Blue Gate Fields Junior School
​Self-evaluation 2021-2022
Currently under review

​Context

We are a larger than average Junior school. There are 3 classes per year group, with a maximum intake of 90 pupils per year.
  • 89% of pupils come from Asian or Asian Bangladeshi backgrounds.
  • 98% of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is significantly higher than the national average of 21% and places the school in the highest quintile. 
  • The proportion of pupils with SEND in 2020-2021 was 15.7% [54 pupils].  [2121-2022, 52 pupils/ 14.6% with 4 pupils under review]
  • Of the children receiving SEN support, 3.4% [12 pupils] had an EHC plan. [2021-2022, 12 pupils/ 3.3% with 2 EHC plans pending and 4 pupils under review]
  • The latest published figures show 54% of pupils are in receipt of Pupil Premium. This is a significant decline from 61% the previous year. There are also a number of children are now in receipt of FSM, but who have not yet been identified as pupils premium.​ 120 pupils or 35% of pupils were currently in receipt of FSM in 2020-2021. [2021-2022 118, pupils/35%]
  • Both the school location deprivation indicator and the pupil base indicator place the school in quintile 5 – the most deprived of schools;
  • The latest validated figures for attendance in 2017/18 show that the rate of overall absence (4.00%) was below the national average for schools with a similar level of deprivation. The IDSR shows 4.6% pupils absence for the  Autumn term 2020, with a 4% absence for those in receipt of FSM [in the lowest 20% of schools also in 2018/2019 and 2017/2018] Attendance for last year excludes all pupils who were an X code in the register due to being unable to attend school because of COVI19. Autumn term 2020 was 94%,  Summer term 2021 [April 12-July16] was 95%.
  • The school has 92% stability, higher than the national at 86%. This is despite the majority of our children living in rented accommodation, both LA and private tenancy. Some of the housing is nightly tenancy, some families travel to school from out-of-borough temporary housing, some from the local women’s refuge.  Parents/carers go to great effort to keep the children at our school.
  • The school has the Music Mark, the Diana Anti-Bullying Ambassador Award, The Anti Bullying Alliance Gold Award and The Artsmark Gold Award. In recent years the school has been a winner of the Speaker’s  School Council Award and the National Handwriting Award. We are currently working [2021-2022] towards designing an arts based community food and well-being project, to allow us to achieve the Healthy Schools Gold Award again.
  • We understand that the pupils within our school experience significant barriers to educational achievement, including the linguistic barriers and social and  economic disadvantages outlined above.
  • Some parents tell us that they only have experience of a very different education system and ask for guidance to support their children’s learning. Parental engagement is seen as a strength of the school by the school community, 95% of parents who responded in the Summer Parent Survey [Summer 2021] agreed that the school, “is positive and respectful.” 
COVID STATEMENT
  • School remained open during both national lockdowns. During the first lockdown school became a hub school offering provision to children from local schools and remained open during the school holidays, only closing for Bank Holidays.
  • As the number of FSM rose from 101 to 120, many parents were suddenly unemployed or their small businesses closed. This impacted heavily financially, socially and academically on an already socio economically deprived community. We offered every support we could to parents from food parcels to increased data allowances.
  • The school maintained a constant focus on removing all barriers to learning including providing devices for pupils to access the remote learning [and support for parents on how to make best use of them], access to the additional internet data, twice weekly phone calls to families, additional food parcels and food vouchers, milk vouchers as well as Magic Breakfast home deliveries, continued pupil and parent support and access to the school learning mentor and school counsellors and providing comprehensive Remote Education and Safeguarding advice.
  • Safeguarding: the number of pupils allocated a social worker did not rise, all MASH requests were responded to promptly, all vulnerable children were contacted at least every other day by the DSL/DDSL or class teacher. Social workers were informed of any safeguarding concerns.
Progress against previous inspection
Areas to improve
  1. Governance
  2. Tracking academic progress
Progress
  1. The school has recently undertaken a GB skills audit. In response the school has appointed two governors with the  experience and skills needed. Training, in conjunction with the Infant School, is offered on the premises.
  2. There is a termly tracking system and detailed half termly pupil progress meetings
QUALITY OF EDUCATION - Outstanding
Strengths
Blue Gate Fields Junior School’s vision is based on eight key factors that we believe are forever relevant and forever true: In relation to the children
  • The emphasis on developing the whole child
  • Ensuring consistently high quality teaching and learning
  • Ensuring all pupils make good or better progress
  • Continually working to close the gap between the pupil premium pupils and the non-pupil premium pupils to overcome disadvantage
 
In relation to the school culture and organisation
  • Continually striving to build capacity and sustainability
  • Building a culture of teamwork and collective accountability
  • Ensuring high levels of staff satisfaction and job fulfilment
  • Strengthening partnerships both within and across school
 
Curriculum Readiness
All of these factors are passionately underpinned by the philosophy that we will remove every barrier to learning: no child should be too hungry, too emotional vulnerable, too angry, too afraid, too financially constrained, too demotivated, too isolated or feel too unsafe to learn. We ensure our pupils are “curriculum ready.”
Intent:
Curriculum design and coverage
The current curriculum at BGFJS is bespoke and designed to meet the needs of our children to achieve aspirational goals.
All curriculum structures adopted by the school are adapted with these goals in mind.

