Maidenbower Junior School

Inspection Report Maidenbower Junior School

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131603 Unique Reference Number West Sussex Local Authority 293794 Inspection number 30 °31 January 2007 Inspection dates Diane Wilkinson 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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Harvest Road School address Primary Type of school Maidenbower Community School category Crawley RH10 7RA 7 °11 Age range of pupils 01293 883758 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01293 889409 Fax number 578 Number on roll (school) Anne Newson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Chris Murphy Headteacher 5 March 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293794 30 °31 January 2007 7°11 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

Maidenbower is a large junior school serving a comparatively advantaged housing estate. Numbers have expanded rapidly over the past few years and the age of entry changed from eight to seven in September 2004. As a result, attainment on entry has varied, but is currently above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is above average and the school also contains a unit for pupils who have specific learning difficulties. Around ten per cent of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, a small number of whom speak English as a second language. The school holds the Investors in People and Eco-Schools awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Maidenbower Junior is a good school with significant strengths in some areas of its work. Pupils enjoy school very much and parents are very appreciative of all that it has to offer. As one parent commented, 'The school has many excellent qualities, including a good headteacher and teaching staff who are very parent- friendly and approachable.' The school's success is underpinned by the headteacher's vision of what it should offer its pupils. He has successfully created a team of staff and governors who share his vision and are committed to improving the school's provision and raising standards. Leadership and management at all levels are good and resources are used effectively to provide good value for money. Accurate self-evaluation and identification of weaknesses have helped the school to address these well in mathematics, science and reading. Although the school has been slower to improve higher-attaining pupils'

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Grade: 2

progress in writing, this is now being effectively addressed and the school is particularly well placed to improve further. Pupils achieve well. Overall standards are above average, and well above average in science and in reading. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language make very good progress as a result of the excellent support and teaching they receive. The quality of care, guidance and support given to pupils is outstanding. Pupils feel very safe, secure and happy in school and their personal development is excellent. Their very good behaviour, consideration of others and willingness to accept responsibility help them become mature, confident and helpful. Relationships throughout the school are very good. The school's procedures for academic support and guidance are innovative and very effective. Pupils know exactly what they need to do to improve and they receive very good support to help them do so.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are consistently good and staff are very good at helping pupils to challenge themselves to do even better. The use of 'success criteria' to help pupils recognise what they need to do to make progress is a major reason why they do well. Pupils take a great deal of pride in their work, which is always carefully recorded. The good curriculum has been effectively planned to help pupils develop literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology skills as well as offering creative activities and the opportunity to learn modern foreign languages. The quality and range of extra-curricular activities, including residential visits, is outstanding and helps encourage pupils' very positive attitudes to school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that higher-attaining pupils develop the skills that will allow them to reach the standards of which they are capable in writing. 2 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Throughout the school pupils achieve well. Standards have risen steadily over the past three years and, by Year 6, are above average overall. In the 2006 Year 6 national tests the school exceeded the challenging targets set and is well placed to do so again this year. Standards on entry for the 2006 and current Year 6 pupils were broadly in line with expectations. Pupils make very good progress in science and standards in this subject are well above average. Standards in mathematics are above average and pupils' computation skills are excellent. Standards in English are above average overall, but they are well above average in reading because pupils make very good progress in this aspect. In the last two years, test results indicate that, while most pupils made good progress in writing, higher-attaining pupils did not do as well as they should. The school has begun to address this issue and progress in writing is rapidly improving. The presentation of

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Grade: 2

pupils' work is very good. As a result of the outstanding support and guidance they receive, pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language make very good progress and many reach at least average standards.

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Grade: 1

The positive attitudes of pupils are a striking feature of this school. They are quick to praise their teachers and talk about the subjects they like. Levels of attendance have improved and are now well above average. Behaviour around the school is very good and pupils have a good sense of social responsibility. They are adamant that bullying is not a problem in the school and that relationships between pupils are very good. As one parent wrote, 'The children seem to be very happy here and the atmosphere is one of respect and enthusiasm.' The school works hard to promote this atmosphere. The 'learning partners' system helps pupils understand that they have an important role to play in helping one another to learn. As a result, they develop very good inter-personal skills, self-esteem and independence. Other aspects of school life, such as the Eco-Schools scheme and various monitor duties, ensure pupils are thoroughly involved in the school community. They also have

