Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School

LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 3 rd December – 6 th December 2001

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LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT JUNIOR SCHOOL

Inspection number: 193332 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT JUNIOR SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Salisbury Terrace Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 21/04/1997 Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 5

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

23112 Michael Mackay Registered inspector • Science • Design and technology • Physical education • Special educational needs • English as an additional language • How high are standards? • How well are the pupils taught? • How well is the school led and managed? 9837 Roy Walsh Lay inspector • How well does the school care for its pupils? • How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 1811 Judy Boyd Team inspector • English • Art • Geography • RE • History 17686 George Simpson Team inspector • Mathematics • Information and communication technology • Geography • Music • Equal opportunities • How good are curricular and other opportunities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

16 Wychwood Drive Trowell Park Nottingham NG9 3RB

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School is about the same size as other primary schools. It has 249 boys and girls on its roll who are between the ages of seven and eleven. The pupils come from a very wide range of backgrounds. Just over nine per cent of the pupils are entitled to free school meals. This is below the national average. Ninety-six per cent of the pupils are of white ethnic origin, two per cent of the pupils are of Black African origin and two per cent are Chinese. Less than half a per cent speak English as an additional language. Nearly thirty per cent of the pupils have special educational needs. This is above average for the type of school. The school is attracting greater numbers of pupils with special educational needs because it teaches them well. Just over one per cent of the pupils has a statement of special educational need. This is broadly in line with the national average. The pupils’

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

attainment on entry is broadly average, but this fluctuates from year to year, and is sometimes above average. The school has had an acting headteacher since Easter 2001 who will take the post permanently in January.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is an effective school. Standards are broadly average. The school has ensured that the standards attained by its pupils has kept pace with the general upward national trend, despite the year-on-year rise in the number of pupils admitted who have special educational needs. The teaching is good overall. In nearly a third of the lessons, it is very good. The school is well led and managed by the acting head teacher and key staff. They are fully supported by a well-informed and active governing body. The school provides good value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

• The pupils attain above average standards in mathematics, physical education and music. • The quality of relationships among the pupils, and between pupils and the teachers, is very good. • The school provides very well for pupils who have special educational needs. The contribution made by the school’s learning support assistants is excellent. • The school makes very good provision for the pupils’ personal, social and health education. • The school has very good procedures for monitoring the pupils’ welfare and academic performance. • The teachers with management responsibilities make a good contribution to the school’s effectiveness because the headteacher ensures that they are provided with sufficient time and with good opportunities to develop the skills they need.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

• The way teachers help pupils to know what to do next to improve their work, and the way some teachers implement the plans of others teachers. • The way the school provides for the pupils’ spiritual and cultural development.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 8 The school was last inspected in 1997. Since then it has made satisfactory progress overall, but good progress in addressing the key issues identified in the last report. As a result, the school has successfully raised standards in information and communication technology to match what is expected nationally. The school has been very successful in improving the way it monitors and assess the pupils’ academic progress. This aspect of the school’s work is now one of its strengths. The quality of the teaching has also improved.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests. compared with

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

English A B C C well above average above average A B Mathematics B C C C average below average C D Science B C C C well below average E

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STANDARDS

Overall, the school’s performance in the national tests in 2001 closely matches the national picture in all three subjects. The same pattern holds when the pupils’ performance is compared with that of pupils in similar schools. This, however, masks both strengths and weaknesses in the school’s results. For example, in 2001 an above average number of pupils attained Level 4, the expected level, in both mathematics and in science. The proportion of pupils, however, who attained at the higher level in mathematics was lower than average. Although the table above suggests a downward trend in results since 1999, the school’s performance has in fact kept pace with the national upward trend in the period since 1996. The school set appropriate targets for improvement in English and mathematics for 2001 and achieved them. A higher proportion of the pupils in the present Year 6 is likely to attain the expected standards in all three subjects. In mathematics, the evidence is that significantly more pupils

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STANDARDS

will attain at the higher levels than did so in the most recent tests. Standards in information and communication technology, judged to be below average in 1997, now match national expectations. There are no significant weaknesses in the standards attained by the pupils in any of the subjects, including religious education. They attain above national expectations in physical education and music. Most of pupils’ achievement is at least satisfactory. However, the higher attaining pupils sometimes underachieve because the work planned for them is not always sufficiently challenging. A large proportion of the pupils who have special educational needs achieve very well. This is largely because the skilled team of learning support assistants, who are effectively deployed and managed, make an excellent contribution the school’s work, and because the special educational needs co-ordinator ensures that the pupils’ needs are identified and addressed early. The bilingual pupils achieve well.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school The pupils have good attitudes to school. They enjoy lessons and are keen to participate in all aspects of the school’s life.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. The pupils behave well. They show respect to adults and are keen to please the teachers.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships The pupils show initiative and attain high standards of personal responsibility. They establish very good relationships with the teachers and with each other.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Good. The pupils want to attend school. They arrive in good time for lessons.

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Aspect Comment

The pupils have a good understanding of the impact of their actions on other pupils, and they show high levels of regard for the feelings and values of others.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Overall, the teaching is good. The quality of teaching in lessons in English and mathematics is good. The main strengths of the teaching include the way the teachers use ongoing assessment, the way they work closely with the learning support assistants, their knowledge and understanding of what they teach, particularly the basic skills. The teachers are good at teaching the skills of literacy and numeracy and ensure that the pupils have opportunities to use them to support learning in the other subjects. An outstanding feature of the teaching is the extent to which it is based upon the teachers’ classroom research into how children learn. There is also some very good specialist teaching, particularly in English, mathematics, religious education, physical education, and music. There are no significant weaknesses in the teaching, but there are areas that should be improved if the school is to raise

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

standards still further in the face of the growing number of pupils with special educational needs. Some teaching is unimaginative, and some of it does not help pupils sufficiently well to understand their own learning. Teachers sometimes miss opportunities to use computer technology to support learning in art, music and design and technology. They also miss some opportunities to provide the pupils with experience of planning and carrying out their own science investigations. The main strengths in the pupils’ learning are: the way the pupils acquire skills and knowledge, the effort they put into their learning, and the level of interest they show. The pupils with special educational needs learn very well, particularly in the extra literacy sessions. The bilingual pupils learn well because the teaching takes their needs into account. Although there are no significant weaknesses in the pupils’ learning, the pupils

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 10 could be more effective learners if teachers made it clearer to them what they need to do in order to reach their targets for improvement. Although the pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties make good progress, their behaviour in some lessons sometimes disrupts the learning of the other pupils.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum The school provides a good range of learning opportunities in a broad and balanced curriculum. It provides a good range of activities outside normal lessons, especially for the older pupils.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs The school makes very good provision for the pupils with special educational needs. The contribution made by learning support assistants is excellent.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. The pupils are well supported and make good progress.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good overall. The school provides well for the pupils’ moral and social development. Its provision for their spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory but is not as well planned as it is for the other elements.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. The school knows its pupils well and takes very good care of them. It provides good levels of personal support and guidance.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The school works well in partnership with parents. The quality of the information it provides for them is good and so are its arrangements for involving parents in its daily life and work. The school’s provision for physical education and music are particularly good, and the range of school visits to support learning is very good.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The school is well led and managed. The headteacher, deputy and other key staff share a very clear vision of the school’s development and have succeeded in building a strong and committed team.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors fulfil their duties well. They are very supportive but also very thorough in the way they discharge their duties.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The teachers and governors monitor the school’s performance well and have a clear understanding its strengths and weaknesses.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of The school uses its resources well. It makes excellent use of some of Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 11 resources them, especially its learning support assistants. It has good financial arrangements and spends the available funds carefully

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Aspect Comment

The staffing, accommodation and learning resources are good overall. They are well used to support the pupils’ learning. The main strengths in the leadership and management are the way the head teacher delegates responsibility, and the way the teachers carry out their management tasks. The leadership is particularly effective in supporting the professional development of the teachers and learning support assistants. The governors have a good understanding the school’s strengths and weaknesses and contribute significantly to the school’s sense of purpose. The leadership ensures that the principles of best value are applied in the way it evaluates the work of the school, compares its performance to that of other schools, and takes appropriate action.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The school expects children to work hard and achieve their best. • Their children like school. • The school makes them feel comfortable about approaching staff with questions or concerns. • Their children make good progress in school. • The school helps their children to become mature and responsible. A very small proportion of the parents would like to see the following improved: • The range of interesting activities provided by the school outside normal lessons. • The way the school works with parents. • The way the school keeps parents informed about how their children are getting on.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team endorses the parents’ positive views. It does not agree with the few parents who expressed negative views. The school provides a good range of activities outside lessons, including excellent support for pupils who need to improve basic skills in literacy. The school provides good information to parents on its work and on how well the pupils are getting on. Its arrangements for working with parents are entirely appropriate. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 12

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The evidence of the inspection indicates that pupils enter the school at the age of seven with levels of attainment broadly in line with what is expected for their age. This fluctuates from year to year, and is sometimes above average.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. The inspection evidence indicates that the proportion of pupils in the current Year 6 who attain the expected standard in English is about average, and that an average proportion of the pupils are attaining above the expected standard in speaking and listening, reading, writing and spelling. A high proportion of the pupils develop a fluent, cursive script. This pattern of attainment is reflected in the most recent national tests. In mathematics, the proportion of pupils attaining at the expected level is above average, and the proportion attaining above the expected level is broadly average. This indicates an improvement on the most recent test results, particularly among the higher attaining pupils. The pupils have a good understanding of place value and successfully solve mental and written problems. They also make good use of computers to solve data handling problems. In science, the inspection evidence is that standards are

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

broadly average. They are similar to those of the most recent national tests: the number of pupils working at the expected level is above average, and an average proportion of the pupils are attaining standards above those expected for their age. The pupils have a good understanding of the human circulatory system but are not confident about setting up and carrying out investigations for themselves. In all three subjects, the school has kept pace with the general upward trend in national results. At the time of the last inspection (1997), standards in all three subjects were judged to be above average. The national test results for that year, however, paint a different picture. Although the pupils attained well above average standards in English, their attainment was below average in mathematics and average in science. This conflicting evidence makes it unsafe to draw firm conclusions about the relationship between standards

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. In most other subjects of the curriculum, the pattern of attainment among the pupils in Year 6 broadly matches that expected nationally for pupils aged eleven. For example, the pupils attain the expected standard in information and communication technology, religious education, art, design and technology, history and geography. Generally, standards appear not to be as high as they were at the time of the last inspection. This is partly explained by the gradual change in the profile of the pupils being admitted to the school. Since 1997, the school has admitted a steadily increasing number of pupils with special educational needs - a significant proportion of these pupils present challenging behaviour that sometimes prevents them from learning as effectively as they should. Overall, the school has responded very well to the needs of such pupils but this has not been enough to maintain the above average standards that existed

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

previously. Another factor is that national initiatives in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology have caused the school to divert time and energy away from some of the other subjects, making it more difficult for it to maintain uniformly high standards.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. In physical education and in music, however, most of the pupils attain standards above those expected nationally of eleven year olds. They do so because the level of expertise among teachers in these subjects is unusually high for a primary school. For example, three of the teachers are very well qualified and experienced in different aspects of physical education. Their skill and enthusiasm inspire the pupils to work hard in order to achieve well. In music, the combined skills of the subject manager and the team of visiting teachers ensures that the pupils are presented with many interesting and challenging learning opportunities. In both subjects, the school provides a range of opportunities outside normal lessons that encourage the pupils to take part in subject-related activities. The achievement of the average, and most of the higher attaining, pupils is satisfactory. However, occasionally the higher attaining pupils do not achieve as well as

