Crofton Hammond Junior School 'committed' to improving following requires improvement Ofsted

Crofton Hammond Junior School, located in Mancroft Avenue, is ‘understandably disappointed’ with the outcome of its recent Ofsted inspection which took place on June 18 and 19, 2024. The school’s previous inspection, which took place in 2012, resulted in an ‘outstanding’ grade but the report has said that ‘significant turbulence’ has contributed to the new result. The report said: “The school has recently been through a period of significant turbulence. Parents are positive that recent developments have provided much-needed stability to help get things back on track. Most pupils enjoy coming to school and are keen to learn. However, there are variations in the quality of education that pupils receive.

“The standards pupils have achieved in reading, writing and mathematics has declined more recently, after typically achieving high outcomes in the past. The standards pupils currently reach in wider subjects are also not high enough. Staff and governors have ambitions for what all pupils can achieve, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They want to see a return to the quality of provision that they know pupils deserve.”

The inspection outlined that the school has already started to take action to make the necessary improvements. Teachers are more skilled at delivering knowledge in some subjects compared to others and currently, the ‘revised curriculum is inconsistent’. Some of the main issues with the curriculum include the fact that progress is not always monitored and in some subjects there are units that are sometimes missed, particularly in art.

There are strengths in some subjects including maths and geography. The report said that ‘teachers typically think carefully about the order in which they teach new knowledge in these subjects.’ Lorraine Phillips, interim head of Crofton Hammond Junior School, said: “While we are understandably disappointed with the outcome of our latest Ofsted inspection, we are pleased to note the inspector’s findings that pupils enjoy coming to school and the wider opportunities available to them; staff and governors are ambitious for all children; and crucially, safeguarding is effective.

“As acknowledged in the report itself, we know where our challenges are and are continuing to address these through an ongoing improvement programme, supported by the local authority. This includes a revised curriculum and, from September onwards, the implementation of a new, experienced and knowledgeable leadership team. Much of this work is already beginning to have an impact and as outlined in the report, parents are positive about the journey we are on.”

The report added: “Sometimes the adaptations made by teachers to support pupils with SEND are not matched to their needs precisely enough. As a result, pupils do not make as much progress as they should. The school is rightly focused on improving its strategies to support pupils with SEND, however. While staff now have higher expectations of these pupils, they need further support and training to translate these into practice consistently effectively.

“The governing body understands what the school needs to do to improve. It has worked with the local authority to increase the school’s capacity to undertake this work. Governors fulfil their statutory and safeguarding duties effectively.”

The safeguarding measures are effective and there is a strong culture of keeping pupils safe. The report has consistently acknowledged that the staff and leadership are ‘focused’ on implementing changes to get the setting back on the right track. Lorraine added: “While we know there is more to do, we are absolutely committed to building on the improvements already made and turning around the current rating as rapidly as possible. We continue to keep our parents informed of this progress and want to thank them for their ongoing support.”

For more information about the Crofton Hammond Junior School Ofsted report, click here.