Bidbury Junior School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Bidbury Junior School Fraser Road, Bedhampton, Havant, Hampshire PO9 3EF

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Outcome

Bidbury 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 are proud of their school and describe it as a place where, ‘everyone is welcome’. The school’s values of ‘respect, independence, focus, resilience, boundaries and self- regulation’ are prominent. Pupils exhibit these qualities consistently and relish the ‘leaf’ rewards they receive for demonstrating good behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school maintains high expectations for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils rise to meet the school’s high expectations. As a result, pupils strive to achieve well. Pupils behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. Some pupils require extra support with their behaviour. Pupils know and respect this. They understand and appreciate difference.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides carefully planned activities to support pupils’ wider development. Pupils value the multitude of opportunities to develop positive character traits and practise leadership skills. They take on positions of responsibility with great pride and passion. Pupils aspire to contribute and make changes to the school, for example, serving as a ‘young governor’, to contribute to the school’s aims. Carefully planned activities enrich and extend the curriculum. These activities provide opportunities for pupils to develop skills and talents. For example, pupils enthusiastically practise African drumming alongside learning to play a musical instrument.

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

The school has undergone numerous changes since the last inspection. Following a period of staffing turbulence, the school is now in a much greater position of stability. Staff are committed to the school. They recognise the positive impact of the changes and are excited about striving to be even better. Staff praise the support they receive from the 3 and 4 December 2024

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school to consider their workload so that they can focus on pupils’ learning. Staff are proud to work here and speak of the ‘close knit family feel’ of the school.

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The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that is broad and well-sequenced. However, outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 2 remain low. A renewed focus on reading, writing and mathematics is improving standards throughout the school. Targeted support is now helping pupils to secure the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare them for the next steps in their education.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge and present information clearly to pupils. In some subjects, teachers check that pupils understand and remember crucial information carefully. Staff provide extra and appropriate support when needed. However, not all teaching helps pupils to learn as well as they could. Some recent improvements that the school has introduced are not yet fully embedded. For example, sometimes teachers’ checks to ensure that pupils have secured key knowledge and skills, particularly in written work, could be more effective.

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The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND accurately and precisely. Staff target carefully designed adaptations for pupils with SEND to enable them to access learning well. ‘Individual support plans’ rightly target specific improvements that pupils need to make. This helps them to remember crucial knowledge and skills.

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Reading features prominently in the school. The much-loved vibrant library, at the heart of the school, provides age-appropriate texts that promote and extend pupils love of reading. Pupils practise their reading regularly which helps build confidence and fluency. Expert staff support pupils who are at the earlier stages of reading. This helps them to catch up quickly. The school uses high-quality texts to inspire and extend thinking in the broader curriculum.

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The school is doing all it can to improve the attendance of pupils. However, some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, still miss too much school. Expert staff provide support to families who need it and challenge appropriately when required. Many pupils benefit from a hearty breakfast at before-school club and enjoy participating in engaging activities in after-school club.

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Governors know the school well and understand their roles. They support and challenge the school to continue to improve. The school benefits from the support it receives from the local authority. Staff and governor training has provided collaboration opportunities and strengthened individuals’ expertise.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 3 and 4 December 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers have not ensured that pupils have remembered crucial knowledge and skills. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. The school should continue to focus on recent curriculum developments and high ambitions for all pupils.  Some pupils miss too much school, particularly those who are disadvantaged. These pupils miss vital learning and do not learn the curriculum well enough. The school needs to continue the work it is doing to improve the attendance of pupils who are persistently absent.

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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 June 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. 3 and 4 December 2024

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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). 3 and 4 December 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Maria House (Co-chair) Rebecca Valentine-Dunn (Co-chair) Headteacher Vanessa Double

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 4 and 5 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher took up their post in April 2022.  The current deputy headteachers took up their permanent posts in November 2024.  There have been many other changes to staffing, particularly teaching staff, since the previous inspection.  The two co-chairs of governors took up their posts in September 2024.  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 have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 3 and 4 December 2024

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 The inspector met with the headteacher and other senior staff, including the two deputy headteachers, the school administration manager and the special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo).  The inspector met with one of the co-chairs of the governing body and some governors. She held a telephone meeting with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector looked at a large sample of pupils’ work to consider the school’s work to support disadvantaged pupils.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils and observed their behaviour at break and lunchtime.  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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector took account of a range of other information, including the school’s own self-evaluation, the school’s improvement plan, school policies and minutes from meetings of the governing body.  The inspector met with groups of staff and considered the opinions expressed through the staff survey.  The inspector took account of the views expressed through the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the online pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Linda Culling, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 3 and 4 December 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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