  • The curriculum is bespoke and designed to address the knowledge, vocabulary and experience gap that many of our pupils, disadvantaged or not, face; to enhance the cultural capital of our pupils; to improve life chances; to reflect modern, diverse Britain and to offer access to the best and most current educational thinking.
  • The curriculum is not static but it will remain true to our vision of ambitious, high quality teaching and learning with the whole child at its centre.
  • The curriculum sets high expectations for every child. It regards these as an entitlement. We offer demanding, concept-rich, complex work. High quality talk, questioning, checking for understanding, modelling and explaining – responsive teaching- is at the heart of our curriculum design, intent and implementation.
  • It is broad in its scope, rigorous and is carefully sequences the component parts of each subject; it scaffolds pupils learning and remembering and takes a long term view of progress, it aims to enable pupils to develop more complex schemata over time.
  • Curriculum coherence: this is achieved by firstly identifying concepts within a subject, secondly content and linking it to the concepts and thirdly by establishing what prior knowledge will help pupils understand the new knowledge.
  • Due to the large percentage of pupils with EAL, there is a focus on talk, literacy and numeracy skills so that pupils can access a wider cultural curriculum.
  • We utilise the skills of artists in residence and specialist teachers to ensure exemplary teaching of all subjects.
  • To ensure our children are not limited by social, economic or cultural disadvantages, we organise a broad range of cultural experiences, which add value by contextualising, enriching and deepening learning. We provide a cultural education, encompassing theatre, art and design, music, drama, literature and sports. We regularly invite ‘expert adults’, such as establish authors, poets and performance storytellers to raise aspiration.
  • To enable the curriculum to flow seamlessly from KS 1 to KS2 we take part in joint curriculum development to address strands in maths and the Humanities with our Infant colleagues. We aim to expand this to other curriculum areas.
Covid19 Response
  • Covid recovery: A recovery curriculum was implemented in Sept 2020- Jan 2021, revised March 2021, and again in  Sept 2021.
           This put our pupil’s welfare at the centre of our thinking.
  • A tiered approach was adopted to help the school focus on a small number of priorities that would have the greatest impact
  • The current curriculum is further adapted to assess and address the impact of COVID 19. We identified which knowledge was most significant when deciding what to insert into the adjusted curriculum, whilst prioritising the hierarchical and sequential knowledge.
  • We recognise that children’s oral language was impacted heavily during the pandemic so Time to Talk was introduced [this also supported our pupil’s mental health and wellbeing] as well as a renewed focus on oracy.
  • During the period of remote learning, we adjusted the curriculum to make to make it more accessible for all our learners [eg changing which texts were taught in literacy, changing the order in which the maths curriculum was taught so that areas identified as pupils’ finding more challenging were taught in school].
  • A planned sequence of lessons was taught post lock-down to help pupils to understand the learning process and to give strategies for memory and recall.
Implementation:
Quality of teaching and learning
  • Teachers and teaching assistants, their levels of experience, teaching styles and approaches to delivering the curriculum are closely matched to the needs of the children. Organisational arrangements contribute towards increased independence and readiness to learn within a positive growth mindset learning culture.
  • Mixed ability grouping is agreed to be the most appropriate organisation for effective learning in humanities, art, design and technology, PHSE, PE, RE and Quick Maths.
  • Children are grouped according to ability in literacy and mathematics (in Years 6 science is also taught in groups) – group sizes and teaching style requirements are tailored to maximise pupil achievement.
  • Art, pottery, design and technology, physical education and music are taught by specialist teachers. These subjects are often taught in smaller groups or half classes to maximise the impact of the teaching and resources. In pottery and P.E. for example, small groups support pupils with SEND needs, or emotional or social difficulties, while in music half class teaching allows for a better quality of instruction and improved outcomes
  • Classroom culture demonstrates a deep understanding of the dangers of “the single story” and the promotion of the concept of “windows, mirrors and sliding doors” [Rudine Sims Bishop] – there is an active desire to share a sense of belonging and development of identity.
  • Lessons are planned with an understanding of cognitive load theory.
  • Lessons are responsive to the learning needs of the pupils. In order to make the most accurate judgements about how to move forward with their teaching within the lesson, teachers systematically and effectively check pupils’ understanding throughout lessons, anticipating where they may need to intervene, having significant impact on the quality of learning. High quality talk is key to the process.
  • Feedback in the form of praise is used as one  of the effective strategies for learning which encourages growth mindset learners who embrace challenge and understand that mistakes are part of the learning process.
  • Feedback is within the lesson and timely; it supports pupil self-efficacy, normalises error, challenges and motivates – it is acted upon so that teaching and learning are synchronized. It is integral to the shaping of lessons and the planning for future learning; it informs assessments that produce consequences for both the pupils and the teachers which are dependent on the inferences that are made.
  • Constant assessment of pupil understanding at all stages of learning means that teachers are able to make increasingly accurate judgements about what level of support and challenge to provide to move learning forward. Feedback to pupils is used for clarification [what is right and what is wrong] and for increasing the complexity or depth of the learning.
  • Additional Resources are targeted to individual/ groups/ cohorts of pupils to respond to needs, both academic and social.
  • The school library provision supports the school curriculum, in particular the equalities thread that permeates the curriculum, by a continued drive to provide literature which shows a diversity of materials and authors. It supports our literacy curriculum, which has recently been reviewed and enhanced through the equalities lens, with the support of THEP.
  • Authors, illustrators, poets and oral storytellers frequently visit the school to deliver workshops to pupils in their particular area of expertise. Children are also given the opportunity and encouragement to participate in internal and external competitions [Tower Hamlets Book Award, the Greenaway award] to further promote reading within the school.
COVID19  Response
  • Remote learning implementation: All lessons were recorded so SLT could quality assure and respond effectively
  • Assessments when children came back: formative and summative to assess gaps. From these we revised our recovery curriculum and organised the necessary interventions and curriculum adaptions.
  • Summer 2021 holiday learning provided: lessons remained on the website, pupils provided with 3 CGPE books appropriate to their learning [multiplication, reading, maths]. All access to on line subscription services [Active Learn, Mathletics etc.] remained active as did the access to other on line reading resources.
  • Quality of learning aimed not to be impacted by Covid, same high standards, delivered, evaluated, supported teachers to develop and improve.
  • Constant revision of remote learning curriculum provision.
  • Families support was provided by Dr Julianne Mullen, our drama therapist, in the form of “Tips For The Week,” on our website. These gave advice an practical strategies to parents.
  • Curriculum leads analysed the curriculum in light of national lockdowns, taking account of the school curriculum and refining starting points and inserting ready to progress statements.
  • “Now>Press>Play,” a commercially produced immersive drama experience, was introduced post lockdown to enhance the curriculum offer when educational visits were not possible.
  • For children in school during lockdown, we continued to provide art workshops and storytellers via the internet.
 