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 13 they could. In some science lessons, for example, they are not given sufficient opportunity to design and carry out their own investigations.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. The pupils with special educational needs make good progress overall and achieve well in relation to the targets set for them in their individual education plans. This is chiefly because the special educational needs co-ordinator ensures that the school does well in bidding for resources and that these are used effectively. It is also due to the excellent work done by the enthusiastic and skilled team of learning support assistants. They provide the pupils with many very good opportunities to work outside normal lesson times, particularly before school starts each morning. In these sessions, particularly the extra literacy lessons, the pupils are presented with learning tasks that are very well matched to their needs, and with friendly and supportive guidance on how to improve. Consequently, the pupils demonstrate higher levels of self-esteem and greater confidence that is usual among pupils with special educational needs.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

The pupils who present very challenging behaviour because of the nature of their special needs are very well provided for by most teachers and by the learning support assistants. As a result, many of them, but not all, show remarkable progress in managing their own behaviour.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. The pupils for whom English is an additional language attain the nationally expected standards in English, mathematics and science and in the other subjects of the curriculum because the school meets their needs effectively

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. The school has made a good response to the key issue to raise standards in information and communication technology. Standards have improved to the point where they match national expectations. This has been achieved by providing better training for the teachers and better learning facilities. The school now has a well-equipped computer suite. The suite is well used because the teachers are more confident about teaching the subject. The subject manager and the managers of some of the other subjects have worked closely together to identify useful links between information and communication technology and the other subjects in the curriculum.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

8. Nearly all of the pupils have good attitudes to learning. They concentrate well on class activities, and they are well motivated and enthusiastic about their learning. They take great pride in the presentation of their work. A good example of this was seen during an art workshop in which the Year 5 pupils constructed wire sculptures of insects that they decorated with coloured wire. Many of the pupils who attend the early morning pre-school lessons to improve their literacy skills also show a high level of interest in their work. This helps them to develop and use new skills. The pupils’ enthusiasm for school is also demonstrated in the numbers who participate in the wide range of out-of-school clubs. In particular, music, football and gymnastics are popular, and the pupils who participate in them obtain a great deal of enjoyment. The choir is also popular. Its members have recently been practising for a carol concert to be

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

held at the Christmas Market in the town’s High Street. Some of the pupils at the school produced the vibrant posters used to advertise the event. Because most of the pupils, including those with special educational needs and those who are learning to be bilingual, are enthusiastic about their learning, and are eager to discuss the work they do, they work sensibly together in the many practical activities they undertake. They willingly share apparatus and equipment and take care to use them safely. The majority of parents returning the questionnaire (ninety-four per cent) agree with inspection findings that their children enjoy coming to school.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. The pupils’ behaviour is consistently good throughout the school. It helps them to become effective learners. For example, on the school trip to Southampton Art Gallery, the pupils’ behaviour was excellent and contributed significantly to the amount and quality of the work they completed. Throughout the inspection, the pupils’ behaviour during breaks and at lunch times was good. The supervisory assistants play an active role in maintaining high levels of good behaviour among the pupils. The school implements Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 14 its policy on inclusion very well. Its success has led to an increase in the number of pupils admitted who have emotional and behavioural problems. These pupils sometimes display very challenging behaviour, but this is generally well managed both by teachers and support staff so that most of them make very good progress in learning appropriate behaviour. The pupils are confident about approaching adults with any

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

worries they have, and they are willing to listen to what others have to say. The pupils understand the difference between right and wrong, and between good and bad behaviour. The vast majority of the pupils exercise good levels of self-discipline. Although some incidents of bullying have occurred, it was noted from discussions with parents that the school usually deals with these quickly and effectively. The pupils are happy at school, both in lessons and at other times. They are polite and courteous in their dealings with adults and with their peers.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. The relationships between pupils and their teachers and support staff are very good. This contributes greatly to the sense of purpose that characterises much of the school’s work. The pupils co-operate well in lessons and help and support each other across a range of learning activities. They demonstrate interest and respect for each other’s feelings, ideas and work. The pupils speak freely about their experiences and enjoy the time they spend in school. They willingly articulate their own views and beliefs when they take part in discussion groups. The personal development of pupils is good and so are the levels of their self-esteem. This is because the school provides them with many useful opportunities to accept responsibility. It also arranges for sessions that provide the pupils with good opportunities to share their thoughts and experiences. The pupils take an active role in supporting their representatives on the school

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

council. By doing so, they are able to effect changes to the daily life of the school. For example, the council has recently been instrumental in obtaining play equipment, and establishing a recycling programme. It is currently exploring how it might secure extra-curricular coaching in football for the girls. The pupils make good use of the opportunities the school provides for them to reflect on personal issues and their behaviour. This helps the pupils to understand the consequences of their actions and to develop an appropriate sense of personal and communal responsibility. The school’s social skills programme is particularly effective in improving the behaviour, self-esteem and confidence of pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour. The pupils enjoy using personal initiative. They act sensibly when trust is placed in them. At lunchtimes, the Year 6 pupils take turns to supervise games for younger children.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

Many of the pupils volunteer to act as classroom monitors. The pupils play their full part in creating a happy school where each person is valued.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Attendance rates are good (ninety-six per cent) and are slightly above the national average for a school of this type. The attendance is good because parents are conscientious about sending their children to school, and because the school works hard to create a happy and welcoming environment for its pupils. The registration process is done efficiently. This sets the right tone for the rest of the day. The pupils settle to work quickly and quietly at the start of sessions. The teachers and other members of the staff treat late-coming seriously. This helps to keep disruption to a minimum. As a result, the lessons usually begin promptly.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

12. The quality of the teaching is good overall. Forty-two lessons were observed. The teaching was very good in twelve of them, good in fourteen of them, satisfactory in fourteen of them, and unsatisfactory in two of the lessons. The subjects in which the teaching was judged to be good or better are: English, mathematics, science, art, history, information and communication technology, music, and physical education. There was insufficient evidence to come to firm overall conclusions about the quality of teaching in design and technology and geography.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

13. The teaching has many good features. One of these is the way the teachers regularly assess the pupils’ attainment in all subjects and record the outcomes. As a result, the teachers acquire a detailed picture of the strengths and weaknesses in the pupils’ knowledge and understanding. This helps the Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 15 teachers to adapt their lesson plans to meet the emerging needs of the pupils. In particular, the teachers are very good at assessing how well the pupils are doing in English, mathematics and science. Because they collect much useful data, the teachers are able to make accurate predictions about likely rates of progress and the levels the pupils are expected to attain by the end of each year. However, there is some evidence to suggest that whilst the teachers use the outcomes of assessment well to plan for most pupils’ needs, they sometimes do not plan well enough to challenge the higher attaining pupils. This is sometimes

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

the case in science and in religious education, for example. As a result, there are some lessons in which these pupils underachieve.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

14. One of the significant strengths of the teaching is the quality and extent of the teachers’ subject knowledge. The national initiatives in literacy and numeracy have been well implemented. The teachers are particularly good at establishing links between literacy and numeracy and other subjects, so that the pupils have many opportunities to practise and refine newly acquired literacy and numeracy skills. For example, the teachers make sure that the vocabularies special to each subject are taught and that the pupils are helped to learn how to spell them. The teachers make good use of the data handling skills learned in mathematics to support the pupils’ learning in science and geography. The lessons provide many opportunities for the pupils to collect, analyse and use a range of statistical information. The teachers are making increasing use, too, of the information and communication technology resources to enable the

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

pupils to develop more sophisticated ways of presenting data. However, the teachers sometimes miss opportunities to link the subject to work in art, music and design and technology.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

15. An outstanding feature of the teaching is the commitment the teachers have to improving their own professional knowledge and understanding. No less than eight members of the teaching staff are currently engaged in original and major classroom-based research projects. This is a strong indication of the commitment among teachers at the school to improve their teaching by developing a better understanding of how pupils learn.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

16. There are a number of other good features common to most of the teaching. For example, the teachers are skilled at providing clear explanations and in asking questions that allow the pupils to reflect on their own learning and to share what they know. There is also some very good specialist teaching across a number of subjects. In particular, there are a number of teachers who are well qualified and very experienced teachers of physical education. Their skill and enthusiasm for the subject shines out in lessons and helps the pupils to achieve well. There is some very good specialist teaching, also, in music and in religious education. In music, for example, the subject manager is a skilled musician who makes very good use of her knowledge to set challenging tasks for pupils at all levels of attainment. In science, too, the regular supply teacher makes very good use of her previous nursing experience to extend the pupils’

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

knowledge and understanding of such topics as the human circulatory system.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

17. Another strong feature of the teaching is the extent to which the skills and enthusiasm of the learning assistants are used to support pupils with widely differing levels of attainment and a range of learning problems. The learning support assistants are well deployed during lessons to support the lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs. This ensures that the school’s policy of inclusion is properly and rigorously implemented. But the work of the learning support assistants and the impact it has on the pupils’ learning is felt outside normal lessons as well as within them. For example, some pupils receive extra support with literacy skills in short sessions before school begins. These additional lessons are very well planned and extremely well taught by the assistants. The pupils who attend the sessions, show very high levels of interest in what they learn. One of the learning support assistants leads a social

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

skills group aimed at helping some of the pupils to adapt to the demands of school life and to accept an appropriate amount of responsibility for their own behaviour and learning. Both the teachers and the support assistants offer significant support to pupils whose special educational needs arise out of emotional and behavioural problems. The work they do with these pupils helps them to take full advantage of the learning opportunities offered to all of the pupils. The school’s success in meeting the needs of pupils who Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 16 have emotional and behavioural problems has led to more such pupils being admitted. This places new demands on the teachers, who are strongly committed to supporting the school’s policy on inclusion.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

18. Overall, the teachers succeed in establishing good relationships with all groups of pupils. As a result, the pupils feel secure and want to do well for their teachers by working hard and persevering with learning tasks. The quality of relationships at the school is one of its strengths. Another strength of the teaching is the way the teachers use homework to support learning at school by ensuring that their arrangements provide good opportunities for the pupils to consolidate basic literacy and numeracy skills.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

19. Although the teaching is good overall, there are aspects of it that could be improved in order to raise standards still further. This is particularly so in the core subjects: English, mathematics and science. The teachers are skilled at identifying weaknesses in the pupils’ knowledge and understanding, and they draw up useful targets for improvement, which they share with the pupils and their parents. They do not, however, make it sufficiently explicit to the pupils what steps they need to take in order reach the targets set for them. The pupils, therefore, do not have a clear enough understanding of their own learning and their part in working to improve their own performance. Although the lesson plans are good overall, it is mainly the subject leaders who construct them, and the classroom teachers who implement them. This sometimes leads to unimaginative methods of teaching because the teachers have not been sufficiently

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

involved at the early stages of planning. The school generally uses team teaching to combined classes well, but occasionally the teaching to such large groups lacks pace. It also reduces the quality of the pupils’ responses because they have fewer opportunities to contribute to discussions and to ask and answer questions. Generally, the teachers provide good support to all pupils who have special educational needs, including those with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Sometimes, however, when the teaching fails to fully engage the pupils because it is not interesting, the teachers have to spend more time than they should on managing the behaviour of a few of the pupils and less time on teaching and supporting learning.

