Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

In this small seaside town, pupils thrive at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior. They are zestful and love to welcome visitors to their school.

In classrooms and on the playground, pupils are eager to learn and play with one another. This was not the case before. Adults really care for all the children.

Their friendly greetings and conversations make pupils feel good about themselves.

Leaders have made it crystal clear the way that they expect all pupils to behave. Any previous poor behaviour is no more.

Leaders act quickly to keep everybody safe. The school's six 'SAILS' badges highly motivate pupils. They know the only way to achieve the coveted awards is to... follow the school values consistently.

Pupils feel protected and listened to. They know that an adult would solve any worries about bullying.

Pupils know that they must work hard.

They embrace the outdoor opportunities the wider curriculum offers. The school is metres from the beach. Pupils learn how to keep safe in water and the role of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Pupils are developed in the arts through singing at prestigious venues in London. Leaders focus on widening pupils' understanding of different cultures to their own.

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

The tenacious new leadership team has turned this school around.

Parents are thrilled with how far the school has come. Leaders rightly focused first on ensuring that all pupils behave. Classrooms are now calm places where other pupils do not disrupt learning.

Leaders have worked efficiently in constructing a curriculum that is ambitious and is focused on knowledge. In the core subjects, for example mathematics and science, plans are well sequenced so that the content develops incrementally. Staff are confident in teaching these subjects.

They present information clearly and check regularly what pupils are remembering.

In some other subjects, the curriculum is not fully there yet. Some content choices do not help pupils learn a sophisticated amount of knowledge.

In addition, the order in which this knowledge is set out does not help pupils to build successfully on what they have learned before. Consequently, this can sometimes lead to teachers selecting activities that do not demand enough from pupils. These can often be fun, but they do not ensure that pupils are thinking deeply about what they need to know.

Leaders recognise all of this and are already addressing these areas.

Reading is front and centre. The library offers pupils a broad selection of books that develops them into successful readers.

Older pupils read confidently. Teachers prioritise vocabulary and ensure that pupils learn new words all the time.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some pupils have started school not reading fluently.

Interventions are firmly in place to catch pupils up. Nonetheless, not all staff know how to teach phonics well. Currently, there are some inconsistencies in teaching methods and the use of resources.

This is slowing down how quickly pupils are taught to read. Leaders know this and have acted without delay. They are in the process of introducing a new phonics programme that will make clear to all staff how to teach a child to read effectively.

The experienced special educational needs and disabilities coordinator ensures that staff deliver what is on a child's support plan. The identification of any child with additional needs is well considered and enables pupils to access the same learning as their classmates. Staff do not allow pupils with SEND to be overly reliant on help.

They strive to make all pupils as independent as possible.

Governors provide the right balance of support and challenge to school leaders. They have sought to strengthen the relationship with the infant school to benefit all pupils.

Governors are well informed about developments to the curriculum. They understand they need to probe further into pupils' learning of subjects other than English and mathematics. Leaders and governors are warm hearted and check in on staff's well-being regularly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safeguarding team has a sharp eye on all children. They do their utmost to protect them.

The pastoral work that leaders do is noteworthy. They work tirelessly to follow up actions and check in on pupils and families. Record-keeping is meticulous.

Leaders can explain any safeguarding case with real clarity. They are resolute in making difficult decisions if needed.

Staff know exactly how to raise a safeguarding concern.

They know that leaders take what they say very seriously. In the curriculum, pupils learn pertinent safeguarding topics to help them stay safe both online and in person.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are some inconsistencies in how staff support pupils who are unable to read fluently.

Leaders know this and are in the process of implementing a new systematic phonics programme for those pupils who have not met reading expectations for their age. Leaders need to ensure that all adults are expertly trained to teach the school's new phonics programme effectively. ? In some foundation subjects, content choices are not ambitious enough, and knowledge is not carefully sequenced from Years 3 to 6.

Therefore, pupils are not always learning essential knowledge in the right order. However, it is clear that leaders are working on the sequencing of knowledge into clear steps so that pupils learn the curriculum successfully. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

• Sometimes, teachers choose activities which do not help pupils to learn the planned knowledge. Consequently, pupils do not always show they are knowing more and remembering more. Leaders need to develop teachers' expertise in how to implement the school's curriculum so that pupils acquire detailed knowledge across all subjects.

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