Boughton Leigh Junior School

Boughton Leigh Junior School Inspection report

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125598 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 315267 Inspection number 22 °23 April 2008 Inspection dates Mike Capper 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 285 School The governing body Appropriate authority Karen Miles Chair Carl Thornton Headteacher 13 September 2004 Date of previous school inspection Wetherell Way School address Brownsover Rugby CV21 1LT 01788 577914 Telephone number 01788 571922 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 22 °23 April 2008 Inspection dates 315267 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This larger than average junior school is located on a large housing estate on the outskirts of Rugby. There is an above average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in each year group. The headteacher has been in post for eight months.

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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: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school that supports pupils' personal development especially well. The school is moving forward quickly under the strong leadership of the headteacher. He is setting a good direction for development, building on the good start made in the last academic year when the school received intensive support from the local authority. There is a strong commitment to further improvement and leaders have begun to address successfully the remaining backlog of underachievement, so that pupils build even more effectively on their starting points. Recent improvements mean that pupils' achievement is now satisfactory. Standards have risen significantly since the last inspection and are broadly average by the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science. In English, standards are higher in reading than in writing. Pupils get many opportunities to read at home and in school, which has a good effect on progress. In

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Grade: 3

writing, some teachers accept work that is not good enough and there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and improve their skills by doing more writing in subjects other than literacy. Senior leaders have improved the effectiveness of teaching across the school, and although some inconsistencies remain, it is satisfactory overall. Teachers are hard-working and they prepare well for lessons. They are increasing the use of drama, role-play and other practical activities to make learning exciting. However, in some lessons, teachers do not pitch work at the right level for all pupils, especially the more able, which slows progress. The school works closely with outside agencies to safeguard pupils' well-being. Members of staff take good care of pupils. They look after them well and provide sound academic support. Consequently, pupils are happy at school and know they will be helped if they have difficulties.

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Grade: 3

They grow into responsible members of the community and are polite and courteous to visitors. Relationships are harmonious and pupils usually behave sensibly. They are eager learners and thoroughly enjoy school. They especially like the rich diet of activities outside lessons that enhance the otherwise satisfactory curriculum. Good sporting provision includes activities such as 'Pilates' and yoga and ensures that pupils develop a good awareness of how to stay healthy and look after themselves. Leadership and management are good. Leaders are doing the right things to improve the school further and they know that there is more to do to ensure that all pupils fulfil their potential. There is a good understanding of what remains to be done because there are good systems for checking the school's effectiveness. The role of middle managers has been extended so that they are playing an increasingly active role in planning for improvement. Leaders have rightly

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Grade: 3

identified that they do not yet make sharp enough use of the wealth of data available to them to set suitably challenging individual targets for pupils to aim at and to check that recent developments continue to have the desired effect on standards. Nevertheless, the school is moving in the right direction at a good pace, and has demonstrated through the vigorous way that it has improved standards that there is a good capacity for further improvement. Most parents are very happy with the school. They are very pleased with recent improvements, although a few rightly feel that homework is not used consistently to support learning. One parent summed up the views of most by commenting that, 'This a supportive and nurturing school with a fine mix of activities which provide a good balance for my child.' Another parent 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008 noted the 'great atmosphere in school.' These comments accurately capture the essence of this

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers consistently pitch work at the right level for all pupils, especially the most able. ■ Raise teachers' expectations of the quality and quantity of pupils' written work across the school. ■ Make sharper use of information about how well pupils are doing to set them challenging targets and to check that recent initiatives are having the desired effect. 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

Standards at the end of Year 6 are broadly average overall, representing good improvement since the last inspection. Pupils are making satisfactory progress across the school, although there remain small pockets of underachievement, especially amongst most able pupils. These are being tackled strenuously by senior leaders. The school is relatively successful at ensuring that pupils reach the expected levels for their age by the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science, but too few get to the higher levels because the more able pupils are not always challenged well enough in lessons. Pupils with learning difficulties do as well as others in lessons, making steady progress towards their individual goals. Although pupils start school with above average standards, even the most able pupils in Year 3 make errors with their spelling and grammar and very few use a joined handwriting style. This pattern continues in the rest of the school, with standards in writing lagging behind other areas

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Grade: 3

of the curriculum because teachers' expectations are not always high enough. The school has accurately identified spelling and handwriting as the main areas for development in order to improve standards in writing.

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Grade: 2

The pupils' good attendance reflects their thorough enjoyment of school. One pupil spoke for most by saying, 'I like this school because I have lots of friends and we do exciting things.' Pupils have good attitudes towards learning. They are enthusiastic learners, although they do not always take enough care with their written work. Pupils get on well together and their behaviour is good at most times. A small number of pupils are receiving support to improve their behaviour. These pupils are managed well, so that they rarely disturb the learning of others. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils quickly learn good values and clearly respect different beliefs. They have a clear understanding of right and wrong and are very polite and courteous to visitors. Pupils are keen to take responsibility. The school council gives pupils a good voice and enables them to contribute successfully to the community.