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Grade: 1

a good understanding of the importance of healthy and safe lifestyles. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. In particular, the developing work on global citizenship and on rights and responsibilities is effectively broadening pupils' horizons and developing tolerance and respect for others' attitudes. 3 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good and, underpinned by effective planning, the consistent approach across all classes ensures pupils make good progress throughout the school. A particularly strong feature of lessons is that pupils are encouraged to discuss their work with a learning partner. This helps them to understand easily and gain confidence in explaining their methods or answers. In the past the teaching of writing did not meet the needs of higher-attaining pupils. However, this is much improved and the recently introduced strategy to ensure that pupils are very clear about what they need to do to succeed is starting to bring about better progress. Throughout lessons pupils are continually encouraged to assess how well they are doing and challenged to move on to harder work when they have completed a task correctly. They respond to this particularly well. The teaching of pupils with specific learning needs in small groups

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Grade: 2

or in the unit is excellent and supports the very good progress they make.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is very well balanced and stimulating. As well as promoting the development of basic skills, the topic-based approach ensures there is an effective focus on creative aspects such as art, music and drama. Developing programmes of work for English are helping higher-attaining pupils to make better progress in writing, although they have yet to impact on test results. Planning is well tailored to individual pupils' needs and the individual education plans for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are outstanding. The effective programme for personal, social and health education means that pupils' personal development is excellent. The range and quality of extra-curricular activities is excellent and the opportunity to learn modern foreign languages broadens pupils' learning. Residential visits which provide exciting opportunities for challenging activities are highly regarded by parents

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Grade: 2

and effectively support pupils' social development.

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Grade: 1

Pupils benefit from outstanding care, guidance and support which contribute to both their personal development and academic progress. Rigorous procedures for ensuring the health and safety of pupils and arrangements for the vetting of staff comply fully with government guidelines. The very effective system for setting improvement targets is a major factor in pupils' good achievement. These are precise, regularly reviewed and closely linked to the 'success criteria' built in to lesson planning. Pupils recognise how important these 4 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007 criteria are in helping them to make good progress. Pupils also play a significant role in helping one another check up on how well they are doing. The support and guidance given to pupils with specific learning or emotional needs is excellent and is the result of early identification, skilled teaching and a clear focus on

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good, with some notable areas of excellence. The key to the school's success is the very effective leadership of the headteacher, which has empowered staff to take on management roles effectively and to develop the skills needed to help the school move forward. As a result, subject co-ordinators make an important contribution by checking on the effectiveness of the school's provision and helping to raise standards. Year leaders play an equally successful role in ensuring that teaching is consistently good and that pupils receive a high level of care and support. Rigorous, detailed and accurate monitoring of the school's work and pupils' progress has meant that the school has a clear picture of how well it is doing. The school has successfully identified areas of comparative weakness and has raised standards in mathematics, science and reading. It has been slower in addressing weaknesses in

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Grade: 2

higher-attaining pupils' progress in writing, although this is now being successfully addressed. Governors make a valuable contribution to the school. They are very well informed, play an important part in school review and development and use their expertise effectively to benefit the school. Excellent teamwork, a high level of commitment to school improvement and very effective management systems result in the school being exceptionally well placed to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 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 1 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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

1 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. 7 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 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? 8 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We were especially impressed by how friendly, polite and helpful you are. I particularly want to thank the pupils who gave up their lunch time to speak with us. You and your parents think your school is a good place to be and we agree with you. It is giving you a good education and you are making good progress. This is what we thought was good about the school. • You are making good progress in English and mathematics and very good progress in science. The standards you reach are above average. • Pupils who find learning difficult receive excellent help and make very good progress. • Your personal development is very good. You enjoy school very much, work hard and your behaviour is excellent. • The activities teachers plan for you and the quality of teaching are good. • Staff take excellent care of you and give you very good guidance on how you can do even better in your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Your headteacher, staff and governors have helped your school improve well over the last few years and they are working successfully to help it improve even further. What we have asked your school to do now. • Continue to improve the planning and teaching of writing so that all pupils do as well as they can. You can help by making sure that you always do your best in your written work. Thank you again for all your help and good luck for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Maidenbower Junior School, 30 °31 January 2007

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