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PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

20. The school provides a broad curriculum that includes all the subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. It meets the statutory requirements for all of the subjects. The school has given a high priority to the teaching of literacy and numeracy. One of the strengths of the school’s curricular provision is the care it takes to ensure that literacy and numeracy skills are well practised and developed across the whole range of subjects. The school has made significant improvements to its provision for information and communication technology since the last inspection. It now uses information and communication technology resources well to support learning in English, mathematics, and science, but misses opportunities to use them in art, music and design and technology.

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

21. The school has improved the quality of its schemes of work since the last inspection. These are used well to provide long and medium term plans to guide the teaching. There are times when teachers plan lessons on behalf of their colleagues. Occasionally, however, this approach makes some teachers reluctant to adapt them to the specific needs of their own classes. In science, some teachers plan insufficient time for practical and investigative activities. Overall, however, the school allocates sufficient time to all subjects.

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

22. The school provides very well for pupils who have special educational needs. It quickly identifies their needs and draws up well-designed and appropriate individual education plans to meet them. The school also makes excellent use of the learning support assistants to provide special sessions before the start of school each morning to help the pupils achieve well. A strong feature of the provision is the way the school meets the needs of the rising number of pupils it admits whose special needs include emotional and behavioural difficulties. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 17 23. The school has a larger than average number of learning support assistants which it uses very well to support the pupils’ learning, principally the lower attaining pupils and pupils who are underachieving, but also for some of the higher attaining pupils. The school provides support groups for pupils who need help in developing social skills and in managing their own behaviour. This support is never less than very good,

p.16

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

and often excellent. It makes a significant contribution to the pupils’ learning. The school applies its equal opportunities policy rigorously and all pupils are given access to what the school provides in its curriculum and other activities. It meets the needs of the pupils who are learning to be bilingual well. . 24. The school makes very good provision for activities outside normal lessons. As well as the early morning teaching groups already mentioned, the school organises an extensive range of visits to places of educational interest. These are linked to both the taught curriculum and to wider concerns, such as charities and hobbies. This ambitious programme of visits enriches the learning in most subjects of the curriculum. The school arranges for the pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 to participate in residential visits to Fort Purbrook and to the Isle of Wight. The visits to Southampton Art Gallery have a significant impact on

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

the pupils learning. The school is effective in combining visits and visitors in order to enhance particular topics. For example, when the pupils study the history topic Britain since the 1930s they have an opportunity to visit a local museum, and to hear about wartime experiences from grandparents and war veterans. A local author provides the pupils with further insights when she visits the school to share her memories of wartime experiences. All of these activities help the school to create a meaningful and relevant range of learning experience across many of the subjects in the curriculum. The school also provides the pupils with good access to a range of clubs that include sports and recreational activities. There is a large choir and good opportunities for pupils to learn the recorder and to participate in specialist teaching groups for brass, stringed and woodwind instruments.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

25. The school makes very good provision for personal, social and health education. It has a systematic scheme of work that complements work done in other subjects such as science and physical education. The school makes very good use of visits and visitors for this aspect of the curriculum. It provides opportunities for the pupils to participate in a ‘healthy eating trail’ at a local supermarket to reinforce the pupils’ understanding of the need for a healthy diet and to help them, in a practical way, to make sensible decisions about diet. The school nurse helps to deliver the sex education programme. Pupils learn about health and hygiene in science and use the Internet to find further information. The school also arranges for the pupils to receive lessons in drugs awareness. It sets time aside for pupils to discuss matters of concern and these are shared with teachers and other pupils. In this way, the pupils learn to understand

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

each other and to deal with problems they may encounter. They also learn about the importance of communicating feelings and concerns to others who are able to help.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

26. Overall the provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, but is uneven across the different elements. Although there are some opportunities in the curriculum for the pupils to reflect on the spiritual dimension to their lives in assemblies and in lessons in religious education, music, and art, they are often not planned for or particularly well used. The teachers are not sufficiently aware of what they need to do to support the pupils’ spiritual development and miss, therefore, opportunities to draw on the pupils’ responses. In a Year 3 science lesson, for example, the teacher missed opportunities for the pupils to experience the wonder of discovering for themselves the rich variety of creatures living in the samples of leaf mould that the teacher had provided.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

27. The school makes good provision for the pupils’ moral development. For example, it makes good use of learning opportunities in its programme of personal, social and health education to help pupils consider issues of right and wrong. As a result, the pupils respond well to the needs of others. The school uses lessons in rule-making to help the pupils consider the moral dimension to living in a community. Out of these lessons, the teachers and pupils have formulated a set of Golden Rules which inform relations between members of the school community. These encourage the pupils to develop positive attitudes to each other. The pupils have opportunities to consider moral issues in special sessions they call ‘meetings’. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 18 The school nurse supports the teachers in providing the pupils with opportunities to explore a number of moral issues in relation to the onset of puberty.

p.17

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

28. The school makes good provision for the pupils’ social development. The pupils have many opportunities to take responsibility, show initiative and develop an understanding of living in the community. They sign a Home, School and Child Agreement; have an active school council that provides a forum for the pupils to voice their views and influence the work of the school. Some of the Year 6 are trained as librarians and support the librarian in the day-to-day running of the library. The older pupils are encouraged support the play of the young ones. The school’s house system is well used to promote pupils’ sense of team spirit and competitiveness. There are a number of monitors throughout the school who assist with many routine tasks.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

29. The school makes satisfactory provision for the pupils’ cultural development. It provides the pupils with opportunities to make a number of educational visits to art galleries, to musical events and places such as Minstead in the New Forest. However, the school misses opportunities to help the pupils to learn about and appreciate the cultures of other groups of people and to understand the multi-cultural dimension to life in contemporary Britain.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

30. The quality of collective worship is satisfactory and meets the statutory requirements. It is broadly Christian in character, provides moral guidance, supports the school community and invites pupils to reflect on spiritual and moral issues without the compulsion to pray.

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

31. The community makes a very good and worthwhile contribution to the education of the pupils. Organisations, such as the church, the police and the fire services play a significant part in the school’s overall provision. During ‘Hobbies Week’, parents and grandparents share their enthusiasms and expertise on such subjects as wood carving and dog training. The Horticultural Society’s involvement raises pupils’ awareness of the value of caring for the environment. Volunteers also help in school by hearing pupils read. The relationship with the local football club is also a positive one. Relationships with partner institutions are good. The school plays a full part in educational initiatives with other local schools. These include sporting and cultural events, as well as curriculum development. Good liaison with the local infant and secondary schools helps provide a smooth transition from one phase of education to another. The

p.18

PUPILS OR STUDENTS?

school has worked very closely with King Alfred’s College to develop teachers’ expertise and improve the school’s curriculum. The school makes good use of the expertise of outside agencies and enjoys very good working relationships with all of them.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

32. The school’s procedures for monitoring the pupils’ progress and personal development are very good. Consequently, it knows its pupils well. The pupils’ annual academic progress reports are informative and comprehensive, and contain feedback sheets on which parents and pupils can make comments. The reports also contain information on targets that the pupils have reached and new ones to be aimed for in mathematics and English. In addition, the school holds open evenings each term, allowing parents and teachers useful opportunities to share information on individual pupil’s progress and to agree targets for improvement. The homework diaries also encourage parents to comment on their children’s progress and development on a weekly basis. Because the teachers and support staff know the pupils and their families extremely well, they usually deal effectively with any problems as they arise. The learning support

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

assistants are very enthusiastic and highly committed to improving attainment levels. They provide invaluable support to individual pupils who are striving to improve their basic skills. This is evident in the help the assistants give to the pupils with special educational needs in meeting their personal learning targets. The social skills and the behaviour support programmes are particularly effective in helping specific pupils overcome personal difficulties, allowing them to concentrate more fully on learning activities. The level of pastoral care provided by staff is very good. There is a strong feeling of respect Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 19 between adults and pupils that adds significantly to the friendly and supportive character of the school. The school, supported by the Educational Welfare officer, regularly monitors attendance patterns. The arrangements the school has for making parents aware of their responsibility to authorise and notify the

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

school of their children’s absences are good. The school makes effective use of computer systems to record attendance, allowing it to make on-the-spot analyses of attendance patterns and to respond quickly. The school also takes advantage of contributions from other professionals, including the Child and Family Therapy Service, the community nurse, and the educational psychologist. The school is, therefore, able to provide good levels of care and support to its pupils, which make a significant contribution to the quality of education it provides.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

33. The school has a comprehensive and effective behaviour policy, which is applied consistently by teachers and support staff. The policy contains strategies to deal with poor behaviour, including time given to offenders to consider the implications of their actions. Each class constructs its own rules at the beginning of the school year. These are agreed by class members and then prominently displayed in the classroom. The school’s system of rewards and sanctions is used effectively. It results in most pupils adhering to the school’s clear code of conduct. The school uses a weekly assembly to celebrate good or improving behaviour. The small number of behavioural incidents monitored during the inspection indicates the effectiveness of this policy. The school has a well-established school council, which meets every half term with senior teachers, allowing pupils to communicate their ideas and opinions to staff. Each class

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

chooses its representatives who then raise any issues or concerns. Staff and pupils take the work of the council seriously. They keep minutes of meetings and monitor progress on agreed actions.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

34. The school operates an appropriate child protection policy. The health and safety arrangements in the school are satisfactory. The head teacher makes appropriate arrangements for regular risk assessments to be made of the buildings and equipment. The teachers effectively emphasise health and safety issues in lessons in physical education, science and personal, and social health education. The school has clear procedures for evacuation in the event of fire. Any minor injuries are properly logged and handled competently by the members of staff trained in first aid. Each year the community policeman provides effective cycling proficiency training for the Year 6 pupils.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. Procedures for assessing the pupils’ attainment and progress are very good. They have improved significantly since the previous inspection. The school fully meets the statutory requirements in its arrangements for the national tests and for reporting the results. The school gathers and collates a wide range of assessment data that helps the teachers to get a clear understanding of the pupils’ achievements. National test data is also used to set school targets in English and mathematics. The teachers set annual targets for individual pupils early in the school year. The school ensures that the pupils’ progress towards these targets is assessed in February so that, where necessary, adjustments can be made. Thus, the progress of individual pupils is thoroughly tracked and the teachers have a good understanding of the pupils’ performance. Occasionally, however, the targets are set too low, resulting in some

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

underachievement, particularly among some of the higher attaining pupils. Furthermore, the school does not break down the targets into smaller steps to help the pupils meet them, or to make them aware of what they need to do next to improve. Consequently the pupils are not always sufficiently aware of their own learning. The teachers quickly get to know the pupils well because the information passed on to them from their colleagues is comprehensive and accurate. They use it very well to determine teaching groups designed to support learning in English, mathematics, social skill development and behaviour management. Pupils of all abilities receive extra support, often before school starts. The impact of this provision is very positive and is celebrated in the ‘achievement assemblies’.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