Assessment
  • The use of responsive teaching strategies means that teachers are creating opportunities to assess pupil understanding throughout lessons using recall and  the reactivation of prior understanding; small step guided learning; modelled and worked examples; carefully scaffolded explanations; high-quality, targeted questioning reflecting on work in books and oral feedback with children.
  • Self-marking and peer-marking offers immediate feedback opportunities; The Feedback Triangle supports pupils to recognise and use sources of support to move their learning forward.
Pupils with SEND and/or disabilities
  • Each year group can have up to six ability groups including a SEND group. The size of the group increases according to the ability level of the pupils. Our most educationally vulnerable  pupils are taught in smaller groups to benefit from greater teacher input, 1:1 focus and a narrower ability range to differentiate the learning for. These children often have the most complicated learning profiles and a small group offers the teacher the capacity to cater more specifically for individual learning needs.
COVID19 response:
  • Pupils identified with specific learning needs offered an adjusted program of work based on any EHC Plan or other documentation regarding their educational needs. This provision might include a place at school if they are defined as ‘vulnerable’ where they were be taught by  school staff in small groups, following the usual curriculum and planned interventions. Feedback was frequent and specific to each child’s identified needs  and involved parents/career and any other agencies involved in the child’s education wherever it was possible to do so safely within the lock down restrictions.
  • If the SEND pupil was unable to attend school then a program of carefully planned and timetabled activities  was  delivered remotely in a variety of ways, including:
  1. Video messaging support created by teachers
  2. Lesson packs with printed materials, books and resources sent home
  3. Live and video support provided by external agencies, such as Speech and Language therapists
  4. Online learning activities via the schools recommended digital learning platforms
  5. Phone conversations with pupils and families
  6. Synchronous lessons
Impact:
  • At the end of key stage 2 2019, 82% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, 93% in writing and 91% in maths. 79% of children attained the combined measure compared to 65% nationally.
  • 52% of pupils were higher attaining in reading, 52% in maths and 36% achieved greater depth in writing. 25% of pupils attained the higher attaining combined measure compared to 11% nationally.
  • The progress measures are all above average – reading 1.59, writing 1.42 and maths 2.72.
 
