Roseacre Junior School

Roseacre Junior School Inspection report

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118849 Unique Reference Number Kent Local Authority 291272 Inspection number 12 July 2007 Inspection date Kevin Hodge 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 416 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority John Wood Chair Elaine Watson Headteacher 14 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection The Landway School address Bearsted Maidstone ME14 4BL

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01622 737843 Telephone number 01622 631034 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 12 July 2007 Inspection date 291272 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average sized school. There is a wide social mix among pupils, with many coming from favourable backgrounds. Few pupils come from minority ethnic groups. Attainment on entry to the school is above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The headteacher was appointed in September 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 2007

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Grade: 2

Roseacre is a good school. A very positive picture comes through from parents of a school that promotes good academic standards with a happy atmosphere. This is because the headteacher, staff and governors have succeeded in creating a learning environment where children are hard-working, feel secure and enjoy attending. What creates this good combination? Firstly, the school works hard to give children a good start when they enter Year 3, and good transfer arrangements with the adjacent infant school help them settle in quickly. Good teaching and learning throughout the school ensure that pupils of all abilities, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, make good progress and achieve well. At the end of Year 6, standards are well above average, which has been the case for a number of years. Standards are not quite as high in English as they are in mathematics and science. This is because pupils do not use a wide enough range of vocabulary

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Grade: 2

in their writing. Next, good welfare arrangements and close attention to making the school safe and welcoming help make care, guidance and support good. Pupils have good academic guidance through class discussions with teachers, but personal target setting and marking is not consistent. As a result, pupils do not know what they need to do to improve in all subjects. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good because pastoral support is given a high profile. This ensures that pupils' behaviour is excellent and they are prepared well for later life. Pupils develop good levels of maturity, but they are not given the levels of responsibility for which they are capable so their potential leadership skills are not fully stretched. A good curriculum provides well for the development of basic skills as well as technology skills, artistic work, physical activities and modern foreign languages. Class work is enriched by an excellent range of extra-curricular

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Grade: 2

activities and these contribute particularly well to pupils' enjoyment of school. Lastly, good leadership and management are fostering effective improvement. The headteacher and other members of staff work well as a team. They have accurately identified areas to build upon the school's good track record. Action taken has been effective, for example, by keeping a closer eye on pupils' progress so the school can quickly spot those needing extra help. Governors give good support and know the school well because they visit regularly. They also keep alert to the views of pupils and parents to gauge how well the school is moving forward. One parent spoke for many by saying enthusiastically, 'Roseacre is a delightful school.'

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Encourage pupils to use a wider vocabulary in their accounts and creative writing.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Use target setting and marking consistently so that pupils have a clear idea of what they need to do to improve in all subjects. ■ Extend opportunities for pupils to develop their sense of responsibility and leadership skills.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well because effective teaching makes them highly motivated. Pupils' good progress leads to well above average standards by the end of Year 6. Although pupils' listening and speaking skills are very good, their wide range of spoken vocabulary is not as evident in their writing. As a result, standards are not quite as high in English as they are in mathematics 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 2007 and science. The oldest pupils exceed their challenging targets. Their information and communication technology (ICT) skills, along with their artistic and sporting skills, develop well. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress in line with classmates, as their needs are addressed skilfully and monitored closely.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are eager to talk about their good school. They are confident because staff are successful in fostering mutual respect and good relationships. This support also results in pupils attending regularly, enjoying school and behaving brilliantly. Year 6 pupils are well prepared for their next schools and later life as they are mature in their outlook and gain good academic skills. Pupils are very active at playtimes, and after school activities increase their level of exercise further. They are aware of what foods are best to eat, although some find it hard to make good choices. They know the benefits of drinking water regularly and know how to stay safe. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They have a good understanding about other cultures and important differences between faiths. They readily help at local community initiatives such as Woodland Trust work and enjoy raising money for good causes.