36. A key issue from the last inspection was to make sure that assessment consistently informs teachers’ planning effectively. The use of assessment to guide planning is now good. The teachers are more consistent in planning lessons to meet the needs of most pupils, especially in English, mathematics and science, though work planned for the higher attaining pupils is occasionally less challenging than it could Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 20 be. The teachers make adjustments to planning based on the outcome of ongoing assessments. Subject co-ordinators are constantly aiming to improve assessment practices. The school’s marking policy is well implemented. The teachers sometimes encourage the pupils to evaluate their own work, but the school is aware that its procedures require further refinement.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

37. The school forges good links with parents and with the local community. All of the parents who returned the pre-inspection questionnaire felt that the school had high expectations of their children.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

38. The quality and scope of information provided to parents on the curriculum and other school activities are good. The school prospectus is very well constructed and contains detailed and comprehensive information about the school, as well as a range of observations from the pupils themselves. The reports on pupils are comprehensive and give parents a clear picture of their children’s progress. The school uses two formal meetings per year, and its arrangements for informal discussions throughout the year, to provide good opportunities for parents to discuss their children’s progress. The teachers keep records of the pupils’ achievement and collect samples of work in order to inform their discussions with parents. A large majority of parents who returned the questionnaire (eighty-nine per cent) felt comfortable in approaching the school with any questions or concerns.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

39. The recent consultation with parents on homework policy has been very successful and has now been implemented. The homework diaries issued to the pupils provide a valuable method of communication between home and school, and a very high proportion of parents add comments for the teachers to read. The parents who have children with special educational needs are fully involved in reviewing their children’s individual education plans.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

40. The school encourages parents to become involved in their children’s learning. Members of the governing body and some of the parents give up substantial amounts of time to help supervise trips and school visits. The recent visit to Southampton Art Gallery was made more productive because of the extra supervision provided by parents. Some of the parents also assist in the classroom by hearing readers and talking about subjects in areas in which they have expertise. A good example of the latter was the contribution made by the parents during the recent “Hobbies Week”. A number of parents and volunteers also help with the after-school sports programme. These activities greatly enhance the enjoyment and pride shown by the pupils in their school.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

41. The school has good links with the local infant school. The respective head teachers arrange for pupils and teachers to visit each other throughout the year. The schools share some of their resources. The arrangements benefit the pupils of both schools. The headteachers also arrange for the pupils to participate in combined concerts and performances. The Lee School Association, representing parents and teachers from both schools, is very successful in raising funds and holding social activities that enrich the pupils’ social and educational development. The association has recently contributed to extra resources for the computer suite, which will further enhance the pupils’ learning.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

42. The acting head teacher and key members of the teaching staff provide good leadership for the school. They have established a very clear educational direction for its work, and have succeeded in building a strong sense of purpose that is shared by the governing body, as well as by the members of the teaching and support staff.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

43. One of the strengths of the leadership is the success it has had in ensuring that the school’s aims and values are reflected prominently in its day-to-day work. This is most clearly seen in the school’s Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 21 commitment to its policy on inclusion. The school ensures that most pupils receive the support they need to become effective learners. It has been robust in implementing its policy and has had considerable success in making good provision for the pupils who have special educational needs. The head teacher and the members of the senior management team, which includes the special needs co-ordinator, have made excellent use of the very capable team of classroom support assistants. It forms the cornerstone of much of the very good work the school does for its pupils who have special educational needs. Through the way they are deployed, the assistants are able to provide a very high level of support to pupils who need

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

extra help with literacy and numeracy, and they are also well organised to provide very good support to pupils whose special needs arise out of their inability to manage their emotions and behaviour. The skilled work of the support assistants helps the school to ensure that such pupils are able to take greater advantage of the available learning opportunities that they would do otherwise. A significant proportion of these pupils come from other schools where they have failed to make sufficient progress. Another of the leadership’s strengths is the way it plans for and supports the professional development of its teachers and other staff. This is most clearly seen in the very high number of teachers who carry out extensive classroom-based research projects as part of the school’s ‘ learning through teaching ’ initiative. The local authority has provided the school with good support for this initiative, and a local institute of teacher

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

education has accredited the research and has confirmed that it is of a very high standard. The emphasis the leadership places upon professional development has ensured a very strong focus on curriculum development and has helped to improve the quality of teaching.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

44. The way the acting head teacher delegates responsibilities to the subject managers and to teachers with other areas of responsibility is very good. The school has invested wisely in outside consultants to help it develop effective leadership and management skills among its teachers. One outcome of this is that subject managers are confident about their roles and have a good understanding of how they can help to raise standards. Another, is that teachers with special responsibilities for other aspects of management, such as special educational needs, and assessment and record keeping, have been able to hone their skills and make a significant contribution to the work of the school. They way the school monitors and supports the pupils’ academic progress is another strength emerging from its good response to the advice and support received from external consultants.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

45. The governing body fulfils its statutory duties well. It ensures that the school provides a broad and balanced curriculum and that the arrangements for national tests fully satisfy requirements. It also ensures that the school is implementing all the statutory policies. The governors play a major role in helping to shape the direction of the school. They work closely with the teachers to ensure that the school’s educational priorities are the right ones. An example of this is the commitment and support the governors give to the school’s policy on inclusion. The governing body has a secure and manageable structure of committees that enables it to monitor closely the work of the school. For example, its curriculum committee receives progress reports from subject managers. Its members visit the school to see some of the work for themselves. They meet teachers and other staff so that they can judge for themselves how

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

well the school is doing and what it needs to do next in order to secure further improvement. The governors, therefore, have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. The finance committee works closely with other committees to ensure that the school uses its funds wisely and for the purposes for which they were intended. As a result, they ensure that the school’s priorities for development are appropriate, and its progress in implementing its action plan, properly monitored and evaluated. The school can be confident, therefore, that its educational priorities are the right ones and that they are well financed.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

46. The head teacher, senior teachers and members of the governing body closely monitor and evaluate the school’s performance. They use national test results and also the outcomes of external monitoring, such as that carried out by the local education authority, to provide them with the data they need. They use the information well to identify what it is the school needs to do next if it is to raise further the standards its pupils achieve. An example of this was the school’s response to the last Section 10 Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 22 inspection, which identified below average attainment in information and communication technology. The school moved quickly to provide good opportunities for the teachers to become knowledgeable and confident in the subject, and to improve the quality and range of learning resources. As a result the pupils’ standards now match national expectations. The school is aware that the success it has had in

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

implementing its policy of inclusion has attracted more pupils with special needs. In spite of this, It has been able to keep pace with the general upward trend in the national results by ensuring that the overall quality of provision for these pupils is very good.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

47. The governors ensure that the staffing, accommodation and learning resources are adequate to meet the demands of the curriculum. They have, for example, secured good levels of staffing among classroom support assistants to help the school meet the pupils’ needs well. They have also begun to draw up plans to meet the projected growth of the school due, in part, to significant new housing developments in the area. The head teacher, the senior staff and the governors work closely to ensure that the principles of best value are applied. It is by doing so that the school has been able to sustain standards at their present level and work towards raising them further. The school has very good arrangements for the development of teaching and satisfactory arrangements for the induction of new staff. Its arrangements for performance management fully satisfy statutory requirements. The school makes good use of new

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

technology in its educational provision and for administrative purposes. For example, computer technology is well used to support learning in other subjects and is used effectively to record and analyse the pupils’ attendance.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

48. Although there are no significant weaknesses in the way the school is led and managed, there are a number of areas in which it could be improved. These include some aspects of the way the school organises its pupils for learning, and the way it uses the outcomes of its monitoring of teaching. The school makes substantial use of team teaching to combined classes. This is often done well, but is not always effective. Occasionally, it results in lessons that lack pace and provide insufficient opportunities for the pupils to participate. In these lessons, some of the pupils become passive learners and do not make as much progress as they could. Through its professional development programme, and its programme of professional discussions, the school provides well for the development of teachers’ knowledge and skills. However, the outcomes of the monitoring of teachers’ classroom practice are not always well used to

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

identify weaknesses in the teaching and provide the necessary support. One outcome of this is that there are a few teachers who have not received the support they need to manage the pupils with emotional and behavioural problems who present very challenging behaviour. It has also failed to highlight other potential problem areas such as the use of team teaching, already mentioned above, and the impact on teaching of some aspects of the way weekly plans are drawn up.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. Overall, however, the good leadership and management of the school have been maintained in a period of significant change for the school, not least the fact that it has been without a permanent head teacher for two terms. That the school is so stable, and has a strong capacity to succeed, is due in no small measure to the joint work of the acting head teacher and the acting deputy head teacher. Together, they have been able to maintain and, in some cases, build on the good work identified in the last report. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 23

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

50. In order to maintain standards and improve them still further, in the face of the increasing number of pupils admitted to the school who have special educational needs, the headteacher, staff and governors should:

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Eliminate unsatisfactory teaching and improve the rate of learning in some of the lessons by: a. Providing better support and guidance to teachers of classes in which there are pupils who display challenging behaviour. b. Establishing greater consistency in the way pupils are organised for learning. c. Help teachers to teach more imaginatively by giving the class teachers greater opportunities to contribute to the planning of the lessons they teach. d. Improving the consistency with which they help the pupils to acquire an appropriate understanding of their own learning. The teaching should: • Provide the pupils with more help and guidance on what they need to know and be able to do in order to attain their individual targets for learning. • Make it clear to the older pupils what level they are working at in English, mathematics and science and what they will need to know and be able to do if they are to attain the next level.

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

e. Improve teachers’ subject knowledge in RE (Paragraphs: 19, 21, 48, 56, 60, 61, 67, 90, and 101)

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Improve how the school plans for, and supports, the pupils’ spiritual and cultural development by: a. Raising the teachers’ awareness of the opportunities for spiritual development across the full range of subjects. b. Identifying, in the planning of the different subjects of the curriculum, where and how the school intends to provide opportunities for the pupils to develop greater awareness of the spiritual side to their lives. c. Raising the teachers’ awareness of the multi-cultural dimension to the pupils’ overall cultural development. d. Identifying, in the planning of the different subjects of the curriculum, where and how the school intends to provide opportunities for the pupils to learn about the contribution other societies have made to the pupils’ own culture and to the culture of others. (Paragraphs: 26 and 29) Minor issues: 1. Make greater use of information and communication technology to support pupils’ learning in

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

art, music and design and technology. (Paragraphs: 74, 76, 93) 2. Provide greater opportunities in science for the pupils to do practical and investigative work. (Paragraph 67) Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 24

p.23

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 49

p.24

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.24

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery Y3– Y6

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 249

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 22

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery Y3 – Y6

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 04

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 71

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 27

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 17

p.24

Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.24

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 25

p.24

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 35 25 60

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 25 28 32 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 21 20 25

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 78 (86) 80 (78) 95 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 29 32 34 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 24 21 25

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 88 (83) 88 (81) 98 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

p.25

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 26

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 2 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9 Financial year 2000/2001

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26.4

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y3 – Y4 Total expenditure 448743

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 8 Expenditure per pupil 1878

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 143 Balance brought forward from previous year 11205

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 10692 Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 27

p.26

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 42 46 7 1 4

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 26 62 3 0 9

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 26 62 8 3 1

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 34 50 14 1 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 47 42 8 0 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 57 43 0 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 36 45 13 1 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 40 45 1 1 12

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 34 60 4 0 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 15 53 23 4 5 Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 28

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ENGLISH

51. The proportion of pupils attaining at or above the expected level by the end of Year 6 is about average. This pattern of attainment is reflected in the school’s results in the 2001 national tests for eleven- year-olds. The standards are not as high as they were at the time of the previous inspection. This is partly explained by variations in the different year groups due to the school’s rigorous and successful policy of inclusion, which has led to a steadily increasing proportion of pupils being admitted who have special educational needs.