In the IDSR many of the positive statements are triggered.
  • Reading: Key stage 2 attainment of the high standard (110+) in reading (49%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019.
  • The three-year average reading attainment score (107.9) was in the highest 20%.
  • Writing: Key stage 2 attainment of the expected standard in writing (89%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018 and 2017.
  • Key stage 2 attainment of greater depth in writing (35%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018 and 2017
  • Maths: Key stage 2 progress in mathematics (2.7) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018.
  • Key stage 2 attainment of the high standard (110+) in mathematics (49%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018 and 2017.
  • The three-year average mathematics attainment score (109.5) was in the highest 20%.
  • Other measures: In the same year, 24% of pupils achieved the key stage 2 high standard (110+) in reading, writing and mathematics, significantly above
national and in the highest 20% of all schools.
  • In 2019, 62% of pupils achieved the high standard (110+) in the key stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools.
  • Groups: For middle prior attainers, Key stage 2 attainment of the expected standard (100+) in mathematics (93%) was significantly above national in 2019. In 2019, 95% achieved the key stage 2 science expected standard, significantly above national. In 2019, 91% achieved the expected standard (100+) in the key stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, significantly above national.
  • Internal data pre lockdown 1 to Summer 2021 shows that the percentage of pupils at or above the expected level has dropped most significantly in writing. It also shows an upward trend in reading, writing and maths from post lockdown 2 to the end of the Summer term.
Actions from year 2020-2021
  • ​Recovery curriculum implemented. Time to Talk timetabled 3x a week per class [based on EEF research , Oracy 21 and research based practice in Drama Therapy] It develops relationships, promotes talk and social connections.
  •  D & T curriculum re-designed and shared with staff
  • As part of the self evaluation during COVID, the school revisited and revised the best practice learning continuum based on the research work of Mary Myatt with so it better aligns with the Golden Threads.
  • Remote learning developed, enhanced and evaluated
  • Curriculum adapted in response to COVID19, underpinned by staff CPD
  • A week by week curriculum map has  created post lockdown to take account of all subject areas
  • Policies adapted to reflect these changes
  • A deepening of  staff understanding of memory and recall research and implications for teaching and learning – how memories are formed and the impact of cognitive load on learning
  • A renewed focus on teaching and learning through the lens of our Golden Threads to focus on the essential hierarchical and sequential learning.
  • Refining of our teaching and learning strategies to diminish the vocabulary  and knowledge gap [Oracy 21 implementation]
  • Reading for fluency introduced and evaluated. INSET and CPD  to strengthen the teaching of reading fluency and comprehension delivered to all teachers and TAs
  • Post lockdown 2 the SDP has been reviewed and devised to create wider reaching 2 year plan
  • A year 5 unit of history : the British Empire has been developed and trialed for an understanding of migration  and belonging
  • Curriculum mapping in year groups supported all teacher to create a pathway through the Summer term with a focus on doing the right things better. THEP support provided guidance to create bespoke plans which followed existing planning documents.
  • Parent RSE consultation questionnaire delivered and followed up with further opportunities to ask and discuss points of interest – consultation responses published on website.
  • BREE project bespoke unit of work written , implemented and evaluated
  • Conclusion of the Artsmark project the focus of which was the development of evaluative talk through the arts
  • PSHE: bespoke anti-bullying 6/8  week  learning journeys, progressive from year 3-year 6, were written. These addressed the statutory RSE requirements and will be taught in September 2021.
  • Equalities training for all staff focusing on stereotypes and race discrimination [provided by Equaliteach
  • CPD for all staff to address equalities and understand diverse and accurate narratives, varied identities, experiences and belonging. To move towards an anti racist classroom.
Impact of the actions
  • ​Consistent understanding of the rationale behind the Blue Gate Fields Junior School curriculum, its intent, implementation and impact on pupil learning and attainment.
  • D&T curriculum now supports mastery in learning across the curriculum whilst fully developing design and technology skills and understanding in their own right. Teachers understand the design of the curriculum and the progression in learning through it.
REMOTE LEARNING: CURRICULUM MAPPING:
  • Year group leaders, and curriculum leads, are able to support their teams to plan and deliver key learning in the Spring Term and into the Summer term.
READING:
  • Timetabling adaptations ensure that the teaching of fluency and comprehension (text potential, summarising, visual notes and formal answering) are regular and follow a prescribed format
  • Teachers of higher attaining groups have gained deeper understanding of reading and the complexities of fluency and comprehension; they have an improved repertoire of teaching strategies
  • Teachers of lower attaining groups have gained an understanding of how fluency strategies have helped to accelerate reading progress and comprehension
  • Pupils have enjoyed the fluency focused sessions and recognise the positive change to their reading performances
            School library:
  • The school has expertise to draw on when resourcing the curriculum with diverse, high quality, beautiful reading materials.
  ASSESSMENT:
  • Teachers have an understanding of pupil attainment and gaps following the extended closure; they are able to plan accordingly and track progress in the summer term
  • Ongoing discussion about maths and writing and attainment are re-established and allow moderation across a number of local schools
 CROSS SCHOOL PROJECTS
  • Links are forged across the Infant and Junior schools for connections and cross schools support
Areas for development 2021-2022
  • Development of remote learning – moving to  Google Education for feedback
  • Oracy based teaching sequences in the BREE project and P4C further developed
  • Renewed emphasis on classroom talk and talk for differentiation
  • Time to Talk developed to include critical thinking  and P4C
  • Cognitive load and dual coding theory
  • Maths : A move to the White Rose maths scheme – making it our own.
  • Further development of equalities.
  • Develop the exposure to high quality learning experiences in the arts to influence and deepen high quality outcomes in the classroom
  • See School Development Plan for further areas for development
Next steps
  • Development of remote learning – moving to Goggle Education for feedback
  • Cognitive load an dual coding theory – a whole school inquiry project – extensive staff CPD
  • Development of history subject knowledge and curriculum planning – staff CPD
  • Part of the LBTH Oracy Hub with a possible research project.
  • Staff CPD to support the move to White Rose maths.
BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDES - Outstanding
Strengths
Exclusion data: There have been no fixed and permanent exclusions in 2020-2021
Bullying data: 3 incidents of bullying like behaviour were record and all were resolved. Two were one off relational incidents  
Discrimination data: No Recorded incidents
  • Attendance is a continuous priority for school development. Key strategies to improve attendance were suspended due to COVOID19: Attendance Panels, weekly/termly rewards, “Traffic light” letters sent home termly and the Family Breakfast Club – instead we talked to individual families remotely or in person
  • Pupils demonstrate excellent attitudes towards learning; they use growth mindsets to counteract a fear of failure, develop resilience in the face of ‘tricky’ and to understand that they can grow as learners. 
  • Extrinsic rewards are not given so that pupils focus on their learning needs rather than final outcomes. This results in motivated pupils who welcome challenge and do not avoid tasks that they perceive to be ‘difficult’.
  • Pupils behave with consistently high levels of respect for each other; they demonstrate high levels of self-control. Incidences of low-level disruption are dealt with quickly to ensure positive classroom environments that are conducive to learning. 98% of pupils responded positively to the statement, ‘Does your teacher, or other adult, support you to be the best person you can be?’ [Pupil Survey, Summer 2021] 
  • Bullying: Diana Trust Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme, Anti-bullying Alliance and All together Project, Kindness Charter, clear support networks for children (see policy). The Parent Questionnaire 2020-2021, 98.1% of parents agreed with the statement “My child understands that good behaviour helps good learning”, 99.1% a agreed  with the statement, “ My child is happy at school”, and 99.3 with “ My child feels safe at school.”
  • Anti-bullying bespoke planning has been written for progressive understanding in lessons, which are reinforced in assemblies and through school council. 
  • Transition workshops take place for all year 6 pupils, led by Dr Julianne Mullen. These aim to alleviate pupil anxiety and offer strategies for a range of issues raised by pupils.
Strengths
  • Drama Therapists, Home School worker and two Learning Mentors ensure children and families are supported. Staff intervene early to interrupt the escalation of issues. 
  • Even without systematised sanctions, over 98% of parents agree with the statements, “My child understands that good behaviour helps good learning”,
  • Children returned to school after the second national lockdown with excellent attitudes and behaviour towards learning, it was an almost seamless transition.
  • Implementation of Time To Talk and Go Run
  • Weekly family support is offered to all parents in the form of a Legal Advisor from the University House Legal Advice Centre Advice in School Project. This service provides legal advice for victims of domestic abuse, immigration, forced marriages etc. in the form of providing creative and proactive solutions and pathways to parents.
  • Engagement with the community: NHS Mile End Hospital, making connections with adults experiencing loneliness at Easter and Christmas.
  • 98% of pupils in the Pupil Survey November 2020 reported that children and adults treated each other with respect and kindness
