Hiltingbury Junior School

Hiltingbury Junior School Inspection report

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116007 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312144 Inspection number 18 March 2008 Inspection date Keith Sadler 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 396 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Jane Quin Chair Ms Sophy Blakeway Headteacher 7 June 2004 Date of previous school inspection Hiltingbury Road School address Chandler's Ford Eastleigh SO53 5NP 02380 261808 Telephone number 02380 273401 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 18 March 2008 Inspection date 312144 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 an Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: how well the Year 5 and 6 pupils are achieving in writing, whether they are on course to attain high standards in English, mathematics and science and how well the governors question and urge the school to do even better. Evidence was gathered from records of pupils' attainment, samples of pupils' past work, observations in lessons and around the school, meetings with staff, governors and pupils, and an analysis of 92 responses to the parents' questionnaire. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail but the inspection found no evidence to contradict the school's own judgements given in its self-evaluation and these have been included in the report where appropriate.

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Description of the school

Hiltingbury is an over-subscribed junior school that shares a site with its partner infant school in Chandler's Ford. About half the pupils come from the surrounding area. Almost all the pupils are of White British heritage with a few coming from seven other ethnic groups. None is at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils that have learning difficulties or disabilities is similar to that found in most schools. However, the proportion who have statements of special educational needs is double the national average. This is because the school shares a specialist unit, The Pines, with Hiltingbury Infant School. There are currently seven junior aged pupils in The Unit. The school holds the following awards: Enhanced National Healthy Schools, Artsmark Gold and Sports Activemark Gold.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school that meets its school motto of 'Learning, Caring and Achieving Together' exceptionally well. The excellent quality of education leads to pupils making outstanding progress in both their academic and personal development. On entry, their attainment is above the national average. By the end of Year 6 in this welcoming and happy school, standards are exceptionally high in English, mathematics and science. Current Year 5 and 6 pupils are on course to continue to gain exceptionally high standards. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Their many positive comments are summed up by the parent who wrote, 'This is a caring environment with clear supportive leadership where the expectation is to learn, grow and enjoy education in its widest sense with support, praise and empathy'. There is a wide range of key features that make the school so successful. At the heart of the

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Grade: 1

excellent provision is the way that adults foster pupils' outstanding personal development. This results in pupils developing a powerful sense of school community, and helps them to feel cared for and valued. As a result, they thoroughly enjoy school. As one parent stated, 'My daughter is delighted to go to school, she describes each day as and;quot;super fantasticand;quot;'. Good behaviour and work are praised and celebrated well. An example of this occurred during the inspection in a Year 6 celebration assembly. Parents delighted in seeing each of the pupils present a wide range of work that included many areas of the curriculum. Pupils were rightly proud of their high quality presentations for their parents and friends. Behaviour is excellent. Pupils enjoy lessons because the work that is planned captures their interest and it excites them. This is because activities are matched very well to pupils' learning needs with topics

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Grade: 1

invariably starting from what pupils already know. They involve practical work, frequent trips out and visitors to the school. Another feature of lessons is the way that teachers help pupils to learn to work collaboratively. These personal skills, along with the excellent progress that they make in literacy and numeracy, ensures that they are particularly well prepared for transition to secondary school. The curriculum is outstanding. As well as providing interesting topics for pupils to study, staff are skilled at linking subjects together and this provides meaning for learning. For example, Year 4 pupils enjoyed a topic on World War 2 in the autumn term. There were many excellently planned opportunities that linked well together. Pupils said that they thoroughly enjoy a good range of school clubs. These focus mainly on sports and the arts. In addition, a large number of pupils learn instruments from specialist teachers. Pupils' outstanding enjoyment of school

