Chalkwell Hall Junior School

Inspection Report Chalkwell Hall Junior School

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114718 Unique Reference Number SOUTHEND-ON-SEA LEA LEA 279439 Inspection number 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Keith Sadler LI Reporting inspector

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

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London Road School address Junior Type of school SS9 3NL Community School category 7 to 11 Age range of pupils 01702 478570 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01702714394 Fax number 418 Number on roll Mr.David Hallday Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr. Richard Spence Headteacher 29 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279439 23 January 2006 - 7 to 11 24 January 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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.

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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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Chalkwell Hall Junior is a large urban junior school. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is about half the national average. Forty eight pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities which is about two thirds of the national average. The overwhelming majority of pupils are of White British heritage.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Chalkwell Hall Junior School, 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006

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Grade: 3

Pupils achieve satisfactorily. Their standards in English, mathematics and science are broadly average, other than in boys' writing where standards are significantly below average. Inspectors agree with the school that its effectiveness is satisfactory. However, there are signs that the pupils' progress and their achievement is quickening, and the school is on course to achieve its challenging targets in English, mathematics and science for the current Year 6. The pupils' personal development is good. Parents are supportive of the school and in particular they say that their children enjoy school and are safe and very well cared for. As one parent said, 'My daughter looks forward to going to school every day.' The pupils' behaviour is outstanding. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. At present, although some teaching is excellent, there are inconsistencies. Not all staff, for example, implement agreed policies for teaching. In

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Grade: 3

addition, teachers do not always ensure that assessments of pupils' attainment and progress are used to match pupils' work to their learning needs effectively. The good curriculum is outstandingly well enriched by the broad range of activities in the sports, arts and music. Over 200 pupils take part in the street dancing club. Overall leadership and management are satisfactory. Working in close partnership, the head and deputy headteacher have introduced a good programme of improvements to raise standards. These projects are beginning to have positive effects on pupils' achievement. However, the school development plan is not a useful tool for improving pupils' performances because the actions identified are too broad and both the intended outcomes and the impact of these on standards are not clear enough. The school has the capacity for further improvement and is satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Accelerate pupils' progress in English, particularly boys' writing, mathematics and science. - Improving the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring the consistent application of agreed policies. - Improving the school development plan to provide more rigour in identifying and evaluating the impact of actions on pupils' achievement.

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Grade: 3

Pupils enter the school with standards that are similar to those expected nationally. In national tests for 11 year olds, pupils have attained standards in English, mathematics and science that are broadly in line with the national averages for the last four years. In 2005, pupils met most of their demanding targets. However, there was a dip in science in the 2005 tests, where standards were below average. Pupils achieve satisfactorily overall, including those with learning difficulties. Pupils' progress in Years 3 and 4 has improved due to the good systems that have been put into place to boost performance. These improvements, which include recording pupils' progress better and setting clear targets for improvement for pupils in English, mathematics and science, have helped to strengthen achievement. In consequence, pupils in Year 6 are 2 Inspection Report: Chalkwell Hall Junior School, 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006

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Grade: 3

on course to reach the challenging targets set and to attain standards that are slightly above those expected nationally and significantly above those attained in tests in the past two years. However, the school is keenly aware that some under-achievement remains in boys' writing. Apart from this, there is no significant difference in the performance of groups of pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development is good. The pupils' behaviour is outstanding both in class, where they listen well to teachers and each other, and in the playground where they play safely and well together. They enjoy learning and also take part enthusiastically in the large number of extra-curricular activities that the school provides. The school is recognised as a 'healthy school.' Pupils understand the importance of a good diet and have many opportunities for physical exercise both in lessons and during after-school activities. They learn about drug misuse and sex and relationships through the comprehensive programme of personal, social and health education. The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school council gives pupils good opportunities to understand the workings of a democratic society and pupils feel that they have an important part to play in the development of the school. They raise funds for a wide range of charities, including

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Grade: 2

a local children's hospice, through initiatives often started by them. Their cultural development is enriched by the excellent range of sporting, musical and art activities that are provided. Pupils feel safe in the school and know where to turn if they have a problem, whether to teachers or 'peer mediators'. Attendance is good.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory, and pupils make the expected progress. The purposes and objectives of lessons are made clear and teachers manage the pupils very well. As a result, relationships are very good. There is a purposeful working atmosphere and the pupils' behaviour is excellent. Although teachers' planning is generally good, they do not always use information gleaned from previous lessons to ensure work is tailored to individual pupils' needs in the next lesson. When this does occur, for example in a Year 6 mathematics lesson, pupils achieve very well. In this lesson, pupils felt very proud to have successfully tackled complex multiplication of decimal numbers. Teachers are adept at using a good range of methods and resources, such as the interactive white boards, to motivate pupils and vary the way they learn. The school has introduced a number of ways to support pupils' learning and in the

