Churchfields Junior School

Inspection Report Churchfields Junior School

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133935 Unique Reference Number Redbridge Local Authority 294104 Inspection number 12 °13 December 2006 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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Churchfields School address Junior Type of school South Woodford, Redbridge Community School category

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London E18 2RB 7 °11 Age range of pupils 020 8504 4650 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 020 8559 2358 Fax number 478 Number on roll (school) Ms A Regan Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr D J Worrall Headteacher 21 June 1999 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 294104 12 °13 December 2006 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

Churchfields Junior School is above average in size. The majority of pupils are White British and other pupils come from a variety of other white, Asian and Black backgrounds. Both the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals and levels of deprivation are well below the national average. The number of pupils with educational difficulties, including those with statements of special need, is also below average. The school has a variety of accreditations including Artsmark Gold award, Basic Skills Quality Mark and National Healthy Schools award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006

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Grade: 2

Churchfields Junior is a good school. Due to changes in the senior leadership team, the school has been faced with a number of challenges. The school now has clear direction, is managed well and the headteacher's leadership is strong. As one parent stated 'There has been a notable improvement in school management since Mr Worrall became headmaster. His positive and pleasant manners have been infectious for staff, children and parents'. Pupils' attainment on entry is above average, they make good progress through the school, consistently achieve well, and standards when they leave school in Year 6 are high. The headteacher and deputy head, supported by staff, place a strong emphasis on promoting pupils' personal development. This is a school where pupils feel valued and included, whatever their background or ability. Staff have high expectations of how pupils should behave and set a good example for them to follow and pupils rise to this

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Grade: 2

challenge. Pupils behave well, enjoy school and are eager to learn. This has a positive impact on the progress they make. Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe and healthy and they make a positive contribution to the school and wider community. The school leaders have a good understanding of the strengths of the school as well as areas that require further development. Teaching and learning are monitored through regular classroom visits and the careful analysis of test results and other assessments. However, the monitoring of teaching and learning that is in place is not sufficiently rigorous to contribute effectively to teachers' professional development and consequently there are variations in the quality of teaching. Not all teaching is good enough to ensure pupils achieve their full potential. Monitoring information is also used to plan lessons and set targets for pupils. However, more able pupils are not

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Grade: 2

consistently challenged in all subjects and consequently they do not achieve as well as they could. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and pupils with English as an additional language, get the extra help they need and as a result achieve well. Pupils are set targets in literacy and numeracy and consequently most are aware of how to improve their work. The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum with a strong focus in creative arts and music. Through a period of change in the senior leadership, attention was paid to the effective system of assessing and recording pupils' attainment and progress. Pupils' progress is now more consistent over all year groups. Pupils' good progress in the basic skills means that pupils are effectively prepared for their future economic well-being. Given the school leaders' track record, they have the capacity to secure further improvement. Governors provide both challenge and support to the school

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Grade: 2

and play an active role in its development.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that all teaching and learning is good or better. • Ensure consistency of challenge for more able pupils in all subjects. 2 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006

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Grade: 2

Over the last five years, although there have been variations, pupils have achieved standards well above the national average by the time they leave school. In the 2006 national tests, the school met all of its challenging targets. Achievement is consistently good. Pupils' attainment on entry is above average. They make good progress through the key stage and, as a result, their attainment at the end of Year 6 is well above average. It is particularly high in reading and in science. The school recognises that standards in writing are relatively weaker. They have also identified that some of the pupils who enter school with relatively high attainment could attain even higher standards. Steps to address these issues have started. They have strengthened the teaching of literacy and this is already raising standards in writing. Some of the more able pupils are already making rapid progress in mathematics because of teaching in