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Grade: 2

For example, councillors are working with the headteacher to improve lunchtime arrangements. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008 Pupils adopt healthy and safe lifestyles well. They talk very confidently about the importance of eating a balanced diet, and they participate keenly in physical activities such as 'huff and puff' at break times. Pupils are clear about how to stay safe when coming to school and they show a good awareness of the dangers they may encounter in their everyday lives. Pupils develop sound basic skills that prepare them satisfactorily for the next stage of their education. They gain an early insight into the world of work and finance through activities such as a recent business enterprise week when Year 6 pupils made and sold popcorn.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is improving. Teachers generally plan interesting activities and make good use of resources such as computer programs to capture the pupils' attention and to keep them engaged in their work. Pupils respond especially well to practical activities, such as role-playing in history lessons and carrying out investigations in science. Teaching assistants provide valuable support for groups of pupils. As a result, pupils concentrate well and behaviour is managed effectively. Although most teachers plan in detail for lessons, they do not always make enough use of information about pupils' previous learning to ensure that work fully stretches all pupils, especially the most able. Teachers' expectations of the quality of pupils' writing are inconsistent across the school. Where teachers do not expect enough, pupils' work is untidy and they make careless errors in their written work.

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Grade: 3

The school offers a broad curriculum that helps pupils to make steady progress in developing basic skills in literacy and numeracy. Teachers are beginning to establish closer links between different subjects in order to make learning more purposeful. This has already been achieved to good effect in information and communication technology, with pupils using computer skills well to support their learning in literacy and mathematics. However, pupils have too few opportunities to practise and improve their writing skills in subjects such as history and geography. The curriculum successfully supports pupils' personal development and is enhanced by a good range of activities out of lessons. Additional activities, such as French, visits and visitors, extend the pupils' skills and enjoyment of school. Older pupils especially enjoy their residential visits when they 'learn how to live together and try out new things.'

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Grade: 3

Members of staff understand the pupils' personal needs well and the school provides a safe and caring environment. Pupils' health and safety have a high priority and detailed risk assessments support these. For example, teachers are very conscientious about ensuring that all pupils wear fluorescent jackets on trips out of school. Pupils are confident that any worries are followed up quickly. As one pupil commented, 'People look after you well.' The new headteacher has introduced new systems to promote good behaviour. These have been successful 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008 and have been greatly appreciated by pupils who enjoy being able to 'win' water bottles or pens for working hard and being kind. Academic guidance has improved over the last two years and is now satisfactory. Systems to track progress across the school are used more systematically to identify pupils who are

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Grade: 3

underachieving and to give them support. However, the use of marking and targets is inconsistent so that not all pupils are clear enough about what they need to do to improve their work. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are identified quickly and given suitable support towards meeting their individual targets. However, some targets in individual education plans are too generic and do not take sufficient account of expert advice.

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Grade: 2

This is a school that is improving quickly. The headteacher, other senior leaders and middle managers have taken decisive action to tackle underachievement and most pupils are getting back on track. Good systems for evaluating the school's effectiveness are now sharply focused on whether all pupils are doing well enough and the many positive initiatives over the last two years have helped to improve achievement across the school. Pupils' progress is being carefully monitored, but the school does not yet make enough use of this information to check the impact of developments and to set individual pupils challenging targets to aim at. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive and are kept well informed by the headteacher. Governors are taking the right steps to strengthen further their role in finding things out for themselves so that they can undertake a fuller part in strategic planning.

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Grade: 2

7 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils Inspection of Boughton Leigh Junior School, Rugby, CV21 1LT Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for showing us your work. We enjoyed talking to you about what you do in school and what you think about it. We found some good things in the school and also other aspects that could be improved. Overall, you are getting a satisfactory education. Some of the things we found out about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Satisfactory teaching means that you make steady progress as you move through the school. However, some of you could be doing even better, particularly in writing. ■ You are happy at school and keen to learn. You readily take responsibility and the school council does a good job in representing your views. ■ All adults in school are kind and caring and they provide you with many exciting things to do outside lessons. You have a clear understanding of how to stay safe and healthy. ■ Most of your parents and carers are pleased that you come to this school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The leaders of your school know what needs improving and they are working well to make sure that you learn more quickly. What we have asked your school to do now.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Ensure that teachers always plan work that is pitched at the right level for all of you, especially for pupils who learn more quickly. ■ Help you to do better in writing by making sure that teachers always expect enough of you.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Set you more challenging targets to aim at and check that all the recent developments are helping each one of you to make the progress of which you are capable. We wish you well for the future. You can help your teachers by taking greater care with your written work to avoid making careless errors. Yours sincerely Mr M Capper Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Boughton Leigh Junior School, 22 °23 April 2008

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