Westende Junior School

Inspection Report Westende Junior School

p.1

109899 Unique Reference Number Wokingham District Council LEA 278306 Inspection number 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006 Inspection dates Nicola Davies AI Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Seaford Road School address Junior Type of school Wokingham Community School category RG40 2EJ 7 to 11 Age range of pupils 01189 786682 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01189 795567 Fax number 219 Number on roll Mrs C Winter Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs H M Heydon Headteacher 1 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

p.1

Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278306 8 February 2006 - 7 to 11 9 February 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

p.2

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

Westende is an average size junior school. Most pupils are of white British heritage. Three pupils are at early stages of English language acquisition. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities is average. The number of pupils with statements of special educational need is above average because the school has a specialist resource unit for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Very few pupils qualify for free school meals.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Westende Junior School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006

p.3

Grade: 3

This inclusive school provides a satisfactory quality of education and value for money. The school rates itself as good but inspectors judge it to be satisfactory because standards are not as high as they should be in English, notably in writing.Parents overwhelmingly support the school and acknowledge the good quality of individual care and support that it provides for all its pupils. Parents also praise the work of the specialist unit, which is a strength of the school. The headteacher, staff and governors are rightly proud of how this resource adds to the learning and good personal development of all the pupils in the school. Good teaching and an interesting and varied curriculum mean that pupils enjoy school, work hard and behave well. The pupils make satisfactory progress overall but until recently have not made enough progress in writing. The headteacher and senior managers identified what needed to be done

p.4

Grade: 3

to remedy this. As a result the teaching of writing has already improved so that current pupils are making satisfactory progress. However, teachers' expectations of pupils are not always consistently high across the school and across subjects. A major building project has transformed the fabric of the school and there are now very good facilities for all pupils to make the most of their time there. The headteacher has successfully addressed all the issues raised in the previous inspection. These improvements indicate that the school has a good capacity to improve.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

* Raise standards in writing * Improve the consistency of teachers' expectations by sharing information on progress, and by giving teachers further opportunities to observe good teaching in each other's classes.

p.4

Grade: 3

Pupils enter the school with above average standards and make satisfactory progress. Standards by the end of Year 6 are above average. A dip in the results last year was due to a combination of circumstances including a high percentage of pupils with more difficulties joining the year group towards the end of its time at the school. Scrutiny of the results of national tests show that pupils do particularly well in reading but do not make enough progress in writing. The school has taken steps to bring about improvements. As a result the pupils are now making satisfactory progress in their writing but standards are not yet high enough. There are no significant differences between the achievements of boys and girls. The few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, including those learning English as an additional language, make sound progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and pupils with ASD, make

p.4

Grade: 3

good progress in relation to their starting points due to the very good support that the school provides. 2 Inspection Report: Westende Junior School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006

p.4

Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and learning together. This is reflected in their good attendance and behaviour. They cooperate well in lessons and are very respectful of one another's efforts. They are proud of their school and enjoy taking on responsibilities such as 'playground friends' when they look out for any potentially unhappy children and play games with the younger ones. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Their social development is helped by the excellent opportunities they all have to work alongside others who are different from themselves. Their cultural development is now very good and has improved markedly since the last inspection as a result of the many opportunities they now have to learn about other cultures, including a regular link with a partner school in Kenya.Pupils all know how to keep themselves safe in

p.5

Grade: 2

school. They understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and write approvingly about the opportunities that the school offers to promote this, for example through healthy meals and snacks at lunchtime. Pupils make an outstanding contribution to the community. They are able to express their views and make decisions affecting the school through, for example, the school council. They point proudly to improvements that have been made in the playground as a result of their work. Older pupils competently add information to the school's website. Pupils show an awareness of the wider community by nominating the recipients of the impressive sums of money raised for charity each year. In order to raise this money they plan and organise activities such as bring and buy sales. This, together with their good basic skills, means that they are well placed for secondary education and the world beyond.

p.5

Grade: 2

Teaching is good overall and is improving the progress which pupils make. Teachers plan well to meet the needs of all pupils and make the purpose of lessons clear. Teachers and skilful teaching assistants work very effectively together. As a result, they help pupils with ASD or other difficulties and disabilities to learn very well in mainstream classes and in more focused sessions. Teachers use a wide range of teaching methods to interest pupils and help them clarify their thinking. For example, they use quick questions well to check pupils' understanding and to set challenges which pupils need to work on together to answer. They tell pupils how well they have done and show them how they can improve. They do this as they talk to pupils or mark their work, and also by giving them opportunities to learn from each other. For example, in one lesson, pupils had to listen very carefully to each other's reports to spot how differences

p.5

Grade: 2

in opinion had subtly influenced what they had written. Pupils have individual targets for improvement which they know, understand and work hard to meet. However, until recently, teachers were not always clear about how much progress pupils could make, particularly in writing. Comparing pupils' progress over time as well as observing some 3 Inspection Report: Westende Junior School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006 of the very good teaching in the school has raised their expectations. As a result, they are expecting more from pupils and getting better results.