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52. By the time they leave Year 6, the pupils speak clearly and fluently. They show an appropriate level of confidence when contributing to class discussions or when asking and answering questions. They willingly share ideas and opinions when working on tasks together. They listen carefully to instructions and to presentations by the teacher and by other pupils. For example, in a lesson on journalistic forms of writing, the pupils listened carefully to members of the class when they read excerpts from their writing. Because they listened attentively, they were able to identify examples of journalistic cliché and suggest ways in which the writing might be made more effective. The pupils build upon skills developed in other year groups. In Year 4, for example, the pupils demonstrated that they listen carefully to instructions and work with other pupils when they created character roles for a dramatic representation of a scene from an

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ancient Aztec market. On a trip to Southampton Art Gallery, the pupils in Year 5 listened carefully to the workshop leader whilst instructions were given about the tasks they were about to undertake. Later, the pupils were able to talk animatedly about their visit and the activities in which they had taken part. The pupils’ achievement over time is broadly satisfactory. When pupils enter the school their speaking skills are at the expected level for their age, but their listening skills are not as well developed. The pace of lessons is sometimes hindered by the frequency with which teachers of the younger pupils have to remind them to listen to instructions and to each other. Overall, however, the pupils make sufficient progress, so that by Year 4 their speaking and listening skills are satisfactory.

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53. The inspection evidence indicates that at the beginning of Year 6, the pupils’ attainment in reading is in line with age-related national expectations. For the past few years the proportion of pupils attaining Level 4, the expected standard for pupils aged eleven, in the national tests, has kept pace with the national trend. The number of pupils attaining at the higher levels is also about average. Most of the pupils aged eleven read with an appropriate degree of confidence and understanding. The higher-attaining pupils read fluently and expressively. They talk confidently about the books they read. They make references to the text when they describe characters and events. Most of the pupils confidently distinguish fiction from non-fiction texts and describe their principal features. They know, for example, that non-fiction books often contain indices and glossaries to help the reader locate information and understand special terms. Most of the

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pupils, too, know how to locate books in the school library. This helps them research the topics they study in lessons. They use a range of strategies for finding things out. For example, they use the Dewey system to locate books and use scanning skills to locate information in them. The average and lower attaining pupils use a number of ways to tackle unfamiliar words, including sounding out a word’s initial and final letter sounds, and by identifying common letter strings such as ‘-tion’ and ‘-ing’. They also use clues in the surrounding text.

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54. The inspection evidence indicates that the pupils in Year 6 attain standards in writing that are in line with age related national expectations. They write for a range of purposes and in variety of forms. Their work includes stories, poems, letters, recipes and notes. There are also some very good examples of extended writing. The pupils use writing frames, brainstorming techniques, drafting, redrafting, annotated Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 29 diagrams and pictures well to support their writing. For example, in Year 6 the pupils produce extensive autobiographies that demonstrate good writing skills and good use of computer technology. The quality of presentation is often very high. Some pupils go to great lengths to ensure that their ‘published’ work has all the features of commercially produced texts, including illustrations, contents pages, chapter headings, date of publication and copyright symbols. They have also created class-books that record interviews they have

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carried out among themselves. The pupils are beginning to adapt the style and content of what they write to suit different audiences. For example, in a lesson on journalistic writing the pupils studied the main features that characterise tabloid journalism. They used some of the devices they had learned about when they re-told the story of the Lady of Shallot in the style of a Sunday tabloid. Whilst all of the pupils achieved a fair degree of success in replicating the language and phrasing of tabloid journalism, some of the higher attaining pupils wrote very convincingly in that style, showing that they had understood how journalists use language devices such as cliché, exaggeration and innuendo to hook their readers and draw them into the article. Most of the pupils use an appropriate range of sentence structures and are aware of how sentences can be improved by the careful use of adjectives and adverbs. Some of the average and

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higher attaining pupils write sentences that feature subordinate clauses and phrases that help qualify the subject of the sentence and so add interest to what they write. The pupils’ understanding and use of punctuation is appropriate for their age. Most of the pupils include capital letters to mark the beginning of sentences and to identify proper nouns. They use full stops, question marks and exclamation marks where it is appropriate to do so. The pupils develop a fluent cursive handwriting style early on, so that by the time they are eleven, nearly all of them write neatly and legibly in ink. The pupils’ standard of spelling is close to national expectations. They use a simple strategy to help them learn words. Most pupils keep spelling journals and use them regularly for homework.

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55. Overall, the quality of the teaching in the literacy lessons is good, but it varies from satisfactory to very good. In the most successful lessons, the teaching is based upon good planning that links prior learning to the lesson’s objectives. In one lesson, for example, the very good teaching used examples of metaphors and extended metaphors provided by the pupils and made links to work on cliché that the pupils had done earlier. Some of the teaching uses lively and unusual approaches to stimulate the pupils’ imaginations. These include ‘mind aerobics’ to inspire the pupils to write poems that contain striking metaphors. Another feature of the very good teaching is the way the teachers constantly prompt the pupils to recognise aspects of grammar and spelling as they arise. The consistently good planning for literacy lessons is one of the strengths of the teaching. It ensures good levels of continuity and progression in what the pupils

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learn as they move through the year groups. Other strong features of the best teaching include the way the teachers moves briskly through the learning activities, clearly identifying the steps that pupils need to take, and drawing the learning out with the pupils in the plenary sessions. Teaching of this quality inspires the pupils and sets high expectations. As a result, the pupils often achieve well. For example a Year 5, higher attaining pupil, writing a poem to describe a cow jumping over the moon, imaginatively wrote “she gave a twitch of her lazy rump”. The teaching ensures that most of the pupils develop good attitudes to learning and that their level of achievement is satisfactory or better. The pupils with special educational needs and those who are learning to be bilingual achieve well because their needs are identified quickly and the work they do is well planned and appropriate to their needs.

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56. However, not all of the teaching succeeds in making the literacy activities as interesting as they could be. Some teachers do not consistently provide activities that are stimulating and imaginative, and that encourage the pupils to use language inventively. There are other areas, too, in which the teaching is not consistent. For example, although the teachers regularly mark the pupils’ work, not all of them refer to pupils’ targets for learning often enough to ensure that the pupils are fully aware of what they are and how they can be achieved. The teachers track the pupils’ progress in reading but rarely share the outcomes with the pupils themselves, consequently the pupils, particularly lower age and lower attaining ones, have little knowledge or understanding of their own learning and what they need to do next to improve. The pupils are not encouraged to keep a record of what they read. However, the teachers

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provide good opportunities for pupils to read and they have effective arrangements for pupils to browse Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 30 the bookshelves and to select the books they want to borrow from the library. The teachers regularly check that pupils are reading texts that are suitably challenging.

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ENGLISH

57. The subject is very well managed. The subject leader is experienced and has developed a rigorous monitoring system that enables the school to assess accurately the pupils’ attainment. The planning ensures that literacy skills are used extensively across the other subjects of the curriculum. It provides good opportunities for the pupils to use writing to present what they learn in other subjects, including religious education, history and science.

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MATHEMATICS

58. In the 2001 National Curriculum tests the pupils attained average standards overall in relation to schools nationally and in relation to similar schools. However, analyses of the results indicate that whilst a higher than average proportion of the pupils attained Level 4, (the expected standard for pupils aged eleven), the proportion of pupils attaining at the higher levels was below average. This indicates a measure of underachievement among some of the higher attaining pupils. The school has reacted quickly to this pattern of attainment and has begun to address the issue. It is currently targeting the performance of all pupils, including the higher attaining ones, and the early indications are that more pupils are likely to attain at the higher levels in the next set of national tests. Improvement in standards over time has been broadly in line with the national trend, but the school’s results have fluctuated more widely from year to year

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MATHEMATICS

because of differences in the year groups.

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MATHEMATICS

59. The evidence of the inspection is that standards are rising and are now above average. More pupils than last year are already working at the higher levels. The Year 6 pupils have a good understanding of place value and successfully operate the four rules of number. They employ a thorough knowledge of their multiplication tables to solve mental or paper calculations, but their recall is not yet sufficiently swift. The pupils are confident in their understanding and use of inverse operations to check their answers. Although the higher attaining pupils confidently add and subtract simple fractions, they are not entirely confident when attempting to find common denominators. Most of the pupils, however, have little difficulty in converting fractions to decimals or percentages and in reversing the processes. The pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes.

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MATHEMATICS

However, they do not always use this information confidently to solve mathematical problems. For example, some pupils experienced difficulties when calculating the angles of a hexagon because they were confused about the relationship between the number of corners and the total number of degrees. Although the pupils measure angles accurately, some of lower attaining ones are not aware that an angle is a measurement of turn. The higher attaining pupils know and understand what a perimeter is. They also apply the correct formula when calculating the areas of rectangles. All of the pupils talk with enthusiasm about how they use computers to produce graphs and pie charts. The pupils with special educational needs achieve well because they are very well supported in class and in sessions before the start of school. As a result, they are making very good progress.

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MATHEMATICS

60. In the seven lessons observed, the quality of teaching and learning ranges from very good to unsatisfactory, but was good overall. In the lessons that were most effective, the teaching was underpinned by good planning. This ensured that the learning activities met the needs of all of the pupils. For example, in a very good Year 4 lesson, the class activity on understanding equivalent fractions challenged and intrigued all pupils. The teachers carefully selected the group activities that followed to match the pupils’ different levels of attainment. By the end of the lesson all of the pupils felt they had done challenging work and had achieved some success in understanding the mathematics involved. In a very good Year 5 lesson, the teacher used information and communication technology very well to teach the use and application of data handling. Pupils learned to search records in order to solve problems by

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MATHEMATICS

representing and interpreting data. The way the teacher systematically introduced and demonstrated the necessary skills in this lesson allowed all pupils to access the program and make very good progress. The Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 31 teaching succeeded in encouraging the pupils to collaborate well in order to complete the tasks. The higher attaining pupils, for example, often assisted their peers. In most lessons, the teachers give clear expositions and explanations and make effective use of class discussions to help the pupils acquire new learning and consolidate what they have already been taught. They establish good relationships and maintain good levels of control. The teachers ensure that literacy skills are well used in lessons. In particular, they make sure that the pupils learn and use appropriate mathematical terms. The teachers ensure that the pupils have good opportunities to use their numeracy skills in other subjects. The pupils

