Horsell CofE Aided Junior School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Horsell CofE Aided Junior School Meadway Drive, Horsell, Woking, Surrey GU21 4TA

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Outcome

Horsell CofE Aided 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 thrive in Horsell Church of England Aided Junior School. Pupils are polite, kind and caring. They exemplify the school’s values and ethos by being inclusive and treating everyone with dignity. Pupils feel safe in school. They behave very well. They look out for each other and make sure that everyone is included. Playtimes are lively and full of activity as pupils play together happily.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard to meet the school’s high expectations for their academic achievement. They do extremely well in English and mathematics. Over the last few years, the school has raised its expectations in other subjects. Pupils now learn more and remember more of what they are taught across the whole curriculum. Pupils are proud of their musical and sporting achievements. They especially enjoy singing in the large choir, joining the handbells group, playing competitive team sports and swimming.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning about the community. They like to get involved. They champion a local homeless charity and play music at a local care home. Whole-school activities are very popular, for example voting for a pupil to be ‘headteacher for a day’ or contributing to a national campaign to raise awareness about climate issues.

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

The curriculum is broad and balanced. Each subject is sequenced in a logical order so that pupils’ new learning builds on what they already know. High-quality literary texts, often with themes of diversity and inclusion, sit at the heart of pupils’ learning. Consequently, the school’s values are central to pupils’ education. 3 and 4 June 2025

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Reading and writing are prioritised across the whole curriculum. Pupils develop a strong love of reading. They regularly read books from the well-stocked library to broaden their interests. Pupils’ writing is of high quality. They use a wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures to make their writing interesting and purposeful. Clear structures help pupils to apply their knowledge of spelling and punctuation securely.

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The school has recognised that pupils’ learning in foundation subjects is not as secure as it could be. Sometimes, pupils remember the activity they did rather than the knowledge about the subject they should have gained from the activity. Sometimes, pupils do not connect new learning to what they know already. Consequently, the school has reset and raised further its expectations. Teachers check regularly what pupils have learned and adapt learning to help pupils embed their knowledge more securely. This is starting to work well.

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Pupils who need additional help to catch up, either because of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or because they speak English as an additional language, are very well supported. The school undertakes high-quality assessments of what pupils do and do not know when they join. Well-trained staff adapt learning well to help pupils catch up. In particular, the weakest readers are helped to embed their phonics knowledge and to improve their fluency and accuracy in reading. In addition, the school liaises well with parents and carers to ensure that pupils quickly settle into the school when they join. As a result, pupils with SEND and those who are new to learning English typically achieve in line with their peers by the time they leave for secondary school.

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The school’s work to prepare pupils for life beyond school is of high quality. Pupils learn about the different experiences of the people who live in modern Britain, including people of different ethnicities, faiths and backgrounds. Pupils benefit from opportunities to take on positions of responsibility, such as being part of the school council. Consequently, they gain a strong understanding of fundamental British values, embodying the school’s vision of treating everyone with dignity because ‘we are all made in the image of God’.

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Pupils’ attendance is very high. The school works successfully with families and external agencies to help remove the barriers for some individuals who struggle to attend school regularly.

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Leaders and governors are highly evaluative. They have a strong understanding of the school’s strengths and where it could be even better. They make sure that staff well-being and workload are considered in any changes they make. Consequently, staff feel valued and enjoy working in the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 3 and 4 June 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils’ learning in foundation subjects is not as well developed as it is in English and mathematics. Consequently, they do not articulate their learning in these subjects as well as they could. The school should further refine its approach and curriculum thinking to ensure that pupils develop deep, detailed knowledge across all subjects.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2016.

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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. 3 and 4 June 2025

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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 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.horsell-junior.surrey.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Diocese of Guildford. The school’s last section 48 inspection took place in November 2023. The next section 48 inspection is due to take place in the academic year 2028 to 2029.  The school does not make use of 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher. The inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke with representatives of the local authority and the diocese. The inspector also spoke with the school’s improvement partner. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also talked with staff and leaders about pupils’ learning.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around the school. The inspector considered the responses from Ofsted’s online pupil survey and spoke with pupils about their experiences of school.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and talked with staff and leaders about their workload and well-being.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.  The inspector reviewed a range of documents relating to leaders’ work, governors’ oversight of the school, behaviour, attendance and the quality of education.  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

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Catherine Old, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 3 and 4 June 2025

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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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