  • 97% of children reported that they can find teachers, or other adults to listen to and help with their worries.
  • Pupils reported positively on the Time To Talk Sessions
Actions from Year 202-2021
  • SRE policy written, consultation with parents
  • Anti-bullying – renewed policy and practices (Anti-bullying Alliance) for pupils and parents
  • Kindness themed assemblies with children seated in circles for improved discussion and feedback to the group introduced.
  • P4C training for year 3 & 4 teachers
  • Vision, values and aims were revisited post COVID for whole staff agreement, clarification and shared purpose
Areas for development 2021-2022
  • Further training to implement the RSE curriculum
  • Equalities and belonging
  • Re-establishment and training of anti bullying ambassadors
  • Parental anti-bullying workshops to identify relational conflict v bullying behaviour
  • Re instate parent year 6 to year 7 transition workshops.
  • Listen, Think, Wonder for reflection, personal and critical thinking
Impact of actions
  • Pupils behave respectfully and kindly towards one another and with the adults in school
  • See link to website: Compliments
Next steps
  • Further research into developing habits of mind: Strategies for disciplined choice making [Costa and Kallick’s 16 habits of mind]
  • Staff training in readiness for the full implementation of SRE curriculum.
  • Re establish ST Giles Trust workshops [ knife crime/ gang education workshops for pupils an parents
  • Further development of the playground as a social learning space
  • Implementation of the Anti bullying schemes of work in each year group.
  • Re establishment of school council
  • Re establishment of the Equaliteach training for staff and pupils
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - Outstanding
Strengths
  • SMSC: We value highly the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development which is underpinned by mutual respect as stated in our aims, vision and values statement.
  • PSHE now bespoke units of work
  • PHSE and equality: “agree, build, challenge” taught talk structure for children to discuss and debate, Anti-bullying Ambassadors and partnership training, online safety training for the whole community
  • Pupil mental health and well-being; Mindfulness, two school Drama Therapy councillors and two learning mentors (one with a specialism in supporting families experiencing mental health issues).
  • Pupil voice: active school council, Anti-bullying Ambassadors, Kindness Charter, Playground Friends, Arts Council
  • Preparation for next stage of learning: timetable reflects vision of growing future citizens informed by school values. Key activities: democracy debates at the local Council Chamber, Aspiration Day, preparation for life challenges (e.g. knife crime workshop), Junior Citizen programme.
  • Development and implementation of bespoke BREE scheme of work in PSHE
  • Assemblies which include meditation and a focus on kindness
  • Head teacher and Deputy headteacher’s open door policy is highly effective.
Actions from year 2020-2021
  • Anti-bullying ambassador training Anti bullying Alliance Gold award achieved .
  • Anti-bullying units of work have been written for each year group for implementation in term 1 2021
  • Gorsefield Rural Studies Centre day visits re established
  • PSHE curriculum evaluated and redesigned
  • Meditation introduced in  class assemblies
Areas for development
  • Develop a programme of day and residential visits to Gorsefield Rural Studies Centre and investigate other facilities.
  • Continued work in equalities and belonging to avoid the dangers of “ the single story” and the promotion of the concept of “windows, mirrors and sliding doors” [Rudine Sims Bishop] –  ensure there is an active desire to share a sense of belonging and development of identity
  • Arts council in year 6
Impact of actions
  • Consistent approaches to tackling relational conflict
  • Relationships between pupils and pupils and staff re-established
Next steps
  • Parental involvement in pupil support for the Anti-bullying policy
  • Mindfulness: how can pupils be supported?
  • Full implementation of SRE curriculum
  • Week long residential for year 6 reintroduced, week long residential for year 5 introduced in Summer Term
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT - Outstanding
Strengths
  • Safeguarding is effective. Vigilance underpins the culture and ethos of the school. All statutory duties are met. We empower the pupils to make safe choices, recognise abuse and keep themselves safe through a series of workshops delivered by internal and external agencies and through the PSHE curriculum. This is extended to parents so they understand how to keep their children safe from gangs and knife crime as well as online, including a personalised offer to parents to apply filters to their home systems.
  • Health and safety: including premises consultant support.
  • Governance: This has improved significantly since the last inspection.
  • Cross phase initiatives include: CPD for assistant heads to give them a wider experience, curriculum projects, sharing  a school councillor and a home school liaison worker,  [yr2 to yr3 detailed transition project cancelled], subject leaders  planning to ensure a seamless transition from KS1 to KS2 [maths and humanities]
  • English, maths and SENCO leads all provided training in their respective areas for NQTs across the local authority, sharing their expertise.
  • Policies: all statutory policies in place and others reflect the practice and high aspirations of the school.
  • School improvement plan; Consultative approach, constantly reviewed, costed and drives standards
  • Continuous professional development is a significant strength of the school, staff are well trained, school monitors and evaluates the impact of teaching and  learning to inform support systems and wider training
  • Development and refining of  Continuum for Best Practice Teaching and Learning guides teachers in reflective practice; it clearly sets out our approaches and expectations; it  informs our non-judgemental coaching approaches to support, which leads to high quality teaching and learning.
  • The school has a distributive leadership model which means that leadership is collaborative. This style of leadership ensures that staff are worked with in partnership and policies based in co-construction rather than imposed from above. This is reflected in our staff  wellbeing survey which demonstrates high levels of job satisfaction.
  • Staff mental health and well-being are a priority that is effectively addressed; NQTs and RQTs attend therapist-led well being sessions addressing ‘Becoming a Teacher’, therapist drop-in sessions support staff to understand and deal with workplace challenges. This has proved to be highly effective. Staff are invited to join  weekly meditation, ceramics and Mindfulness sessions.
  • Parents and local community: parents are supportive of the school, over 95% expressed the belief that the school is “positive and respectful” and that the school values the views, wishes and feelings of parents.
  • The staff CPD offer at all levels from the adoption of the THEP enhanced ECT offer to the assistant head perusing the NPQSL qualification. The training offer extends to all support staff who are invited to all staff meeting and INSET days, 2 HLTAs have also attended the CLPE Reading training designed primarily for teachers
  • Reactivated succession planning: appointment of a new Assistant head
Actions from previous year
  • High Performing Leaders Training, John Yates Training
  • Partnership meetings for curriculum coordinators
  • Staff well-being – INSET focussed on well-being, self care and good mental health
  • SENDCO partner project between the Infant and Junior School
  • NPQSL for SENDCO
  • Coaching training for DH
Impact of Actions
  • John Yates training: Leaders are more confident to make key decisions in shaping the direction of the school
  • High Performing leaders training: To give a deeper understanding of educational leadership in its deeper contexts
  • The training has enabled the leadership team to further focus on emerging whole school issues. It has provided time and space to evaluate the school and to talk about the future school priorities.
  • Staff sickness remains low.
Areas for development
  • Further training to enhance distributive leadership – strengthening the role of the year group and middle leaders
  • Continued succession planning.
Next steps
  • High performing leaders training – part 2
  • Continue John Yates Training
  • Re introduce staff yoga or fitness training
  • Re-Introduce parental engagement based session – cooking, fitness, parents to lunch, classroom visits, family library visits and ceramics when the risk of local transmission and rates of vaccination allow
OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS - Outstanding
Areas for Development
​See School Development Plan and Operational Development Plans
Next Steps
​
  • Attendance: improve attendance for targeted groups; SEN and persistent absentees
  • Anti-bullying Alliance: All Together School development and continued implementation of action plan
  • Artsmark accreditation: further development of the Artsmark journey with a Platinum Award goal.
  • Vocabulary: how to support the acquisition of a wide vocabulary
  • Curriculum Rationale development: links, threads and schema
  • Talk: promotion of oracy skills through the LBTH oracy hub with links to a project
  • Memory and recall strategies for teaching and learning: curriculum links and growth mindset attitudes
  • RSE readiness for implementation of statutory requirements
  • Whole school enquiry project to deepen the understanding of cognitive load theory to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.
  • Maths: whole school place value focus and a supported transition to White Rose maths
  • BREE project full implementation in years 5 & 6
  • Years 3 & 4 PSHE anti bullying planning
  • History subject knowledge CPD for staff and curriculum planning
  • Equalities curriculum audit and review of objectives.
  • A review and refinement of the learning intentions for pupil lessons: Lis to be skills led with memory links for improved recall. The creation of Key Question Learning Journeys for planning – subject knowledge content driven.
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT SUMMARY EVALUATION
​Ofsted inspection report:
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/100895 Last inspection: June 2009
Quality of education:
​Personal development:
Data
  • IDSR July 2021
  • School Census Return: Summer 2021
Behaviour and attitudes: 
Leadership and management:
Overall effectiveness:
  • Termly Evaluation documents 2020-2021
  • Operational Development Plan Evaluations 2021-2021
  • School Development Plan