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Grade: 2

The school council is valued by pupils and has influenced some change such as the provision of cycle racks. The members, along with other pupils, are enthusiastic and mature. However, opportunities are missed for them to take the initiative in leading and supporting others.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are taught well. Good relationships are effective in helping pupils to work together harmoniously. Pupils enjoy lessons and one reflected the views of many by saying, 'Teachers make lessons fun so you don't realise you are learning.' This was reflected in some English work where a short film was used successfully to stimulate pupils to write good scripts. Work in ICT is promoted well. Teachers use interactive whiteboards effectively to enhance pupils' learning, particularly in number calculation challenges. The mutual respect that exists in classes means that pupils usually listen carefully. Occasionally, however, some teachers' explanations can be overly long and this causes a small number of pupils to lose attention. Displays in classes and around school enliven pupils' learning and highlight their efforts well. Teachers' marking gives clear indications if pupils have met the aims of the lesson or if answers are correct. It does not

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Grade: 2

always give pupils sufficiently clear guidance about how to improve their work such as writing.

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Grade: 2

A good range of activities ensures that pupils' values and social awareness, along with their academic skills, develop well. Good links with other schools to promote modern foreign languages, sports and extend the learning for more able pupils. Work in ICT is well planned and other subjects, such as art and music, have a high profile. Links have been planned between subjects to make learning more relevant but these are yet to be fully implemented. Activities in mathematical problem solving are infrequent. The school's good provision for encouraging sports was recognised by gaining a national Activemark award. An outstanding range of extra-curricular activities, including an orchestra, maypole dancing and writers' club, are well 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 2007 attended and enrich class work well. A good range of visits including to the Royal Opera House, along with special events such as a 'world maths challenge', help broaden pupils' interest and

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Grade: 2

Consistently good care, guidance and support lie at the centre of pupils' good achievement and personal development. Good links with the adjacent infant school help Year 3 pupils to transfer smoothly. There are clear and effective arrangements for safeguarding pupils. Parents are right to describe the school as being responsive to the pupils' needs. Pupils say they feel able to talk to any member of staff and talk positively about recent initiatives to help highlight anti-bullying. These help them to feel safe. The school works closely with outside agencies to ensure that all pupils make good progress, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Teachers give good support to pupils when guiding them in lessons and in discussing activities. However, longer term target setting routines are not consistent enough between subjects and not all pupils understand their value. This means that they have better help to

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Grade: 2

improve in some subjects than in others. This hinders them from making even better progress.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, supported effectively by staff and governors, has maintained a good team ethos while introducing positive changes. This has built successfully on the school's past good record. The way the school keeps a closer eye on pupils' rate of progress is a good improvement since the last inspection. Other priorities for development are accurately included in the clear school improvement plan and the monitoring of teaching is frequent and effective. Parents' views are considered seriously and acted upon wisely. For example, the school responded positively to requests to change homework arrangements but judged it inappropriate to alter the organisation of classes. Governors are supportive and maintain a watchful eye on what goes on. Together with staff, they use well established and largely accurate self-evaluation routines to identify what areas need improvement. Although governors visit regularly, the focus for

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Grade: 2

visits is not always linked to those improvement areas identified. This reduces their ability to hold the school to account. A sustained trend in high standards, combined with improvements such as a sharper focus on pupils' progress since the last inspection, show that the school has a good capacity to improve further. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 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? 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 1 The behaviour of learners 2 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?

2 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 July 2007 Dear Pupils, Inspection of Roseacre Junior School, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME14 4BL I really enjoyed meeting you when I recently visited your school. Thank you for chatting to me around the school and on the playground. I think Roseacre is a good school. Here are some things about your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You make good progress and reach well above average standards by the time you leave, although you could do better when writing. ■ You said you feel safe and all the staff make sure that you are. You said you like the way teachers make learning fun and I saw some of that in action. ■ Teaching is good and teachers help you all to get on well with each other.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You know about keeping fit, drinking water and what foods are the best to eat.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You have good activities to do, like your speaking competition.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ New children settle quickly and learn well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You all behave brilliantly and the school helps you to care for others.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your wish to raise money for others, and becoming involved in helping the Woodland Trust to preserve the environment is good. ■ The new headteacher, governors and other staff run the school well. They know how to make the school even better. Here are the three things I have asked the school to improve:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to use a wider range of words to make your writing come alive.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make marking and your targets clearer so that you know how you can improve your work in all subjects. ■ Give you more opportunities for taking responsibility for organising things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Best wishes, Kevin Hodge Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Roseacre Junior School, 12 July 2007

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