Baddow Hall Junior School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Baddow Hall Junior School New Road, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 7QZ

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 October 2024

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Outcome

Baddow Hall Junior School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They feel very safe and well cared for. Pupils enjoy positive and respectful relationships with one other. They demonstrate these in all aspects of their life in school. For example, older pupils look after younger pupils through peer mentoring.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils. Pupils live up to these expectations. They learn and remember the broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils work hard and achieve well. This enables pupils to be prepared for the next stage of their learning . Pupils’ transition from Year 2 to Year 3 is well established through the positive relationship between the Infant and Junior school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and courteous. They model positive attitudes to learning in their lessons. Pupils understand the ‘3Rs’ of ‘respect, responsibility and resilience’. They use these to help them to learn and play well together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are a range of activities to support pupils’ personal development. The school ensures that pupils have a good understanding of the diverse world they live in. Pupils clearly explain their understanding of discrimination. They know why tolerance and respect are important. Pupils understand how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They have access to different activities to support this.

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

The school has a coherently designed and ordered curriculum. In most subjects, it identifies the precise knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn from Year 3 through to Year 6. However, in a few foundations subjects, the curriculum does not make clear the essential knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn. 22 and 23 October 2024

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The school has prioritised reading so that pupils who are at the early stages, or have fallen behind, can quickly catch up. Staff work well with the infant school to ensure that all pupils have consistent high-quality phonics teaching. The school regularly checks what pupils know and remember in phonics. Pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to be fluent readers. Many older pupils read fluently, confidently and accurately.

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Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure. They present information to pupils concisely. Teachers routinely check what pupils know and remember. They use this to adapt their teaching. Despite this, some learning is not adapted well enough. This means that, sometimes, pupils are not accessing the learning as well as they could.

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Pupils are attentive in lessons. They listen well to staff and to one another. Pupils work together well. They respond positively to the ladder reward system. This helps them to make the right choices to earn their ‘golden time’.

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Attendance is a priority for the school. The school tracks attendance closely, checking for patterns. It uses this information to identify and support families where attendance is a concern. This helps to improve attendance for those pupils.

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Pupils take on a range of responsibilities. These include house captains, peer mentors and school council. Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs, visits and visitors. This develops their interests, talents and understanding of life in modern Britain. Pupils have a good understanding of respect, tolerance, differences and diverse cultures. Pupils develop their character by taking part in community projects and global activities, such as the link they have made with a school in Germany.

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Governors know the school well. They hold the school to account. Their evaluation of the school is accurate. They have focused on the right things at the right time and in the best interests of pupils. Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

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The school engages parents in a variety of ways to develop positive relationships. It provides frequent newsletters, email and text communications as well as in-school events such as class assemblies and coffee mornings. These give parents opportunities to both engage and celebrate their children’s achievements.

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Staff in the school are happy. They are positive about the school’s work to reduce their workload. They feel supported with their well-being. Staff have ongoing training and support. This enables them to continue to develop their teaching expertise.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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What does the school need to do to improve?

 In some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly define the essential knowledge and skills leaders want pupils to know and remember. As a result, staff are not checking 22 and 23 October 2024

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these effectively enough. The school needs to identify what the key knowledge and skills are so that staff can accurately check if the pupils have learned what staff intended.  In some subjects, learning is not adapted well enough to meet pupils’ needs. As a result, some pupils do not develop their knowledge as well as they could. The school needs to ensure that learning is suitably adapted so that all groups of pupils progress through the curriculum well.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness on 1 and 2 October 2019.

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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’ 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 22 and 23 October 2024

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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). 22 and 23 October 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 1 and 2 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has access to a before-school club which is run by Baddow Hall Infant School.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s 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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other senior leaders, teachers and support staff, the chair of governors, other governors and the school effectiveness partner.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 22 and 23 October 2024

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 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 observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, she spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Nina Kemp, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 October 2024

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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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