​Blue Gate Fields Junior School  

​Self Evaluation  2019-2020
Self-Evaluation 2019-2020
File Size: 657 kb
File Type: pdf
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​Updated: November 2019

Context
We are a larger than average Junior school. There are 3 classes per year group, with a maximum intake of 90 pupils per year.
89% of pupils come from Asian or Asian Bangladeshi backgrounds.
99% of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is significantly higher than the national average of 21% and places the school in the highest quintile.
The proportion of pupils with SEND (13.3%) is higher than the national average (12.6%).
Of the children receiving SEND support, 3.2% have an EHC plan which is above the national average 0f 1.6%.
There is a high percentage of pupil premium children. The latest figures in the IDSR shows 61% FSM6 pupils – the highest quintile (54% September 2019)
Both the school location deprivation indicator and the pupil base indicator place the school in quintile 5 – the most deprived of schools;
The latest validated figures for attendance in 2017/18 show that the rate of overall absence (4.00%) was below the national average for schools with a similar level of deprivation;
The school has 92% stability, higher than the national at 86%. This is despite the majority of our children living in rented accommodation, both LA and private tenancy. Some of the housing is nightly tenancy, some families travel to school from out-of-borough temporary housing, some from the local women’s refuge. Parents/carers go to great effort to keep the children at our school;
The school has the Healthy Schools London Gold Award, the Music Mark and the Princess Diana, anti-bullying ambassador award. It was a winner of the Speaker’s School Council Award and the National Handwriting Award in 2017. The school is working towards the Artsmark.
We understand that the pupils within our school experience significant barriers to educational achievement, including the linguistic barriers and social and economic disadvantages outlined above.
Some parents tell us that they only have experience of a very different education system and ask for guidance to support their children’s learning.
Progress against previous inspection:

Areas to improve:
1). Governance
2). Tracking academic progress

Progress:
1). The school has recently undertaken a GB skills audit. In response the school has appointed three associate governors with the experience and skills needed. Training, in conjunction with the Infant School, is offered on the premises: Safer recruitment and Safeguarding were offered last year as was access to the Safeguarding on-line training used by the school. There is a stable and experienced clerk.
2). There is a termly tracking system and detailed half termly pupil progress meetings
 
QUALITY OF EDUCATION – Outstanding

Strengths
Blue Gate Fields Junior School’s vision is based on eight key factors that we believe are forever relevant and forever true:
 
In relation to the children  
In relation to the school culture and organisation
  • Continually striving to build capacity and sustainability
  • Building a culture of teamwork and collective accountability
  • Ensuring high levels of staff satisfaction and job fulfillment
  • Strengthening partnerships both within and across school

Curriculum Readiness
All of these factors are passionately underpinned by the philosophy that we will remove every barrier to learning: no child should be too hungry, too emotionally vulnerable, too angry, too afraid, too financially constrained, too demotivated, too isolated or feel too unsafe to learn. We ensure our pupils are “curriculum ready.”
 