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Grade: 3

best lessons these are used well. Here, teachers ensure that both their teaching and the activities set match the varying and preferred learning styles of the pupils. This heightens the pupils' interest and provides rich opportunities for pupils to collaborate, talk about their work and reflect on their achievement. However, such successful 3 Inspection Report: Chalkwell Hall Junior School, 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006 methods are not used by all teachers, and senior managers have not yet found ways of improving the consistency of teaching.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is of good quality and there are a number of strengths. Improvements in the timetable mean that the best use is made of the time available. Pupils are particularly enthusiastic about 'skills days' when they can concentrate on mastering a new talent in depth. Pupils with learning difficulties do not miss out on any part of the curriculum because support is well directed to ensure that they participate fully in lessons and other activities. The school is now beginning to put more emphasis on developing activities matched to the learning needs of the most able pupils so that they can make greater progress. Opportunities for extra activities beyond the school day are outstanding and introduce pupils to an impressive range of sports, music and arts. There are plenty of chances for pupils to take on responsibility in the school and local community. Pupils are prepared very well for moving on to secondary school and

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support provided by the school are good. As one parent commented, 'The staff team are supportive and caring towards the pupils.' All staff show a strong commitment to pupils' welfare and adults in the school know the pupils well. Pupils have good and sometimes outstanding relationships with their teachers which contribute significantly to the caring ethos and to pupils' enjoyment of school. There are good arrangements for child protection and physical risk assessments are carried out thoroughly. The school is developing a system of setting targets for English, mathematics and science, which enables teachers to identify pupils who are underachieving. Pupils say that they find comments made by teachers helpful when their work is marked. Pupils have positive attitudes to healthy eating because the school is actively helping children to make careful and sensible choices when selecting

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has brought about significant improvements, for example, to the curriculum and to pupils' personal development since the last inspection. He is acutely aware of the need to quicken the pupils' progress and to raise standards. Working in close partnership with the deputy headteacher, a good range of improvement projects has been put into place to achieve this. Inspectors agree with the school's overall evaluative judgements. The school has the capacity to improve further. However, the school development plan is not a good tool for ensuring that targets can be either closely monitored or their impacts evaluated. 4 Inspection Report: Chalkwell Hall Junior School, 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006 This limits the quality of the school's evaluation, which is satisfactory overall. Most actions in the plan are too broad and there are no clear statements of intended

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Grade: 3

outcomes either in terms of strengthening the school's provision or the impact of the required changes on the pupils' learning and achievement. Senior staff do not ensure consistency in the application of the school's agreed policies, such as those intended to make teaching constantly good. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are well organised, support the school well and have an appropriate understanding of the schools' variability of achievement. However, they have not been sufficiently involved in the evaluation of the impact of the school's development plan in raising achievement. The school listens to pupils' and parents' views and acts upon them. 5 Inspection Report: Chalkwell Hall Junior School, 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006 .

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

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Chalkwell Hall Junior School, 23 January 2006 to 24 January 2006

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Overall

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

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learners?

NA 3 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 3 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

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Achievement and standards

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

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Achievement and standards

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

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 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

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needs and interests of learners?

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

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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.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 3 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 3 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 3 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You may remember that three inspectors came to your school recently to find out how good it was and how well you were doing. Thank you for being so friendly, for talking to us and telling us so many interesting things. We are writing to let you know what we found out. Both you and your parents told us how much you like school and described many interesting things that happen there, especially how much you enjoy the wide range of clubs you attend. Several of you told us how excited and proud you were learning to play a musical instrument or when playing sports. We think your school offers a very good range of activities outside your lessons. We were impressed by your excellent behaviour and how you care for each other. We know that people in school take good care of you and are teaching you to be confident and responsible members of the community with a clear understanding of right and wrong and how to live

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

healthy lives. You told us that you enjoy many of your lessons, but some were not as interesting as others. We agree with you and we have asked your teachers to make some improvements so that you will make more rapid progress during your time at Chalkwell Hall. Your headteacher and deputy headteacher are working hard to raise the standards in the school. We have asked the school to make sure that their plan for these projects is better. We have also asked them to make sure that your teachers make even better use of their assessments of your work to set tasks that are not too easy or too hard and to ensure that your lessons are all as excellent as the best ones are.

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