Haddenham Community Junior School

Inspection of Haddenham Community Junior School Woodways, Haddenham, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP17 8DS

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good 1 and 2 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The warm relationships between pupils and staff start at the school gate. Caring staff greet pupils by name as they walk into school with smiles on their faces. Pupils are happy and feel safe, knowing that staff will support them if they have any worries. Pupils are equally supportive of each other. They are keen to ensure that everyone feels part of this welcoming community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The range of activities on offer at lunchtime keep pupils physically healthy. They enjoy playing table tennis and using the outdoor gym and climbing wall. Pupils know what it means to be a good person. Younger pupils value the support they receive from their older reading buddies. The eco-council enables pupils to take responsibility for their environment. Pupils plant and tend to their own hanging baskets and regularly pick up litter.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that staff have high expectations for their behaviour. Most pupils live up to these in the classroom. Pupils play well together at breaktimes and move sensibly around the school. The school expects all pupils to achieve well. Pupils respond well to this, showing eagerness to learn and thriving when challenged.

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

The school has made considerable changes to the curriculum since the last inspection. The curriculum is now well sequenced and builds knowledge from Year 3 to Year 6. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn the same well-sequenced curriculum.

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

Teachers have benefited from support to help them deliver the new curriculum effectively. They are knowledgeable about the subjects they teach and present information clearly. Teachers use questioning well to check pupils’ understanding. In most cases, pupils are given work that enables them to achieve well in the curriculum. However, pupils, including those with SEND, do not always receive work that is adapted well enough to meet their needs. When this happens, they are not able to access the curriculum fully or achieve as well as they could. As a result, their knowledge does not deepen over time.

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

There is a sharp focus on reading in the school. Ongoing checks mean the school quickly identifies those who need extra help with reading. Staff are well trained to deliver the phonics programme effectively. Daily support enables pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged, to become confident and fluent readers. Pupils develop a love of reading as they move through the school. Reading lessons engage pupils in high-quality and challenging texts. Regular visits from their favourite authors inspire pupils to read often for pleasure.

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

Pupils embody the school’s value of respect. They are kind to the staff who support them and to those visiting the school. There are clear systems in place to ensure pupils behave well. Staff apply these consistently and fairly. Pupils are confident that bullying rarely occurs and know that staff will deal with it effectively if it should happen. The school 1 and 2 July 2025

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carefully identifies where pupils may need support to manage their behaviour and provides effective help. Most pupils attend well. However, the school does not closely monitor the attendance of some groups of pupils. As a result, too many pupils are persistently absent from school, meaning they miss out on important learning.

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The school’s values-based education curriculum enables pupils to become active citizens. Pupils learn to be responsible and empathetic through the many leadership opportunities that are available to them. Pupils are respectful of different cultures and faiths. They know the importance of treating everyone equally. The range of clubs offered by the school allows pupils to develop their talents and interests beyond the curriculum.

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Staff appreciate the importance that leaders place on supporting their workload and well- being. The school ensures staff are well trained through effective development opportunities. Since the previous inspection, leaders have been quick to act on the areas of the school’s work that were not as strong. However, those responsible for governance do not have sufficient oversight of some aspects of the school’s provision to ensure that these areas are as effective as they could be.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The work given to pupils is not always adapted to meet their needs. As a result, some pupils, including those with SEND, are not sufficiently challenged or supported to build on their prior learning. This limits how well they deepen their knowledge over time. The school should ensure that learning meets the needs of pupils so they can make secure progress.  The persistent absence of some pupils remains too high. As a result, these pupils do not fully benefit from the education and wider opportunities that the school offers. Leaders, including governors, need to ensure they have strong oversight of pupils’ attendance and take effective action so that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, attend regularly and do not miss out on important learning.  The governing body does not always have sufficient oversight of the impact of some aspects of the school’s actions. This limits how well it can support and challenge the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

school’s development. Governors should ensure they develop a clear understanding of the school’s provision and its impact, so they can provide the right level of support and challenge to drive further improvement.

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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 1 and 2 July 2025

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when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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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). 1 and 2 July 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Hilary Conboy and Karen Sweetman (Co- Chairs) Headteacher Andy Leach

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 March 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school federated with Haddenham Community Infant School in September 2024. This means both schools share a governing body.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast club, overseen by the governing body.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 1 and 2 July 2025

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other members of the senior leadership team, subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  The lead inspector met with the co-chair of the local governing body and other members of the governing body. He had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography, art and science. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also viewed a range of pupils’ work from other subjects in the wider curriculum.  Inspectors reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including

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leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of the local governing body meetings and records of attendance and behaviour incidents.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors 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.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils. Inspectors gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Stephen Cattell, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rob Veale Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 July 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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