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Grade: 1

and learning is reflected in their high levels of attendance and their positive attitudes. Pupils enjoy taking on responsibility whether as members of the influential school council, being sports or lunch leaders or answering the school phone. The 'yard squad' are particularly proud of their accomplishments which includes planting flowers around the school. The school's excellent emphasis on exercise and healthy eating enables pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles. The quality of teaching and learning is excellent both in the main school and in 'The Pines'. The pupils in 'The Pines' benefit from the supportive and yet challenging activities provided for them and, as a result, they make outstanding progress towards their targets. Throughout the school, as well as planning interesting activities, teachers ensure that classrooms are calm and industrious places to work with excellent behaviour management. Teaching assistants play

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Grade: 1

an invaluable role both when supporting vulnerable pupils and those that have language and communication difficulties when they are in 'The Pines', or integrated into classes. Assessment 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008 information is used well to pinpoint those who are at risk of falling behind and make sure that they have the support they need to catch up. Many lessons are outstanding and learning is of high quality and ensures that, over time, pupils' progress remains strong. The very good use of computer technology by the teachers excites the pupils' interest and allows them to be actively involved in their lessons. Pupils state that one reason why they think their school is special is because they each have a computer to themselves when they have lessons in the computer suite. However, the opportunity for pupils to make use of computers in lessons outside the computer suite is restricted due to lack of resources in the classrooms. As part of

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Grade: 1

the outstanding care and support provided, excellent attention is paid to ensuring that pupils are safeguarded. All child protection regulations are met in full. Parents say that their children are safe in school and this is confirmed by pupils. The needs of vulnerable pupils and those who are the most able are well met, resulting in all groups making excellent progress. Arrangements for checking pupils' progress are excellent. This information is then effectively shared with pupils in the form of high quality marking of work, notes about how lesson success criteria are met and, in the best examples, with pupils checking each other's work. As a result, pupils are clear what is expected of them in both the short and longer term. At the time of the previous inspection, the leadership of the headteacher was found to be excellent. It continues to be so. Her leadership and management are outstanding and governors

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Grade: 1

recognise that she is pivotal to the success of the school. One of her key talents has been to ensure that leadership has been distributed to all levels of staff. As a result, the senior leadership team is highly effective, as is the work of subject leaders. All staff, including support staff, readily accept responsibility and because teamwork is good and the staff's contributions are valued and built on, morale is high. Teaching staff monitor the school's provision effectively and evaluate teaching rigorously to ensure that achievement and standards are high. As a result, the school's strategic plan is of good quality because it is based on detailed analysis of results pinpointing clear improvement priorities. Staff correctly identified a need to make adjustments in the curriculum for writing in Years 5 and 6 following the national tests of 2007, and have put into place appropriate changes. Governance is outstanding and they monitor the school

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Grade: 1

very well. They hold the school to account with a good balance of support and challenge. Capacity to improve is excellent as demonstrated by the continuing high standards and the high quality provision that has been maintained and built upon since the previous inspection.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the opportunities for pupils to use computers in classrooms. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008

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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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

01 April 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hiltingbury Junior School,Eastleigh,SO53 5NP I really enjoyed visiting your school. Thank you very much for the friendly way you welcomed me and for your help in finding out about the school. Both you and your parents told me that you love school and that you feel safe and well cared for. I am not surprised. Yours is an excellent school and everybody who works there tries hard to help you to do well. Your teachers work hard to make sure that lessons are interesting and exciting. Your headteacher has done an excellent job to make sure that everyone helps you all to work and play together in such a friendly way and to make the school successful. I was very impressed with your excellent behaviour and your positive attitudes to each other. Your teachers help you to learn exceptionally well and also make sure that everyone feels part of the family of your school. I really enjoyed the Year 6 celebration assembly particularly the line dancing!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You work really hard in lessons so that you learn lots of new things. Your progress is excellent and you attain very high standards in English, mathematics and science. One of the many things that the school councillors told me that made your school special was that when you are in the computer suite you don't have to share your machine with another pupil. I think this is really good too. However, this means that there are not many computers for you to use in your classrooms. I have asked your headteacher and governors to make sure that you get more chance to use computers in lessons. Thank you once again for being so helpful to me. With very best wishes for your future Keith Sadler Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Hiltingbury Junior School, 18 March 2008

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