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MATHEMATICS

respond well to the good teaching. They develop positive attitudes to learning and show strong interest in their work. However, when the teachers’ class management is weak, some pupils misbehave and the quality of their learning suffers. This happened in only one lesson, but, significantly, it involved the youngest pupils, who are taught by a number of teachers, using different behavioural management strategies. The lack of consistency in approach leaves some pupils uncertain about what is expected of them. In another lesson with this year group, the pupils were very well controlled, and made very good progress. The school uses a mixture of class teaching and specialist teaching, but with uneven results. At best, the pupils are very well taught. In these lessons the very high quality of the teachers’ questions results in rigorous learning. When classes are combined into one large teaching group, however, the pupils

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MATHEMATICS

have restricted access to the teacher and proportionally fewer opportunities to participate actively in class discussions and in question and answer sessions. Some of the pupils express their concerns about receiving unnecessary explanations, or, conversely, not receiving sufficient clarification before attempting the lesson’s main learning activities. The use of learning-support assistants to teach and support specific pupils and groups of pupils, is having a significant and positive impact on standards. The pupils are taught with commitment and vitality, which make the experiences pleasurable and challenging. The composition of these groups varies throughout the year, so that many pupils have the opportunity to benefit from them. The teachers regularly set homework, which provides good support to work done in lessons. Because the teaching is good the pupils, including the pupils with special educational needs and those learning to be

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MATHEMATICS

61. There have been a number of improvements since the last inspection. These include the successful implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy and improvements to the way the school uses the outcome of assessments to determine teaching groups and set targets for future development. For example, the school carefully analyses the pupils’ responses to the different questions in the national tests and uses the outcomes well to set individual and group targets that are shared with pupils and parents. This led the school to focus upon strengthening the pupils’ understanding of the language of mathematical problems. The pupils’ displayed work demonstrates the success the school has had in raising standards in this area of mathematics. The teachers assess in February the progress the pupils are making towards their targets. They use outcomes of the review to make adjustments to the teaching plans and to the

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MATHEMATICS

targets set for the pupils. However, there is some inconsistency from class to class in the way targets are set – some targets are not as challenging as they should be and the steps the pupils need to make in order to attain them are not always made sufficiently clear. As a result, the pupils do not have a good an understanding of their own learning.

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MATHEMATICS

62. The subject co-ordinator has very good subject knowledge, and knows what the school needs to do next to raise standards. She has produced a useful action plan. She works with colleagues from other schools to set a common, relevant agenda for improvement, in line with national concerns. This includes the provision for the more able pupils. To this end the subject manager has completed an impressive research project, provided staff training and piloted a project within the school to develop more advanced thinking skills. This is exactly what the school needs in order to improve its results.

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SCIENCE

63. By the end of Year 6, the pupils attain the expected standard for their age. A significant proportion of the pupils are likely to attain higher standards this year than they have done in the last two years. The Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 32 standards being attained now by the current Year 6 are slightly higher than those attained by the last year’s pupils.

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SCIENCE

64. By the age of eleven, the pupils understand that materials have very different properties. They know the features that characterise solids, liquids and gasses. They know that some solids can be turned into liquids and that some liquids can be turned into gasses. In relation to water, they describe how it can be frozen into a solid or boiled to produce steam, which they know is a gas. The pupils explore the properties of some solids. For example, they know which ones dissolve in water, which ones remain suspended and which ones remain as solids that sink to the bottom. They know, too, how such materials may be separated using a range of methods including, sieving, filtering and evaporation. The pupils have a secure knowledge of the topic Earth and Space . They know that the sun is at the centre of the solar system, and that the Earth, like the other planets, revolves around the sun whilst spinning on its own axis. The pupils

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SCIENCE

use this knowledge to explain the seasons and the incidence of night and day. The pupils conduct experiments to show how the sun’s apparent movement across the sky creates shadows that lengthen and move. They complete a moon-watching chart when they observe the phases of the moon. This helps the pupils to explain how the Earth blocks the sun’s light so that we see different amounts of the moon each night.

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SCIENCE

65. The pupils enjoy inventing their own mnemonics to help them recall the order of the planets. One pupil, for example, wrote this:

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SCIENCE

M y V et, E lizabeth, M akes J ustin S tand U nderneath N ew P atios

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SCIENCE

This helped her remember that the order is: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The pupils know how to use books to research the planets and how modern science has helped the exploration of space. The pupils develop a good knowledge of the life processes. They confidently explain the circulatory system and produce clearly labelled diagrams to show the route the blood takes through the veins and arteries. They explain the function of the lungs and heart and how the major organs of the body use blood. They have a good understanding of human growth and reproduction. They describe well the changes that occur to their bodies at puberty and they understand how babies are conceived and born. The pupils know the dangers of smoking during pregnancy. They know, too, the importance of maintaining general health through eating a balanced diet and through exercising regularly.

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SCIENCE

66. The teaching is good overall, but ranges from satisfactory to good. One of the main strengths of the teaching is the amount of content taught in lessons. In a lesson on the human circulatory system, for example, the teacher skilfully covered a great deal so that by the end of the lesson the pupils could explain clearly the different functions of veins and arteries, lungs, heart and major organs. The teacher made effective use of good quality resources, including a large three-dimensional model and a good quality diagram. She used her own very good knowledge well to answer the pupils’ questions and to identify and correct their misconceptions. The teachers are usually good at matching the learning tasks to the needs of pupils at all levels of attainment. They make effective use of questions and the pupils’ answers to assess how well they have understood a topic, and they provide worksheets and other tasks that meet the pupils’

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SCIENCE

needs. The teachers form positive relationships with their pupils and ensure that pupils behave well. They expect all pupils to contribute to class discussions and to participate in the practical tasks set for them. In a Year 3 lesson, for example, the teacher ensured that all of the pupils had an opportunity to explore samples of leaf mould. The teacher gave the pupils magnifying glasses and encouraged them to observe closely the layers of whole leaves, leaf fragments, leaf mould and soil. The teacher then provided good opportunities for the pupils to share what they had observed.

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SCIENCE

67. Although there are no significant weaknesses in the teaching, there are a few areas in which it could be improved. For example, some lessons lack pace. This was seen in a Year 5 lesson on materials in which the pupils were learning about reversible and irreversible changes. Pace was lost because the Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 33 teachers’ explanations and demonstrations took too long, leaving insufficient time for the pupils to investigate other examples of irreversible change. Although the teachers are skilful in ensuring each lesson has sufficient knowledge content, they do not consistently provide the pupils with opportunities to investigate for themselves. As a result, not all of the pupils are confident about setting up investigations or forming and testing hypotheses. Some teachers are not as imaginative as they could be in the way they present the subject matter and organise the pupils’ learning tasks. As a result, some pupils do not learn as

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SCIENCE

68. The subject is adequately managed. The subject manager has ensured that the Programme of Study for the subject is well covered and that there are sufficient resources of appropriate quality with which to teach the subject effectively.

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ART AND DESIGN

69. The pupils attain the level expected for their age. The current standards are not as high as they were at the time of the last inspection, but since then the proportion of pupils with special educational needs has risen steadily year on year. Nevertheless, some pupils attain above the expected level.

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ART AND DESIGN

70. The pupils enjoy exploring and investigating different drawing and painting techniques. They use a wide range of materials and tools as they move through the school. The pupils in Year 6 explore the work of Picasso. They study many examples of his paintings in the cubist style before attempting to develop and adapt their own work to reflect what they have learned. Most of the pupils achieved pleasing results, and one of them used line and colour with great skill to produce an excellent portrait that clearly captured the essence of cubism.

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ART AND DESIGN

71. The pupils in Year 3 explore techniques for observational drawing when they visit the local arboretum. The pupils make a number of studies that help them to develop the skills they need to render in detail their close observations. For example, they have recently produced an attractive display of drawings of ‘Prickly Things’. In Year 4, the pupils have an attractive display of still life drawings of ‘Fruit and Vegetables’ that shows they are developing a good sense of scale and proportion. They are currently working on colourful designs for Aztec masks. Each year the pupils in Year 5 visit Southampton Art Gallery where they learn new skills. Last year, for example, they learned about textiles, and produced attractive work inspired by their study of cross-sections of rocks and semi-precious stones. The pupils make good use of the opportunities the school provides through visits. For example, the pupils who visited Southampton Art

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ART AND DESIGN

Gallery in the week of the inspection were very enthusiastic about their achievements. They developed their skills in three-dimensional work when they used ‘bug frames’ made of wire, which they personalised using a selection of coloured wires to add legs, antennae and wings. The pupils also enjoyed the opportunities the visit gave them to learn about, and appreciate, the variety of art on display. They commented on the examples of modern art, and on the striking combination of colours used on a model for a movie set. Many of the pupils spoke enthusiastically of other exhibits, especially of the ‘Afterglow of Egypt’ picture, which depicted someone carrying straw on their head. The pupils expressed amazement at the clarity and detail of the picture and said that they could “even see the toenails”. The Year 6 pupils have attractive displays of landscapes they have done as a result of learning new painting techniques

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following a visit to Minstead in the New Forest.

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ART AND DESIGN

72. The teaching is good overall, but ranges from satisfactory to very good. Where teaching is very good the pupils are guided to use their experiences in history and literacy to very good effect. This happened, for example, in a Year 4 lesson in which the pupils learned to design and decorate Aztec ceremonial masks. The teacher encouraged the pupils to explore the idea of linking the name of a god to the textures and colours that would most effectively convey the kind of god involved. The teachers generally have good subject knowledge. This helps them to teach skills effectively and to set high but realistic Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 34 expectations of the pupils. It also inspires the pupils to work hard and to persevere with tasks without becoming discouraged. The teachers use discussion effectively in lessons to guide and support the pupils’ learning. This helps the pupils to create works of art in which they successfully communicate their ideas.

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ART AND DESIGN

As a result, the pupils develop good attitudes to learning and show pride in what they produce. One of the strengths of the teaching is the care the teachers take in assessing the pupils’ work. Although there are no significant weaknesses in the teaching, there are occasions when teachers miss opportunities to make useful links between art and the information and communication technology that is available to them, such as graphics programmes, to help the pupils explore pattern and texture.

