Springwood Junior School

116067 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 290410 Inspection number 23 °24 May 2007 Inspection dates Pritiben Patel Reporting inspector

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

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Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 211 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Angela Jones Chair Mr Gerry Lathem Headteacher 29 April 2001 Date of previous school inspection Springwood Avenue School address Waterlooville PO7 8ED

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023 9225 8011 Telephone number 023 9223 1665 Fax number

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7 °11 Age group 23 °24 May 2007 Inspection dates 290410 Inspection number .

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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 Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Hulbert is an average sized junior school. Almost all pupils are of White British origin. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is significantly above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities including those with a statement of special educational need, is twice the national average. The school has been awarded, Investors in People, Healthy Schools, and Sports Activemark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Grade: 3

Hulbert Junior is a satisfactory and improving school with some good features. The majority of parents are happy with the school, and hold the school and teachers in high regard. One parent commented, 'We would like to praise all the teachers that my sons have met during their time at Hulbert'. Some parents expressed concerns about behaviour. The inspection team found that pupils' behaviour is good. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher provides strong leadership and has worked very hard to change the school from a 'teaching', to a 'learning' school, by reorganising the curriculum so that it is driven by a focus on meeting the pupils' needs. The new curriculum has had a highly positive impact on pupils' enjoyment and motivation. The quality of homework has improved, as pupils are genuinely interested in their work and are eager to learn. Standards in writing have improved as pupils are presented with real life contexts,

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Grade: 3

clear purposes and audiences for their writing. Assessment and tracking systems are fully in place in English and mathematics and making a positive impact on pupils' achievement. Pupils enter the school in Year 3 with attainment that is average. They make satisfactory progress and attain standards that are average by the end of Year 6. In the 2006 tests, standards in English improved but the school has recognised that they need to improve further to complete the good work that has been started. Assessment is not used effectively to guide teachers on planning sufficiently challenging work for the different ability groups. As a result, although standards in English and mathematics are average they should be higher, especially for the more able. Staff place a strong emphasis on the personal development of pupils and consequently their personal qualities are good. Pupils' behaviour, understanding about safe practices, adoption

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Grade: 3

of healthy lifestyles particularly through sport, are good. They make a good contribution to the school due to the good range of opportunities they are given. Their preparation for the future is satisfactory. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Good aspects of teaching include relationships between teachers and pupils, opportunities for pupils to practise their speaking and listening skills and their active participation in learning, which leads to good enjoyment. However, these positive qualities are not consistent through the school and in some cases teachers do not involve and engage the pupils sufficiently to make learning interesting. Inconsistencies in marking mean that not all pupils are clear about their next steps for improvement. The curriculum is satisfactory with good features. Enrichment and extra-curricular opportunities for pupils are good features. Governors visit lessons, attend school trips and make a satisfactory

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Grade: 3

contribution to the school's development. Capacity to make further improvement is satisfactory as demonstrated by the improvements in English, pupils' behaviour, and the curriculum. Care, guidance and support provided for pupils are satisfactory and pastoral care and support are strengths. Effective support is provided for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. Good links have been established with other schools and external agencies, to help meet pupils' individual needs.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in English and mathematics, especially for the more able, by making more effective use of assessment to make work more challenging. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007 • Raise the quality of teaching by engaging pupils more in their own learning and sharpening up marking so that pupils are clear about what they need to do to improve. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory and standards are average in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. In the 2006 national tests pupils performed below the national average in these subjects but the results were better than the previous year, notably in writing. More able pupils and girls did not achieve as well as they should have done. Data provided by the school indicate that groups such as girls and the more able are now making satisfactory progress. Currently, pupils' performance is showing improvement on the previous year. This is due to more effective procedures to evaluate and improve teaching and learning. The school's improved systems to track pupils' progress and to set challenging targets are beginning to bear fruit. The school sets satisfactory targets and pupils are on course to meet them. Nonetheless, more remains to be done to lift standards further, especially for the more able. Pupils who have

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Grade: 3

learning difficulties or disabilities are supported effectively and make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being, including social, moral, spiritual and cultural development are good. The vast majority of pupils behave well. Pupils are proud of their school. One girl explained to inspectors, 'I think school is excellent, I love it here and wouldn't leave this school even if my mum wanted me too'. Pupils are given good opportunities to take responsibility in school and the local community, through the buddy system, young governors, sharing assembly and school productions. Young governors are proud of their role and explain how they have actively contributed to developing the quiet area in the playground. Pupils show a clear moral awareness and willingness to help one another through the 'Help Box' system. Pupils have a good understanding about healthy lifestyles and eagerly purchase fruit pots at break time. They enjoy the good range of physical activities and understand that

