This is particularly so for pupils who have literacy difficulties. As a result, pupils with SEND sometimes struggle to complete tasks set by their teachers and are not achieving well enough. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise and support they need so they can adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils who have barriers to learning, including pupils with SEND.

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 In a minority of foundation subjects, the school has not identified or sequenced precisely enough the most important knowledge it wants pupils to learn. Sometimes, decisions about content and sequencing have been driven by the links with cross- curricular themes, with not enough consideration given to how knowledge builds cumulatively within each subject. The school needs to refine its curriculum thinking and ensure that the content of all foundation subjects is coherently planned.  In some foundation subjects, such as history and geography, content is skimmed over and pupils do not acquire a depth of learning. The school has not ensured that pupils’ work in these subjects is of consistently good quality, and many pupils do not present their work with care. The school needs to ensure that teachers enable pupils to build their knowledge securely and deeply in all foundation subjects and take pride in their

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2014.

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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. 26 and 27 March 2024

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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). 26 and 27 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 September 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the number of pupils on roll at the school has grown considerably. There are now three classes in each year group. In recent years, the number of pupils with education, health and care plans has also grown significantly.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school has recently converted part of its premises to an inclusion room. This is known as ‘The Nest’. The provision here is predominantly designed to cater for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. This is led by the school’s inclusion leader.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school. 26 and 27 March 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also considered the curriculum in some other subjects, including history and art and design.  The inspector met with five members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. She held a telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single 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 inspector took account of the views of staff and pupils during discussions and

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through their responses to Ofsted’s surveys.  The inspector considered parents’ responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Sue Cox, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 March 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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