Intent:
Curriculum design and coverage
  • The curriculum is designed to address the knowledge, vocabulary and experience gap that many of our pupils, disadvantaged or not, face; to enhance the cultural capital of our pupils; to improve life chances; to reflect modern, diverse Britain and to offer access to the best and most current educational thinking.
  • The curriculum is not static but it will remain true to our vision of ambitious, high quality teaching and learning with the whole child at its centre.
  • Due to the large percentage of pupils with EAL, there is a focus on literacy and numeracy skills so that pupils can access a wider cultural curriculum.
  • We utilise the skills of artists in residence and specialist teachers to ensure exemplary teaching of all subjects.
  • To ensure our children are not limited by social, economic or cultural disadvantages, we organise a broad range of cultural experiences, which add value by contextualising, enriching and deepening learning. We provide a cultural education, encompassing theatre, art and design, music, drama, literature and sports. We regularly invite ‘expert adults’, such as establish authors, poets and performance storytellers to raise aspiration.
 
Implementation:
Quality of teaching and learning
  • Teachers and teaching assistants, their levels of experience, teaching styles and approaches to delivering the curriculum are closely matched to the needs of the children. Organisational arrangements (see Curriculum Rationale 2019-2020) contribute towards increased independence and readiness to learn within a positive growth mindset learning culture.
  • Lessons are responsive to the learning needs of the pupils. In order to make the most accurate judgements about how to move forward with their teaching within the lesson, teachers plan in a variety of opportunities to gain formative feedback from pupils on their level of understanding. High quality talk is key to the process.
  • Constant assessment of pupil understanding at all stages of learning means that teachers are able to make increasingly accurate judgements about what level of support and challenge to provide to move learning forward.
  • Children are grouped according to ability in literacy and mathematics (in Years 6 science is also taught in groups) – group sizes and teaching style requirements are tailored to maximise pupil achievement.
  • Mixed ability grouping is agreed to be the most appropriate organisation for effective learning in humanities, art, design and technology, PHSCE, PE, RE and Quick Maths.
  • Art, pottery, design and technology, physical education and music are taught by specialist teachers. These subjects are often taught in smaller groups or half classes to maximise the impact of the teaching and resources. In pottery and P.E., for example, small groups support pupils with SEND needs, or emotional or social difficulties, while in music half class teaching allows for a better quality of instruction and improved outcomes
Assessment Pupils with SEN and/or disabilities
  • Each year group can have up to six ability groups including a SEND group. The size of the group increases according to the ability level of the pupils. Lower ability pupils are taught in smaller groups to benefit from greater teacher input, 1:1 focus and a narrower ability range to differentiate the learning for. These children often have the most complicated learning profiles and a small group offers the teacher the capacity to cater more specifically for individual learning needs.
Impact:
  • At the end of key stage 2, 82% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, 93% in writing and 91% in maths. 79% of children attained the combined measure compared to 65% nationally.
  • 52% of pupils were higher attaining in reading, 52% in maths and 36% achieved greater depth in writing. 25% of pupils attained the higher attaining combined measure compared to 11% nationally.
  • The progress measures are all above average – reading 1.59, writing 1.42 and maths 2.72.
 
In the IDSR many of the positive statements are triggered.
  • Reading: Key stage 2 attainment of the high standard (110+) in reading (49%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019.
  • The three-year average reading attainment score (107.9) was in the highest 20%.
  • Writing: Key stage 2 attainment of the expected standard in writing (89%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018 and 2017.
  • Key stage 2 attainment of greater depth in writing (35%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018 and 2017
  • Maths: Key stage 2 progress in mathematics (2.7) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018.
  • Key stage 2 attainment of the high standard (110+) in mathematics (49%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools in 2019 as well as in 2018 and 2017.
  • The three-year average mathematics attainment score (109.5) was in the highest 20%.
  • Other measures: In the same year, 24% of pupils achieved the key stage 2 high standard (110+) in reading, writing and mathematics, significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools.
  • In 2019, 62% of pupils achieved the high standard (110+) in the key stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools.
  • Groups:  For middle prior attainers, Key stage 2 attainment of the expected standard (100+) in mathematics (93%) was significantly above national in 2019. In 2019, 95% achieved the key stage 2 science expected standard, significantly above national. In 2019, 91% achieved the expected standard (100+) in the key stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, significantly above national.
 
Actions from previous year:
Impact of actions:
Areas for development:
Next steps
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of the renewed Feedback including Marking Policy
  • To disseminate and implement the Oracy21 training
  • To attend Reading Fluency Project training

 
BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDES - Outstanding

Strengths

Exclusion data: There have been no fixed and permanent exclusions in 2018-2019.
Bullying data: 2 incidents were recorded that were resolved. All one off relational incidents are recorded
Discrimination data: No Recorded incidents
  • Attendance is a continuous priority for school development. In 2017/2018 the rate of overall absence (4%) was below the national average for schools with a similar level of deprivation (4.73).  Strategies: Attendance Panels, weekly/termly rewards, “Traffic light” letters sent home termly and the Family Breakfast Club.
  • Pupils demonstrate excellent attitudes towards learning (see Pupil Attitude Survey 2018-2019); they use growth mindsets to counteract a fear of failure, develop resilience in the face of ‘tricky’ and to understand that they can grow as learners.
  • Extrinsic rewards are not given so that pupils focus on their learning needs rather than final outcomes. This results in motivated pupils who welcome challenge and do not avoid tasks that they perceive to be ‘difficult’.
  • Pupils behave with consistently high levels of respect for each other; they demonstrate high levels of self-control. Incidences of low-level disruption are dealt with quickly to ensure positive classroom environments that are conducive to learning. 98% of pupils responded positively to the statement, ‘Does your teacher, or other adult, support you to be the best behaved you can be?’
  • Bullying: Diana Trust Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme, Anti-bullying Alliance and All together Project, Kindness Charter, clear support networks for children (see policy). The Parent Questionnaire 2018-2019, shows that out of 174 responses only one parent strongly disagreed with the statement, ‘This school deals well with bullying’.
Strengths
  • Drama Therapists, Home School worker and two Learning Mentors ensure children and families are supported.  Staff intervene early to interrupt the escalation of issues. .
  • Even without systematised sanctions over 98% of parents agree with the statements, ‘This school makes sure that its pupils are well behaved’ and ‘My child is well looked after at this school’.
  • 98% of pupils in the Pupil Survey 2018-2019 reported that children and adults treated each other with respect.
  • 95% of children reported that they can find teachers, or other adults to listen to and help with their worries.
 