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Grade: 2

it is important to eat a balanced diet. Pupils show a good understanding of all aspects of safety. They are satisfactorily prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers make the objectives of lessons clear to pupils and are beginning to involve them in their own learning, this helps them to achieve satisfactorily. Good features include relationships between teachers and pupils, and between the pupils themselves. There is strong emphasis on confidence building and on improving speaking and listening skills. The school has recently begun to monitor classroom practice and this has started to have a positive impact on the progress pupils make. However, assessment is not used consistently by all teachers to help them to plan lessons and this leads to some lack of challenge, 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007 especially for the more able. Although books are marked, pupils are not always told what they need to do to improve their work and to reach the next level. Pupils with learning difficulties

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Grade: 3

or disabilities make satisfactory progress in line with their peers due to the carefully planned work they are given.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory with some good features which include enrichment opportunities and extra-curricular activities. It has a positive effect on pupils' learning and their personal, social and emotional development. Opportunities such as 'Roman' and 'Recycling Day' impact positively on pupils' enjoyment. Activities such as football and tennis, as well as a range of residential visits develop pupils' confidence. The topic based curriculum has been developed in line with the school's core values, namely creativity, independence, emotional intelligence and team work, and is beginning to have a positive impact on pupils' motivation. Standards in writing have improved as pupils are given opportunities to write in a variety of contexts in a way which means something to them. Strong links are evident between subjects as demonstrated by a highly interesting display called, 'Flower Power', where scientific ideas were explored

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Grade: 3

through art. Information, communication and technological skills are taught effectively through topics to make learning meaningful. Although there have been recent improvements in the curriculum, and a focus on mathematics, the initiatives are at an early stage of development.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Pastoral care and support are strengths. The school has gone a long way to encourage pupils to take responsibility for example, through playground mentors. Procedures for child protection and health and safety are robust. Pupils say that adults are easy to approach if they have any worries. A comprehensive programme of personal, health and social education ensures that pupils are encouraged to stay healthy, safe and to respect others. A strength of the school is its very effective use of outside agencies and visitors to meet pupils' needs. Pupils with difficulties or disabilities are supported effectively and consequently they make satisfactory progress in line with their peers. Procedures for tracking progress are good but assessment data are not yet being used effectively by all teachers and pupils are not always challenged. Inconsistencies in marking mean not all pupils get sufficient guidance on

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher takes a good lead and working closely with staff has developed an engaging curriculum. Another success has been the focus on raising standards in English and this has helped to increase levels of enjoyment about writing among the pupils. At the centre of the leadership's view of the school is the way that staff look after pupils. Parents say that the welfare of pupils is paramount. A parent commented, 'I feel the headteacher is a very kind and approachable man with his heart in the right place'. Leaders and managers at different levels work well together and share the same vision. They have had some impact on improving pupils' behaviour and raising standards, but there is still 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007 a lack of challenge for more able pupils and standards are not high enough. The school's self evaluation is satisfactory. The school has accurately identified its strengths and weaknesses

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Grade: 3

and has an appropriate plan to move forward. Currently there are vacancies in the governing body. Governors play their part in supporting the school's work and ensure that statutory requirements are met, including legislation about racial equality. Through its recent improvements the school has shown that it has satisfactory capacity to improve. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

8 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hulbert Junior School,Waterlooville,PO7 8ED On behalf of the inspectors I would like to thank you very much for being helpful when we came to visit your school. We really enjoyed meeting you, talking to you and looking at all your work. You go to a satisfactory and improving school. It has some good features. These are the main things we found. • You get on well with each other; the vast majority of you behave well and have good relationships with your teachers. • Your results in English have improved because your teachers have given you real situations and purposes for you to write about. • The teaching is satisfactory. • You enjoy school because of the wide range of activities the school offers. • All of the adults in your school make sure that you are safe, happy and well looked after. • The headteacher, governors and staff work hard on your behalf. We believe that there are some things that can be improved in your school. You should all get

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

higher standards in English and mathematics. Some of your teachers should make better use of the information they have about your progress to plan lessons and give some of you more challenging work, of which you are capable! Finally, some teachers need to tell you clearly through their marking the steps you need to take to improve your work and then you should be able to produce even better work! With best wishes for your future success, Pritiben Patel Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hulbert Junior School, 23 °24 May 2007

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