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Ofsted Information
It is with pleasure that we attach a copy of the Ofsted Report from the Inspection on 3rd and 4th March 2020.
Background
Foxhills Juniors was last visited by Ofsted in June 2018 under a Section 8 inspection (1 inspector for 1 day). The 2018 report recognised that the school was operating at a high standard and recommended that the next inspection should be a full Section 5 (two day) inspection.
New Ofsted Inspection framework – September 2019
A brand new Inspection framework was introduced by Ofsted in 2019.
In addition to exponentially raising the benchmark for outstanding grading, it also placed a renewed emphasis on the provision of Foundation subjects (e.g History, Geography, Music, PE etc) – in particular, the retrieval and application of knowledge. The expectation for ‘outstanding’ is that all these changes should be fully embedded. (Schools are also expected to continue to deliver high standards in the Core subjects of Reading, Writing, Maths and Science).
To fully develop and embed a new curriculum can take up to four years, which will always be an issue for schools who are inspected early on, under this new framework. Our visit came just one and a half terms after the introduction of the new framework.
The outcome of our 2020 Inspection – we are a ‘good’ school!
We had three inspectors on the first day and two on the second and they judged our school to be operating at a really good standard. We are delighted about the conclusions they came to – the report is full of praise and recognition of the amazing learning that takes place in our school. The inspectors stated that, had their visit occurred in another year’s time – when we would have been able to implement our planned changes - then our grading may have achieved the Outstanding. If there was a “very good” good category, then they would have given this to us. This is reflected in them giving us just two areas for improvement:
- Finish the job! Our ‘roadmap’ is really clear and it was evident to the inspectors that we were well on our way to complete and meet our goals. Inspectors have an option to make allowances for gaps in the schools intent (planning) – as it is still early days – but we needed no such allowances.
- Support Subject leaders to finish the job! All teachers lead a subject and, while we have focused on the development of a specific few to begin with, our intention is to develop the others in the coming terms.
We would like to praise the truly superb staff team who work so hard to make Foxhills Juniors such a special place for children. We are immensely proud of all our achievements but this wouldn’t be possible were it not for their complete dedication, whether this be the clubs they run, the time they give up for special after-school events, or the total care/concern they have in ensuring that each and every child is looked after and makes good progress.
A huge ‘thank you’ goes to you, our supportive parents. Many of you took the time to complete the on-line questionnaire (140 responses with a 96% approval rate - this is high!). Some of you stayed to speak to the Inspector in the morning and this gave her valuable feedback about the school. The Inspector recognised that it is the partnership between school and parents, which has greatly contributed to making Foxhills Juniors the school it is today.
We would also like to thank our team of dedicated Governors who have relentlessly supported and challenged the school to ensure that the children of Foxhills Juniors get the best deal possible.
Lastly, and importantly, we would like to celebrate the achievements of the amazing children of Foxhills Juniors who, on a daily basis, never cease to amaze us. Their keenness to Care, Learn, Enjoy, Achieve and Reflect in all aspects of school life is truly wonderful. The strong relationship and trust between children and teachers was very evident, and the inspector even stated that Foxhills Juniors was a school that she would want to send her own children to.
We have an ambitious vision for the school and, in partnership with our parents, we will continue to drive up our standards. We hope you enjoy reading the report and are as proud of the school as we are.
Andrew Shore Ann Arscott
Headteacher Chair of governors
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