p.5

Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. As a result, pupils enjoy the broad and interesting range of work they do. The school makes good links between subjects. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used well to help pupils learn. For example, pupils in Year 6 researched and produced a fashion show for parents based on their work on 'Britain since the 1930s' improving their ICT, history, design and technology and literacy skills in the process. The outstanding curriculum for pupils with ASD skilfully blends very clear and supportive routines in the resource centre with participation in mainstream lessons. This allows these pupils to enjoy all aspects of the curriculum and to make a success of their educational experience. This was clear from their participation in the fashion show. Visitors and local visits add interest to the curriculum and contribute well to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example,

p.6

Grade: 2

the poetry week allowed pupils to derive inspiration from the work of a range of visiting poets. The school provides a good range of extra curricular activities that pupils enjoy and which contribute to their progress. Older pupils have opportunities to participate in residential visits which allow them to develop independence and to learn new skills in unfamiliar settings.

p.6

Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support of pupils are good and at the heart of the school's work. Adults in the school know the children well and are sensitive to their personal as well as academic needs. As a result, pupils are happy, feel safe in school and are confident that adults will help them resolve any problems that may occur. Parents share this confidence and there is a very fruitful partnership between home and school. One parent commented, andquot;The children flourish in a caring, secure environment.andquot;The school welcomes children with a range of difficulties and disabilities and works closely with specialist agencies to support their needs. All members of the school community ensure that care, guidance and support of the pupils with ASD are outstanding. The school takes good care to protect children who may be more vulnerable. Good arrangements for the protection of children are in place and

p.6

Grade: 2

understood by all members of staff. There are regular health and safety checks, and potential risks to children, both on the site and elsewhere, are carefully assessed.The school tracks pupils' progress carefully. However, until recently, they were not given clear enough guidance on how to improve their writing. 4 Inspection Report: Westende Junior School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006

p.6

Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has set a clear direction to improve the progress pupils make whilst maintaining the school's inclusive and caring ethos. As a result, senior managers, subject leaders and teachers have begun to focus more rigorously on raising achievement. For example, they have worked together closely to monitor and improve the teaching of writing. However, many of these improvements are too recent to have resulted in consistently good progress for all pupils. The very good management of the specialist unit ensures that it provides the best possible opportunities for its pupils. The school runs smoothly with the support of capable administrative staff and the effective governors.The school has a strong emphasis on team work, which means that all staff contribute to regular evaluations of how well the school is doing. The school also includes the views of pupils and parents

p.7

Grade: 3

by regularly sampling their opinions. This effective self-evaluation has helped the school to put in place much of what it needs to do to improve the progress that pupils make, particularly in writing. This indicates that it is well placed to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Westende Junior School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006 .

p.7

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Westende Junior School, 8 February 2006 to 9 February 2006

p.8

Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.9

learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

p.9

needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

p.9

and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

p.10

The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

p.10

The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

p.10

The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

p.10

The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Mr Lee and I very much enjoyed meeting many of you when we visited your school recently. This letter is to thank you for talking to us about your school and your work and to let you know what you, your teachers and your parents helped us find out. You told us that you enjoy school and we could see this for ourselves. You behave well in lessons and around the school. You have lots of different opportunities to think and learn which you told us you enjoy. Your teachers make good arrangements to make sure all of you are safe and well cared for during your time at the school. We saw how well you work together in many lessons and how you learn a great deal from this. We also saw how being part of a school like Westende helps you grow into mature young people. This is one of the things your parents appreciate most about the school. The staff and the governors are very clear about what the school does well and what they need to work on next. You will have seen some of the changes

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

they have already made. For example, all the work on the building and the playground and the much better way you use ICT. Many of you achieve well at the end of your time at the school. However, some of you need to improve the progress that you make, particularly in writing. We were impressed by how much you enjoy writing and could see that your teachers have been working hard with you on this. We have asked them to keep on doing this. We have also asked them to share their ideas about your progress so that they can help all of you to do the very best work that you can.

p.11