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Grade: 2

ability groups. The school is committed to further improvement in all subjects and has set itself appropriate overall targets, although these do not include sufficient challenge for the more able pupils. Pupils, who have learning difficulties, make good progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development is good. They enjoy their time in school and attendance is above the national average. Pupils readily involve themselves deeply in their work. All acquire a sound foundation for their future well-being including basic skills, a clear grasp of right and wrong, an appreciation of the benefits of collaborating with peers and others, and confidence that they can achieve well. Many develop high aspirations, for example, about going one day to college. Pupils recognise how their health depends on choices made in their diet and consequently, most eat sensibly and take part in a variety of sports activities. Almost all feel safe, act responsibly and with tolerance when needed. Many show helpful concern for each others' welfare, for example when moving around the restricted nature of some stairwells. They develop an understanding of the wider community through learning about a range of cultural traditions, engaging

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Grade: 2

in activities such as entertainments in the local community and fund raising. They also gather ideas for the staff by operating a well-organised school council. Pupils' overall spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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Grade: 2

The school rightly judges teaching as good. Indeed, at its best teaching is outstanding. The majority of teachers plan lessons to capture pupils' interest, and to challenge them to work to their very best. Most teachers also ensure that the more able move to more difficult work, and provide extra support to those with learning difficulties. Teaching 3 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006 of this quality evokes intense concentrated effort from the pupils. As a result, even when they find lessons hard, they surprise themselves by what they achieve. Not all lessons are as effective though. There are instances where the work set is routine and unimaginative, and not enough is expected of the higher attaining pupils who have to work through undemanding tasks before they reach material that really challenges them. While some teachers mark work well, others do not give pupils a clear enough

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Grade: 2

idea of how to improve. Across the school there are many examples of good teaching. The school knows that for standards to continue to rise, all lessons will have to reach this level.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good with some outstanding features. It is focused strongly on creative arts and music and good links are made between subjects. There are a huge range of extra curricular opportunities for pupils such as football, dance and recorder. The curriculum is broad and balanced with some distinctive features such as all pupils in Year 6 learning Russian. Interactive whiteboards are used very effectively and this adds to pupils' enjoyment of their lessons. The curriculum is also adapted to meet the cultural needs of pupils such as Black History month and visits to places of worship. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are supported well and as a result achieve well. There is systematic development of numeracy and reading. Also, the school is successfully addressing the less effective provision in writing.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The school takes its responsibility to care for its pupils' safety and development very seriously. School security is well managed and most pupils feel safe at school. They know who to approach if they have difficulties. Procedures for those who might be vulnerable are very thorough, and any incidents or risks that might cause harm are dealt with quickly but sensitively. Teachers check regularly that all pupils are progressing steadily in their learning. This enables them to arrange additional working groups to support those with particular needs, or who are falling behind. The school keeps a close eye on the progress made by pupils new to learning English, and is rightly looking to implement more detailed checks to ensure their learning moves ahead as well as possible.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides strong leadership and fosters a good level of teamwork amongst all staff. Subject managers are beginning to take a more active role in monitoring and evaluating areas for which they are responsible and consequently there is now good leadership at all levels. A close check is kept on the work in lessons and areas for improvement are identified and dealt with, 4 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006 as a result, pupils make good progress overall. However the monitoring of teaching and learning is not rigorous enough to contribute effectively to teachers' professional development to ensure the highest quality of teaching and learning. Pupils of high ability also need to be fully challenged in order to reach their true potential in all subjects. The headteacher's systematic approach to all aspects of management has

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Grade: 2

provided a solid foundation for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006 .

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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: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006

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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 2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006

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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: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

On behalf of the inspectors I would like to thank you very much for being so helpful when we came to visit your school. We really enjoyed meeting you, talking to you and looking at all your work. We think that you go to a good school, and this is why: • you behave well and get on well with each other; • you make good progress because you are taught well; • there are lots of extra things for you to do that help to make your learning more interesting; • all of the adults in your school make sure that you are safe and well looked after; • your headteacher and deputy headteacher, the staff and the governors are doing a good job. Even in a good school like yours, there is always something that could be even better. Lots of your lessons are imaginative and interesting and we think your teachers can help you by making even more of your lessons like this, and by giving harder work to those of you who find some

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

of the work too easy. I'm sure that you are ready for this challenge! With best wishes for your future success, Pritiben Patel Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Churchfields Junior School, 12 °13 December 2006

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