Baddow Hall Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Baddow Hall Junior School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school.

They feel very safe and well cared for. Pupils enjoy positive and respectful relationships with one other. They demonstrate these in all aspects of their life in school.

For example, older pupils look after younger pupils through peer mentoring.

The school has high expectations for all pupils. Pupils live up to these expectations.

They learn and remember the broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils work hard and achieve well. This enables pupils to be prepared for the next ...stage of their learning.

Pupils' transition from Year 2 to Year 3 is well established through the positive relationship between the Infant and Junior school.

Pupils are polite and courteous. They model positive attitudes to learning in their lessons.

Pupils understand the '3Rs' of 'respect, responsibility and resilience'. They use these to help them to learn and play well together.

There are a range of activities to support pupils' personal development.

The school ensures that pupils have a good understanding of the diverse world they live in. Pupils clearly explain their understanding of discrimination. They know why tolerance and respect are important.

Pupils understand how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They have access to different activities to support this.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has a coherently designed and ordered curriculum.

In most subjects, it identifies the precise knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn from Year 3 through to Year 6. However, in a few foundations subjects, the curriculum does not make clear the essential knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn.The school has prioritised reading so that pupils who are at the early stages, or have fallen behind, can quickly catch up.

Staff work well with the infant school to ensure that all pupils have consistent high-quality phonics teaching. The school regularly checks what pupils know and remember in phonics. Pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to be fluent readers.

Many older pupils read fluently, confidently and accurately.

Teachers' subject knowledge is secure. They present information to pupils concisely.

Teachers routinely check what pupils know and remember. They use this to adapt their teaching. Despite this, some learning is not adapted well enough.

This means that, sometimes, pupils are not accessing the learning as well as they could.

Pupils are attentive in lessons. They listen well to staff and to one another.

Pupils work together well. They respond positively to the ladder reward system. This helps them to make the right choices to earn their 'golden time'.

Attendance is a priority for the school. The school tracks attendance closely, checking for patterns. It uses this information to identify and support families where attendance is a concern.

This helps to improve attendance for those pupils.

Pupils take on a range of responsibilities. These include house captains, peer mentors and school council.

Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs, visits and visitors. This develops their interests, talents and understanding of life in modern Britain. Pupils have a good understanding of respect, tolerance, differences and diverse cultures.

Pupils develop their character by taking part in community projects and global activities, such as the link they have made with a school in Germany.

Governors know the school well. They hold the school to account.

Their evaluation of the school is accurate. They have focused on the right things at the right time and in the best interests of pupils. Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

The school engages parents in a variety of ways to develop positive relationships. It provides frequent newsletters, email and text communications as well as in-school events such as class assemblies and coffee mornings. These give parents opportunities to both engage and celebrate their children's achievements.

Staff in the school are happy. They are positive about the school's work to reduce their workload. They feel supported with their well-being.

Staff have ongoing training and support. This enables them to continue to develop their teaching expertise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly define the essential knowledge and skills leaders want pupils to know and remember. As a result, staff are not checking these effectively enough. The school needs to identify what the key knowledge and skills are so that staff can accurately check if the pupils have learned what staff intended.

• In some subjects, learning is not adapted well enough to meet pupils' needs. As a result, some pupils do not develop their knowledge as well as they could. The school needs to ensure that learning is suitably adapted so that all groups of pupils progress through the curriculum well.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness on 1 and 2 October 2019.

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