Droxford Junior School

Inspection Report Droxford Junior School

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115881 Unique Reference Number Hampshire LEA LEA 279693 Inspection number 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 Inspection dates Mr Andrew Olive HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Park Lane School address Primary Type of school Droxford Community School category Southampton, Hampshire SO32 3QR 7 to 11 Age range of pupils

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1489877537 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 1489877537 Fax number 171 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Helene Hurst Headteacher 22 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279693 21 September 2005 - 7 to 11 22 September 2005 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 two of Her Majesty's Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is situated in a small village and serves a scattered rural community. It is smaller than average though the number of pupils has increased over the last four years. The pupils join the school from three infant schools in the local area. Almost all pupils are of white British heritage and no pupils speak English as an additional language. The pupils come from a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds including some with considerable economic advantage, and the percentage of pupils entitled to a free school meal is low. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is below the national average, though the number of these pupils and the complexity of their needs has grown in the last two years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Droxford Junior School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features which gives good value for money. The leadership of the school is outstanding. The strengths of the school are accurately identified and it is aware of where more improvement is needed. The school's own view of its effectiveness matched that of the inspectors. The challenges imposed by a significantly rising roll, the provision of a good quality education for all pupils and achieving higher standards have been managed very successfully. The financial outlay on extending and improving the school buildings has been essential, but, as the school is aware, it has impeded the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) provision. The pupils achieve well and standards are better than those in similar schools, especially in mathematics and science. Standards in English are above the national average though the pupils do not make quite as much

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Grade: 2

progress in this subject. Teaching is good overall, with some of it outstanding. It benefits from a very committed staff and a good curriculum that enables all pupils to develop very well at a personal and academic level. The pupils are happy, enjoy their learning and are pleased to be at school. A view strongly endorsed by the parents. The current school improvement plan priorities have been thought through well. They are having a positive impact, though more needs to be done to enable the pupils to take greater responsibility for the improvement of their own learning, for example by assessing their own progress during a lesson and over time. Issues from the previous inspection concerned with attendance, links with parents and care of pupils have been addressed effectively. There is a very good capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Continue to improve the pupils' progress in English* Extend the resources for teaching and learning using ICT.* Develop strategies to give the pupils greater responsibility for their own learning.

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Grade: 2

The standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 national tests in 2004 were well above those expected for their ages, particularly in mathematics and science. Overall this represented reasonable progress while the pupils were in the school. The school carefully analyses performance data and acts effectively on issues raised. A successful series of initiatives has improved provision in mathematics so that more pupils are making better progress and reaching the higher levels of attainment. The same intensive support has also been given to writing with the result that standards have started to improve though, as the school is aware, more remains to be done. Standards in ICT are good, though they could be further improved if provision was extended.The overall trend is one of improving standards. This is due to good and sometimes outstanding teaching and highly effective leadership. The school surpassed its challenging targets

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Grade: 2

in 2005. Progress in lessons observed was good for all groups of pupils including the 2 Inspection Report: Droxford Junior School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 most able. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress towards their targets. The provision for them is carefully thought out and monitored so that the support they receive is consistently good.

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Grade: 2

The pupils are polite, friendly and cheerful and they thoroughly enjoy coming to school. They behave well due to the good teaching, guidance and support the school provides. They are keen to succeed and work well together, supporting each other both in and out of the classroom. The school has worked hard to promote good attendance and it is now satisfactory.The school's work on encouraging pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles is very successful. For example, the pupils can clearly explain why they should eat well and exercise frequently. They appreciate recent improvements to the buildings and the playground and enjoyed helping to design some of the new facilities. The pupils have lots of other opportunities to put forward their views and influence decisions, for example the healthy snacks eaten at playtimes. The well ordered community created by the staff helps to ensure that pupils feel safe. The pupil's social development

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Grade: 2

throughout the school is excellent. The older pupils are well on the way to becoming confident, mature and articulate individuals. Their sense of right and wrong is well developed and enhanced by the school's work on helping pupils understand their rights and responsibilities. There are good opportunities for pupils to develop their appreciation of different cultures though music and literature. The school provides good experiences through assemblies and other activities to promote the pupils' spiritual development.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching overall is good with some examples of outstanding practice. The lessons are planned well, have thoughtfully chosen resources and the pupils know what they are going to do and learn. Teachers motivate their class and cater very well for the range of ability. In the best lessons, the teachers gauge pupils' understanding and then adapt the lesson accordingly. For example, in one lesson the teacher's bubbly, energetic, well organised approach motivated the pupils so they concentrated very well. Her excellent questioning involved all the pupils and enabled her to ensure they made excellent progress.Teaching assistants support the pupils with additional needs well, enabling them to be successful. Teachers make their expectations of behaviour clear and insist that pupils meet these standards leading to well ordered classrooms and a good working atmosphere. Procedures for assessing pupils' work are good. The

