Poulner Junior School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Poulner Junior School North Poulner Road, North Poulner, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 3LA

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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Outcome

Poulner 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 this happy school. The school’s HEART values of honesty, excellence, attitude, respect and thoughtfulness are threaded through all aspects of school life. Pupils wear their heart badges with pride.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. Pupils do their best to meet these high expectations. They are proud of their school and keen to tell visitors what they are learning. For example, pupils in Year 4 enthusiastically explained to the inspector how to construct a Viking longhouse.

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What is it like to attend this school?

They know and understand the consequences of their actions. Pupils listen politely to each other and to adults. They recognise and respect that some of their classmates need different types of support to help them to behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides many opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles, such as house captains, play leaders and sports leaders. At the time of the inspection, pupils were eagerly looking forward to raising money for charity by breaking ‘school rules’, such as dressing to express or wearing their hair down.

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

The school has maintained the good standard of education identified at the previous inspection. Leaders, including governors, are committed to providing the best-quality education for their pupils. Overall, pupils achieve well and are ready for their next stage of education. 12 and 13 November 2024

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The school prioritises teaching pupils to read confidently. Pupils read and enjoy a wide range of quality texts. Pupils in Year 5 discussed how their opinion of the main character had changed the more they read the book. The school has implemented a well-sequenced phonics curriculum to support those pupils who are not reading as fluently or confidently as their peers. It has ensured that staff are well trained and deliver the phonics programme to a high standard. The school ensures that pupils’ early reading books match closely to the sounds that they know.

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The school has recently reviewed its curriculum to ensure it is broad and ambitious. Across all subjects, the school has made sure that key knowledge has been identified. Teachers know what has been taught previously and what pupils need to learn and remember over time.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge. In lessons, they have increased opportunities for pupils to retrieve their learning. At the start of each lesson, teachers recap previous learning. However, the school is aware that teachers need to make more adaptations to ensure that disadvantaged pupils with barriers to their learning progress well through the intended curriculum.

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The school has effective procedures in place to ensure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified and appropriate support put in place. School makes sure that these pupils receive the help they need, when they need it.

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Pupils’ personal development is a priority for the school. Through the HEART values, and the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum, pupils learn the importance of fundamental British values. Pupils study a variety of different religions and cultures and visit different places of worship. They know the attributes they need to become a responsible citizen of the future. Pupils know that discrimination is wrong and that everyone should have the same opportunities, regardless of any differences that they may have. They know the importance of eating healthily and exercising. As a result, older pupils are well prepared to recognise the impact on different emotions.

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Governance is a strength of the school. The governing body provides effective support and challenge to the school in terms of improvement priorities. Staff’s morale is high. Staff are proud to be part of this school. They appreciate leaders’ efforts in managing their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Across the curriculum, learning is not adapted effectively enough to ensure that disadvantaged pupils can succeed. As a result, they do not learn as well as they could. 12 and 13 November 2024

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The school should make sure that teachers have the skills to identify the building blocks of learning that pupils need to work through, to ensure that disadvantaged pupils can learn the curriculum and make progress alongside their peers.

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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 in May 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 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). 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 and 19 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast and after-school club for pupils.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector focused inspection activity on the following groups of subjects: early English and mathematics, and science, geography, art and physical education. For each group of subjects, the inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 12 and 13 November 2024

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 Throughout the inspection, the inspector met with groups of staff. She also considered the opinions expressed through the staff survey. The inspector considered information on pupils’ behaviour, attendance and personal development.  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 lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair. She spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They considered the responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Becky Greenhalgh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 November 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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