Actions from previous year:
Impact of actions:
  • Pupils behave respectfully and kindly towards one another and with the adults in school (Pupil Attitude Survey 2018-2019: 97% of pupil agree that pupils treat each other with respect, 97% of pupils feel supported to behave well, 95% of pupils use growth mindset strategies)

Areas for development: Next steps:
 
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT – Outstanding

Strengths

  • SMSC: We value highly the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development which is underpinned by mutual respect as stated in our aims, vision and values statement. See audit on website.
  • British Values: Statement used as model for the LA by advisor. See aims on website.
  • Relationship, health and sex education. Related science is being taught. The school teaches about relationships in the broadest sense and awaits further guidance from the LA.
  • PHSCE and equality: “agree, build, challenge” taught talk structure for children to discuss and debate, Anti-bullying Ambassadors and partnership training, online safety training for the whole community
  • Character education is an area in the SDIP for the spring term
  • Pupil mental health and well-being; Mindfulness, two school Drama Therapy councillors and two learning mentors (one with a specialism in supporting families experiencing mental health issues).
  • Pupil voice; active school council, Anti-bullying Ambassadors, Kindness Charter, Arts Council
  • Preparation for next stage of learning: timetable reflects vision of growing future citizens informed by school values. Key activities: democracy debates at the local Council Chamber, Aspiration Day, preparation for life challenges (e.g. knife crime workshop)
  • Head teacher’s open door policy is highly effective.

Actions from previous year: Impact of actions: Areas for development: Next steps
  • Parental involvement in pupil support for the Anti-bullying policy
  • Mindfulness: how can pupils be supported?
 
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT – Outstanding

Strengths

  • Safeguarding is effective. Vigilance underpins the culture and ethos of the school. All statutory duties are met.  We empower the pupils to make safe choices, recognise abuse and keep themselves safe through a series of workshops delivered by internal and external agencies and through the PSHE curriculum. This is extended to parents so they understand how to keep their children safe from gangs and knife crime as well as online, including a bespoke offer to parents to apply filters to their home systems.
  • Health and safety, including premises: consultant support.
  • Governance: This has improved significantly since the last inspection.
  • Policies: all statutory policies in place and others reflect the practice and high aspirations of the school.
  • School improvement plan; Consultative approach, constantly reviewed, costed and drives standards
  • Continuous professional development is a significant strength of the school, staff are well trained, school monitors and evaluate the impact of teaching and learning to inform support systems and wider training
  • Our Continuum for Best Practice Teaching and Learning guides teachers in reflective practice; it clearly sets out our approaches and expectations; it informs our non-judgemental coaching approaches to support, which lead to high quality teaching and learning.
  • The school has a distributive leadership model which means that leadership is collaborative. This style of leadership ensures that staff are worked with in partnership and policies are based in co-construction rather than imposed from above.
  • Staff mental health and well-being are a priority that is effectively addressed; NQTs and RQTs attend therapist sessions addressing ‘Becoming a Teacher’, therapist drop-in sessions support staff to understand and deal with workplace challenges. This has proved to be highly effective.
  • Parents and local community: parents are supportive of the school (99% of parents consider that the school looks after their children well, 97% agree that the school responds well to concerns raised: Parent Survey 2018-2019)

Actions from previous year:
  • High Performing Leaders Training, John Yates Training
Impact of actions:
  • John Yates training: Leaders are more confident to make key decisions in shaping the direction of the school
  • High Performing leaders training: To give a deeper understanding of educational leadership in its deeper contexts
Areas for development:
  • Further training to enhance distributive leadership
 Next steps:
  • High performing leaders training – part 2
  • Continue John Yates Training
 
OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS – Outstanding

Strengths:
Actions from previous year: Impact of actions: Areas for development: Next steps:
  • Attendance:  improve attendance for targeted groups; SEN and persistent absentees
  • Anti-bullying Alliance: All Together School development and implementation of action plan
  • Artsmark accreditation: evaluative talk in the creative curriculum
  • Vocabulary: how to support acquisition of a wide vocabulary
  • Curriculum Rationale development: links, threads and schema
  • Talk: promotion of oracy skills
  • Memory and recall strategies for teaching and learning: curriculum links and growth mindset attitudes
  • Feedback including Marking: communication and implementation of policy
  • RSE readiness for statutory requirements
  • R.E. curriculum enhancement: key questions and threads
  • Reading domains; reading materials; how to support the development of stamina and fluency
  • Cross-curricular writing and vocabulary development, the Learning Journey
 

Evidence to support summary evaluation:

Ofsted inspection report:
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/100895 Last inspection: June 2009

Quality of education:
Curriculum Rationale
Teaching and Learning Policy
Feedback including Marking Policy
Subject specific policies
Parent Survey 2018-2019
IDSR
School data documents
School review October 2019

Behaviour and attitudes:
Pupil Survey 2018-2019

Personal development:
Pupil Survey 2018-2019

Leadership and management:
Termly Evaluation documents 2018-2019
School Development Plan
THEP Monitoring Visit 26.9.18 + 12.11.18
Operational Development Plans

Overall effectiveness:
Termly Evaluation documents 2018-2019
Operational Development Plan Evaluations 2018-2019
School Development Plan