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Grade: 2

information gathered is used well to ensure that those pupils not progressing fast enough receive effective additional support. The pupils have individual targets in English and mathematics that are shared with parents. However, the school rightly considers that these targets could be used more effectively to give the pupils 3 Inspection Report: Droxford Junior School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 opportunities to take on greater responsibility for their own improvement and increase their rate of progress even further.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum and other activities provided are good. The broad and balanced curriculum provides a wide range of experiences through which all pupils can succeed. The curriculum is reviewed and modified regularly with a clear rationale for the changes made. Curriculum plans are implemented effectively through good lesson planning. In English, however, the time allocated for independent reading is not used as effectively as it could be to improve standards for all pupils. The school is working successfully on programmes which improve the pupils' ability to tackle problems in different ways which the pupils find useful. The curriculum makes a good contribution to pupils' ability to stay safe and healthy. The specialist teaching of music and French and a good range of extra-curricular activities, as well as visits, contribute to pupils' enjoyment and achievement.

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Grade: 2

The quality of care, guidance and support is good. The school has taken its commitment to developing healthy lifestyles very seriously and this is valued by the pupils. Supervision is good and child protection arrangements are secure. Those pupils with learning difficulties, disabilities or emotional needs are treated sensitively by the staff and the other pupils so that they are involved fully in what the school offers. The pupils find the staff approachable and helpful, enabling them to feel safe and secure, giving them the confidence to work hard and make good progress. The school successfully promotes good behaviour at all times and the excellent social skills of the pupils enable them to work together effectively. The school listens and responds to pupils and parents very well. For example, the parents' views on the changeover from Year 2 to Year 3, combined with close partnerships with the infant schools, have

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Grade: 2

ensured arrangements for the new Year 3 pupils have improved. As a result, the Year 3 pupils, including those pupils with additional needs have settled very quickly. Are there any other features that explain the outcomes in terms of standards that might go in here.

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Grade: 1

Rigorous monitoring and evaluation by the senior staff and curriculum managers has led to the accurate identification of the school's needs. The current priorities are rightly targeted at continuing to improve writing, further developing the pupils' understanding of safe and healthy living and involving the pupils more in the evaluation and improvement of their own work. The subsequent action has improved provision for the pupils significantly. For example, following analysis of the pupils' mathematics 4 Inspection Report: Droxford Junior School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 and English test papers, the teachers focused on developing certain aspects of these subjects, actions that had a considerable impact on raising the pupils' standards. The detailed evaluation of these improvements has led the senior team to implement additional strategies to further boost the pupils' achievement, though not all of these

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Grade: 1

have yet had time to be fully realised. The school monitors the developments it makes carefully, correctly assessing the next steps necessary to ensure continuous improvement to achieve its desired outcomes.The extensive improvements in the learning environment, to cater for the significant rise in the number of pupils have been very well managed. This has understandably, taken much of the school's funding for capital projects and it is timely that the school has earmarked the improvement of ICT resources as its next major financial priority.Overall the school has an excellent capacity to improve. The governors carry out their responsibilities effectively and are fully aware of the school's strengths and areas that need to be improved. They are actively involved in all aspects of school development. The headteacher and the deputy are analytical and determined to work with their good quality staff to create a school

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Grade: 1

which consistently delivers high standards in all areas. Parents and pupils are rightly proud of their school and are very supportive. 5 Inspection Report: Droxford Junior School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005 .

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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: Droxford Junior School, 21 September 2005 to 22 September 2005

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

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 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

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 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 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 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 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 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

Thank you for welcoming us so warmly during our visit to your school. We enjoyed, talking to you, looking at your work and seeing your lessons. You told us that you thoroughly enjoy coming to school and that everyone treats you fairly. You are quite right to be really proud of your school. You have an excellent headteacher who knows how to make the school even better. I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that he has many plans to make this happen. A lot of money has been spent making your school buildings and playground lovely places in which to learn and play. Your headteacher wishes to provide better computer equipment for you and your teachers to use that will make your lessons even more interesting and enjoyable. Your headteacher thinks, and we agree, that you do very well in most subjects because the teaching in your school is good and sometimes excellent. However, although you work hard, you could do even better at English. One of the ways you could do this is to become more

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

responsible for improving your own work and reaching your targets. Your enthusiastic, hard working teachers are planning to help you to do this.You behave well around the school, are very helpful towards each in the classrooms and play together nicely. You know how to keep yourself healthy and safe and why you should exercise. You also know about eating food that is good for you. For example, you have very healthy snacks at playtimesWe hope that you will carry on working hard and would like to wish you success in your future education.

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