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ART AND DESIGN

73. Currently this subject does not have a subject manager, but a member of the senior management team is overseeing it. The school has devised a broad and balanced set of learning opportunities that fully meets statutory requirements. The planned cycle of work ensures that skills are taught systematically. The resources for art are very good and stored so that the staff and pupils can access them easily.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

74. The pupils attain at least the expected standard for their ages, and a significant proportion of the pupils exceed them. This is because the learning activities are well planned and well taught. Standards are similar to those found at the time of the last inspection.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

75. By the end of Year 6, the pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of the processes involved in designing, making and evaluating artefacts. When they draw up designs, for example, they show that they understand the importance of selecting materials according to their fitness for the job. They produce accurate drawings, which they annotate carefully with labels, and they indicate the order in which the design will be realised. The pupils make effective use of a range of methods for joining materials. They know, for example, how to use triangular strengtheners when constructing rigid frames, and how to use wire supports to house axles. They employ their knowledge and skills well when building wheeled vehicles. They successfully power their vehicles using different forms of stored energy. For example, some pupils use compressed air stored in balloons attached to the rear of their vehicles, whilst others use

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

the energy obtained from twisted elastic bands. The pupils put their knowledge of cogs and drives to good effect when they build models of fairground rides.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

76. Standards are consistent across the year groups. The pupils in Year 3, for example, successfully design and make pop-up greetings cards. They also design and make simple toys that use levers and linkages. They learn the value of following design templates to guide their work and use teacher-designed evaluation sheets to help them understand how well their models work and how they could be made to work better. In Year 4, a pupil engaged on designing and building a circuit for a set of model traffic lights wrote:

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

‘The hardest part … was the attaching technique. This was because you had to unscrew the screws then wrap the wire round, but the wire was sticking up and kept stabbing you in the finger. ‘

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

The pupil went on to describe how she overcame the problem, and produced a circuit that worked. In Year 4, the pupils design and make attractive packaging for different purposes. The pupils successfully use their knowledge of nets for three-dimensional shapes to construct boxes designed to hold objects as various as chocolates, mobile telephones, badges and cornflakes. By the time they leave Year 6, the pupils have acquired a good understanding of the nature of the subject. They know that the must identify a need and meet it through careful planning and through the use of materials selected for their fitness for the purpose. There are no significant weaknesses in the pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the subject, but the older pupils lack opportunities to use computer-control technology in their designs. The school has recognised this and has already acquired resources that it is currently evaluating.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 35 77. The inspectors did not see enough lessons on which to base firm judgements about the quality of the teaching. Nevertheless, the quality of the teachers’ planning, the work in the pupils’ books and the samples of artefacts completed by the pupils all indicate that the teaching is likely to be at least good. The teachers make effective use of simple frameworks to help their pupils to develop the skills they need to manage the design process and to evaluate the outcome of their work. As a result the pupils develop a clear understanding of what they need to do to ensure that their designs are well thought through. The teaching also helps the pupils to acquire the skills they need to say what worked and what didn’t, and why. This helps the pupils to take responsibility for their work and to suggest for themselves how they could do better. The teachers mark work carefully and offer encouragement to the pupils. The pupils, therefore,

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

show pride in the way they present their written work and in the way they work accurately and with perseverance when constructing their models. In a Year 3 lesson on designing with textiles, the teaching successfully helped the pupils to strengthen their understanding of design briefs. The pupils were taught how to set things out logically and in order. They were helped to understand the importance of accurate labelling. By the end of the lesson, therefore, the pupils were able to state confidently how they were going to use textiles to make a Christmas tree decoration. Because the teacher had been careful to talk about fitness for purpose, not only in relation to the materials but also in relation to the kinds of stitches needed, the pupils were able to say what problems they were likely to encounter and how they intended to overcome them. One pupil, for example, explained that she thought it would be best to use a running stitch

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

to prevent any of the stuffing from squeezing through the seam of the felt she was using to make a decorative candle. In this lesson, too, the pupils were well behaved because the teacher had high expectations of the pupils and organised them well for the different activities.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

78. The subject is well managed. The subject manager has helped her colleagues to provide a varied and challenging curriculum. The resources are well organised and of good quality. The school has developed an efficient way to record the pupils’ levels of attainment.

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GEOGRAPHY

79. Because of the way the curriculum is organised, no geography lessons took place during the inspection. The judgements are, therefore, based on an analysis of the pupils’ written work, an examination of subject documentation and discussions with the pupils and the teachers. The standards of the pupils in Year 6 meet national expectations. Standards since the last inspection have been relatively well maintained, given the national emphasis on literacy and numeracy, and the consequent reduction in emphasis on some of the foundation subjects.

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GEOGRAPHY

80. The pupils have an appropriate understanding of maps. They use different scales and know how to use references to locate places and natural features. The pupils acquire, and use effectively, a wide vocabulary of geographical terms and concepts. They develop a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the geographical features of a range of places. They study the locality of the school, and complete a study of the town of Lee-on-the Solent. They successfully contrast the principal features of their hometown to those of nearby communities such those of Wickham and Minstead. From their study of other countries, including Zambia, the pupils acquire an appropriate knowledge of the development of rivers and the features of rainforests.

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GEOGRAPHY

81. The pupils know how to gather and present information. For example, they devise and use questionnaires to find out about people’s opinions. They conduct traffic surveys and present their results in the form of graphs. The pupils make effective use of information and communication technology to present geographical information. For example, the pupils produced graphs and spider charts to present statistical information they had gathered relating to the rainforests. They use primary sources of evidence and make many field trips in conjunction with their work. As well as participating in local visits, the pupils visit Wickham, Minstead, and the rivers Itchen and Meon, to inform their studies. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 36 82. There is insufficient evidence on which to base overall judgements about the quality of the teaching. Nevertheless, it is possible to make judgements about some aspects of it from what was seen in pupils’

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GEOGRAPHY

books and from discussions with the pupils. For example, the teachers make useful links with literacy when they introduce the pupils to the systematic acquisition and use of geographical terms. They are also careful to ensure that the pupils learn to spell new words. These are often added to spelling lists to be learned at home. One of the strengths of the teaching is the use the teachers make of field trips. These are well used to help the pupils to develop new skills such as map reading and the collection of statistical data. Through the latter, the teachers establish good links with aspects of data handling also taught in mathematics. It is clear that, since the last inspection, some aspects of the teaching have been improved. The teachers’ planning, for example, is better than it was. This has led to a more systematic approach to, and a stronger focus on, the pupils’ knowledge and use of mapping skills.

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GEOGRAPHY

83. The subject co-ordinator has a good knowledge and understanding of the subject. He is aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the school’s provision, and has drawn up a useful action plan to address them. The school has already improved its scheme of work by adapting one published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

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HISTORY

84. The evidence for the inspection judgements is based upon two lesson observations, an examination of the pupils’ work, the classroom displays, and on discussions with staff and pupils. The pupils attain standards expected for their ages. Standards do not appear to be as high as they were at the time of the last inspection, but since then the profile of the school’s intake has changed to include significantly more pupils who have special educational needs.

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HISTORY

85. By the time they leave Year 6, the pupils have a satisfactory understanding of a range of significant people, events and places from both the recent and more distant past. They make effective use of their work on the Romans, Aztecs, Tudors and the Ancient Greeks to develop their knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past. For example, they learn about the Aztec markets and about the gods the Aztecs worshipped. They consider the impact of the invasions by the Vikings and the Normans and know something of the life of ordinary people of those periods. The pupils develop a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of more recent history when they study aspects of Britain since the 1930’s and link what they learn to events in local history. This aspect of the pupils’ development of historical knowledge and perspective is strengthened when the pupils participate in educational visits to

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HISTORY

places of historical interest. The school, for example, arranges for the pupils to visit Southsea Castle, and to take part in a Tudor musical event at school that is presented by some members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The pupils also visit the Explosion Museum. The school arranges for a number of speakers to visit the pupils to share their wartime experiences. Among them is a guest who was personally involved in the D Day Landings of World War II. An analysis of the pupils’ work shows that they take care over the way they present what they learn when they write competently about it and add illustrations.

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HISTORY

86. Although little teaching was seen, the evidence suggests that it is likely to be at least good. Some of the teaching is very good. In the Year 4 lessons, for example, the teachers very skilfully used contemporary sources to introduce the pupils to new methods of enquiry and investigation. The teachers also made very good use of questions and communication technology to help their pupils to arrive at their own conclusions about the Aztecs, based upon the available evidence. The inspectors’ discussions with some of the pupils indicate that they have positive attitudes to learning. The pupils particularly enjoy the opportunities they have to visit places of historical significance and to talk to visitors about the recent past. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 37 They cited one visitor’s exciting account of being evacuated during the war. The teaching, therefore, often succeeds in bringing historical events and characters alive, providing the pupils with good opportunities to

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HISTORY

develop a sense of chronology and an appropriate understanding of how and why changes took place in the past. The teaching provides some good opportunities for the pupils to make links with other subjects. In a drama lesson, for Year 4 pupils, for example, the pupils practised their literacy skills and used their knowledge of history when they recreated a market scene based on what they knew of the life and times of the Ancient Aztecs. There are links with other subjects. For example, the subject manager is currently planning a cross-curricular mini-Olympic event with the subject manager for physical education. The links with other subjects are an important feature of the teaching, and are one of its strengths.

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HISTORY

87. The subject is well managed. The subject leader uses samples of the pupils’ work to help her monitor standards. She is currently developing a more rigorous method of assessing the pupils’ attainment. She ensures that the planning is consistent throughout the school and that the scheme of work addresses the requirements of the national curriculum. The school has sufficient resources with which to teach the subject. These are reviewed regularly and updated when necessary.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

88. Standards in information and communication technology are in line with national expectations. Standards have improved since the last inspection. By the time the pupils are ready to leave Year 6, most of them have good word processing skills and confidently complete work that requires them to combine graphics with text. They use a good range of tools when they edit their work, which they present in a variety of interesting forms. For example, the Year 6 pupils use their skills well to write detailed autobiographies. These are very well presented and contain all the major features of published works, including illustrations, tables of content and indices. The pupils know how to use the Internet to locate information. They use search engines to find information associated with ongoing work, such as information related to their study of the human body. They are able to refine their searches so that they

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

can find specific information more readily. They use a range of other programs that require them to collect data and draw conclusions from what they find. For example, they interrogate simple databases to find answers to questions. They know how to express data in a range of forms, including tables, and graphs such as pie charts and scatter-graphs with which they illustrate their research. The pupils have a satisfactory understanding of the use of information and communication technology in the wider world, such as its uses in business and commerce. The higher attaining pupils talk enthusiastically about the role information technology plays in their lives. The pupils are less confident, however, about the uses of control technology and have not yet acquired sufficient knowledge and understanding of this aspect of the subject because the time devoted to it is insufficient. The bilingual pupils and the pupils with special

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

educational needs achieve well because they are given good support and have full access to the curriculum.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

89. A key issue of the last inspection was need to fully implement the National Curriculum in information technology. The school has responded very positively and has fully addressed all of the matters raised in the report. The teachers’ planning is much improved. It now ensures that the full Programme of Study is taught. It also ensures that the pupils have better access to computers, and that the new computer suite is well used. The teachers are more confident about how best to support the pupils because they have all received additional training in informational technology and in its application in other subjects of the curriculum, but particularly in literacy, numeracy and science. The pupils are also provided with greater opportunities to use the Internet in support of these and other subjects. The teachers have devised a more effective way of assessing the pupils’ attainment, which allows them to track the pupils’ progress with

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

90. In the five lessons seen, the quality of teaching and learning was good overall. The teachers plan carefully for the pupils to acquire skills and understanding systematically and in a way that helps the pupils Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 38 to apply what they learn in other subjects. The teachers’ expositions and demonstrations are clear, so that pupils’ learning is thorough. The teachers provide useful reference sheets for pupils to guide them as they work on new or more challenging programs. They organise pupils well for learning – ensuring that pupils of all levels of attainment get good access to the computers and an equal share of the available support. The higher attaining pupils are encouraged to help those who find the technology challenging. This helps to build a good working atmosphere and some very good, collaborative learning. The teachers assess progress accurately and intervene in pupils’ activities to give whole class explanations when these are

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

necessary. They also support individual pupils well who encounter difficulties in understanding what they need to do next. In a Year 6 lesson, the pupils used the guides provided by the teacher to help them use the navigational clues on a website they were visiting. It helped the pupils to consider the available options and make more informed decisions. As a result, the pupils were very successful in their research into the importance of exercise for maintaining health. A teacher of one of the Year 5 classes is particularly successful in using questions to lead the pupils to discover the most efficient methods to interpret data. Because the teachers have better subject knowledge and are much more confident than they were, they are able to make their lessons more interesting and more challenging. The pupils, therefore, enjoy learning and respond well to their teachers. As a result, they work enthusiastically and most of them remain on

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

task for long periods. Occasionally, the younger pupils get over excited. When this happens, the standard of behaviour deteriorates. Although the teachers handle these occasions well, the quality of learning sometimes suffers. For example, in a Year 4 lesson, when the pupils were using a program to learn how to manipulate text and boxes, the behaviour of a small minority prevented the others from making sufficient progress. A similar problem arose in a lesson for Year 3 pupils. In these situations, the teachers are well supported by learning support assistants, but some teaching time is still lost.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

91. The subject is co-ordinated well by a committed and knowledgeable manager. She has improved the way the subject is taught by providing a more coherent scheme of work and a better planning structure. She has organised the computer suite well and provided good guidance to teachers on how to use it. Her action plan for further developments includes the creation of a website for the school, which she plans to link with a well-known educational site so that pupils will have ready access to it both at school and at home.

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MUSIC

92. Only one lesson was seen in music, and this concentrated on composing and performing skills for which the pupils used a range of tuned instruments. Standards were judged to be above average at the time of last inspection. In the work seen in the composing and performing element of the curriculum, the standards attained are very clearly above average because the quality of teaching and rate of learning in the lesson were very good. The lesson was conducted in the school hall, an ideal place for pupils to spread out and work without immediate distraction. The pupils acquired a good understanding of different rhythms from following the good demonstrations of the class teacher. By the end of the lesson they were able to create and use their own rhythmical patterns with a good degree of confidence. The teacher also used voice exercises well in the warm-up session, and provided a good model for the pupils to copy.

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MUSIC

Because the lesson was well planned and introduced a very good range of resources, including those used in specialist music lessons, such as brass instruments and a guitar, the pupils learned much in a short time. For example, the pupils produced tunes that featured complex rhythms. They performed these confidently. When playing their compositions back to other pupils, they demonstrated good control and accuracy. The pupils made sensible comments on each other’s work, and showed sensitivity and awareness in the way they expressed their appreciation and made suggestions for improvements. The teachers’ planning for other aspects of the subject indicates that most of the pupils are working at levels above those expected nationally

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MUSIC

93. The teaching in the lesson seen was very good. It set the pupils challenging tasks. For example, they were required to build on previous experiences and produce tunes using a minimum of two bars in 4/4 time Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 39 on a one-line stave, and a maximum of four bars on a five-line stave. The activities provided different levels of challenge that allowed the pupils to access the activities at points relevant to their own stage in learning, helping them to maintain their interest and encouraging them to persevere. The teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject, and the quality of her demonstrations, ensured that the pupils responded well. The pupils’ enjoyment was evident in the enthusiasm with which they shared ideas, tried them out and agreed on the different elements of their compositions and performances. They practised assiduously and made adjustments as they progressed. The pupils who have access to specialist teaching in order to learn

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MUSIC

woodwind, string and brass instruments respond to these opportunities well. They practise hard and make good progress. The members of the peripatetic music service provide most of the tuition for these pupils. The quality of their teaching is very good. The school choir, which practised carols during the inspection week in preparation for an outdoor concert, demonstrated a good level of singing. The teaching, however, misses opportunities to use information and communication technology to support the pupils’ learning.

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MUSIC

94. The subject co-ordinator is very knowledgeable and has a very good understanding of the subject. She has produced a good scheme of work that covers the required elements of the curriculum well. She organises whole-day workshops and visits to symphony orchestras. These help to enrich the learning opportunities provided at the school.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

95. Nearly all of the pupils attain standards above those expected for their age because the school provides a range of well-planned learning opportunities and ensures that the teaching is consistently good. Standards are, therefore, similar to those at the time of the last inspection.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

96. The inspectors were not able to observe pupils in Year 6, but saw lessons in all of the other year groups. The standards attained in these lessons indicate that the pupils achieve well. In a Year 5 lesson, for example, the pupils demonstrated above average skill in developing a sequence of movements on the theme of twisting and turning. In order to link three or four movements into sequences that had good opening and closing positions, the pupils drew successfully on knowledge and skills they had acquired in earlier lessons. The pupils paid close attention to the quality of their movements, showing good extension and balance as they worked at different speeds and levels to interpret the theme of twisting and turning. The pupils worked hard to improve their performances. They took advantage of opportunities during the lesson to observe one another in order to evaluate what they had achieved and make helpful suggestions

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

for how they might further improve their performances. By the end of the lesson, the pupils successfully completed a range of challenging sequences in which they demonstrated confidence, good levels of control and a well-developed awareness of space. In a Year 4 lesson on dance, the pupils made good use of what they had learned in history lessons about the ancient Aztecs in order to create pleasing dance sequences. They confidently combined a wide range of imaginative movements to convey the idea of Aztecs on a hunting expedition. They carefully adapted their movements to the rhythms, pace and mood of the accompanying music. With the help of the teacher, they quickly learned how to improve their performances by carefully observing one another and evaluating what they saw. One outcome of this was that the pupils were able to make useful suggestions on how they could make their dance sequences more

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

dramatic. The pupils in a Year 3 lesson very quickly learned a challenging set of aerobic dance steps that included the following: the jack step, the V-step, the grapevine and the knee-lift. The pupils executed these steps very well and kept in time to the music. By the end of the session, the pupils could synchronise their movements in time to the complex rhythms of the music. They could also give a clear explanation of the effects the vigorous exercises were having on their bodies, and say why it is important to do warm-up and cool-down exercises to help prevent injuries to muscles and tendons. Although no games or athletics lessons were seen during the inspection, the teachers’ planning indicates that the work is suitably challenging and that the pupils are likely to attain above average standards. In swimming, nearly all of the pupils attain the expected standard and are able to swim twenty-five metres using a recognised stroke.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 40 97. The teaching is consistently good. The school benefits from a having a high number of well-qualified and enthusiastic teachers of physical education. They successfully communicate to the pupils their knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. This encourages the pupils to work hard and to achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. Because the teachers know their subject well, they are able to identify what pupils need to do next to improve. They are also able to teach the pupils how to observe one another and evaluate each other’s performance. One outcome of this is that the pupils become confident learners. They become skilful at identifying how they can improve. They willingly listen to, and accept, the comments of other pupils as they work to perfect their own performances. The teachers maintain good levels of control during lessons and organise the pupils well. They keep the pace of activities brisk and

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

make the tasks challenging. As a result, the pupils waste no time, concentrate well and show high levels of perseverance. Because the teachers establish good relationships with the pupils, they are able to encourage them to give of their best. This was a feature of the teaching seen in every lesson. It helped pupils of all levels to complete performances of which they could be proud. One of the hallmarks of the good teaching is the thoroughness with which the teachers incorporate health and safety issues into lessons. The pupils are helped not only to be aware of the effect of their activities on others but also on themselves. For example, in all of the lessons the teaching ensured that the pupils understood the effect of exercise on their bodies. They were encouraged to monitor their heartbeats before and after exercise and to explain the importance of doing warm-up and cool-down exercises to prevent personal injury. Because

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

the teachers have good subject knowledge, they make effective use of the assessment sheets on which they record each pupil’s level of attainment. There are no significant weaknesses in the teaching.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

98. The subject is well managed. The subject managers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subject. They are able to provide good levels of support to their colleagues. The school’s resources are very good and are well used to provide a wide range of learning opportunities in normal lessons and in sessions outside normal lesson time. For example, the school makes very good use of residential courses to provide opportunities for the pupils to participate in outdoor adventure activities.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

99. By the age of eleven, the pupils reach standards that meet those specified in the Locally Agreed Syllabus for religious education. At the time of the previous inspection, standards were higher. However, since then, there have been changes to the statutory requirements for religious education and an adjustment of focus for the school towards literacy and numeracy, and a steady increase in the number of pupils admitted to the school with special educational needs. The combined effect of these factors has been a slight drop in the standards attained overall.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

100. By the end of Year 6, the pupils acquire a satisfactory understanding of the main aspects of Christianity and Islam. They know that the major religions have sacred books that the faithful consider to be the word of God. The pupils are able to explore and discuss some of the significant features of these special books. They know, for example, that both Jews and Christians use that part of the Bible known as the Old Testament. They know that the New Testament contains the story of the life and works of Jesus. They are familiar with some of the key events in the life of Jesus. In Year 5, the pupils explore and discuss several different creation stories. They are beginning to explore the Christian idea of the relationship between God and Jesus. They also extend their understanding of prayer when they make up their own prayers of thanks. In Year 4, the pupils discuss the role of the Magi in the story of the birth of

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Jesus and then compare their knowledge and understanding with the Biblical account. In Year 3, the pupils learn about belonging to a family. They talk about the rules of belonging and the importance of helping people in need. The pupils acquire a satisfactory knowledge of some key aspects of Buddhism. During the inspection, the pupils shared what they knew about the role of angels in the Christmas story and began to develop an appropriate understanding of the Christian idea of angels and the values they symbolise, such as kindness and goodness. Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School - 41 101. Overall teaching is satisfactory. There was an example of very good teaching in a lesson in which the pupils were asked to compare and contrast the two gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. The teacher skilfully encouraged the pupils to express their findings and develop their understanding by asking questions, such as: “What time of year do you think Jesus was born?” The pupils provided a variety of

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

responses that were followed up by the teacher who pointed out further clues, like; “The sheep were in the fields.” As a result of the very good teaching, the pupils were encouraged to offer opinions of their own and to identify the aspects of the gospel accounts that surprised them. For example, the pupils were surprised that there was no mention of Mary riding on a donkey. In this lesson, and in others where the teaching was effective, the pupils were interested in what they were learning. They listened carefully to their teachers, participated enthusiastically in activities and behaved well. Occasionally, however, the teaching is unsatisfactory because it does not sufficiently challenge the pupils or make it clear to them what the expected outcomes of the lesson are. For example, in a lesson in which the intention was to get the pupils to contrast religious and secular activities associated with Christmas, the teaching did not

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

succeed in drawing all of the pupils into the discussion about what had been learned in the previous lesson. The main activity, in which the pupils were required to sort Christmas cards into secular and religious types, was not sufficiently challenging and did not lead the pupils to a significantly deeper understanding of the religious dimension to Christmas, and how this contrasts sharply with the more popular commercial images of Christmas. Because the teaching did not engage all of the pupils, and make clear the purpose behind the activities, there were some pupils who did not carry out the required task well enough. Some teachers lack confidence in delivering the subject because they do not have sufficient subject knowledge. As a result, the teaching sometimes lacks a lively approach that would motivate the pupils to engage more enthusiastically in the learning activities that are provided for them.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

102. The subject is well managed. The school has an experienced subject manager who has very good subject knowledge. The manager has prepared useful guidelines, as well as medium term plans, for her colleagues. These match the statutory requirements. The planning ensures that there are useful links with other subjects, including literacy. For example, the lessons provide the pupils with many opportunities to practise speaking, listening and writing skills. The subject manager supports her colleagues through collaborative teaching and by providing advice and guidance on assessing the pupils’ work. The school provides good resources for the subject, and makes them easily accessible.

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