Greenfields Junior School

Self-Evaluation and School Improvement Priorities 2019-22

Each year our leadership team and Governing Body evaluate the strengths of our schools and identify opportunities for improvement against the following areas:

• The quality of education
• Behaviour and attitudes to learning
• Personal development
• Leadership and management

We carry out this evaluation using our assessment data, looking at children’s work, observing teaching and learning and talking to pupils, staff and parents.  This helps us to build an accurate and robust picture of how well our schools are achieving our strategic aims and ensures all of our children receive the best education possible.

Greenfields Junior School was Federated with Oakwood Infant School in September 2018 to become part of the Green Oaks Federation.

At the time of federating, the school was identified by Hampshire County Council as requiring additional support to improve the quality of education.  The school is now under the leadership of an Executive Headteacher who has successfully led Oakwood Infant School and maintained its status as an outstanding school.  The Executive Headteacher and Governing Body of the Green Oaks Federation have the highest expectations for Greenfields and have reset the school on its journey to excellence. 

Quality of Education

Children at Greenfields Junior School now receive a good quality of education.

The school has been rigorous in improving the quality of education in English and Mathematics and the impact of this is already evident in outcomes for pupils over time.  There has been significant investment in improving subject knowledge with opportunities for staff to learn from advisory teachers and subject experts.  This is allowing new and experienced staff to become experts in planning and teaching Mathematics and English.  At Greenfields, teachers and subject leaders understand curriculum content and the progression in learning towards end points.  There is a strong focus on maximising pupils’ understanding in each lesson in order to aid long term memory development. 

Greenfields uses a thematic approach to learning that allows pupils to build links between curriculum subjects and acquire new knowledge in a rich and engaging way.  Curriculum subjects are planned across the Key Stage to allow a breadth and depth of learning. 

Teachers now have a better understanding of summative and formative assessment and use this to plan and teach for all groups of pupils.  This is allowing pupils to make good progress from their starting points and over time.

The teachers at Greenfields have embraced the Federation and the capacity for improvement that this has brought.  They are motivated to give their best and strive to improve their own and other’s practice.  This has led to a new culture of high expectations for all pupils, with teachers expecting to be held to account for the quality of education and outcomes for pupils in their class.   The capacity for continued improvement is high, with the expectation for the quality of education to be of the highest standard possible and consistent across the Federation.

Areas for Development

Sustain and enhance the quality of English and Mathematics teaching and learning across Key Stage 2.

This will allow for continued improvement in end of Key Stage 2 performance with pupils sustaining the progress that they make in Key Stage 1.

Enhance the use of assessment to accurately assess secure understanding and inform planning, teaching and intervention.  This will ensure teaching is responsive to pupil needs within lessons and over time.  Teachers will be accurately able to assess both understanding and retention of knowledge and use this to inform planning and diagnose intervention.

Ensure feedback and marking is precise and leads to mastery and deeper learning.  This will ensure teachers systematically check pupils’ understanding in order to inform teaching in real time and over lessons.  Feedback and marking will then consistently have a demonstrable impact on pupil progress.

Improve the quality of intervention teaching in English and Mathematics.  This will ensure teachers and teaching assistants understand how to address misconceptions and deepen learning through carefully planned and precise intervention.

Challenge potential underperformance each year through trend analysis, across Key Stage liaison and diagnostic assessment.  This will allow pupils, and pupil groups, to be precisely identified as at risk of underachievement with early and sustained intervention removing potential barriers to learning.

Continue to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils through a holistic diagnostic of need and intervention.  This will allow teachers to carefully consider the profile of each pupil and understand internal and external barriers to achievement.    

Use a hierarchy of learning to plan, teach and assess curriculum content.  This will improve curriculum subject design, delivery and assessment and ensure this is rooted in expert subject knowledge.  There will be a clear hierarchy to learning and teachers will know how to support pupils who find learning difficult and provide stretch and challenge for higher attaining pupils. It will enable pupils to achieve mastery and deepen learning across the curriculum and key stage.

Establish a global curriculum for inquiry that is driven by values and attitudes as well as knowledge, skills and understanding.  This will allow the children to understand the local, national and global community that they live in and be part of real life projects that are relevant to their own and other’s lives.  Pupils will have the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need in order to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in their current and later lives.

Improve teacher foundation subject knowledge to ensure all teachers understand how knowledge and skills connect across units, years, and Key Stages.  This will ensure all pupils understand how learning connects and have secure foundations for learning as they move through the Key Stages. 

Improve teacher and pupil understanding of the attributes and learning behaviours of being a curriculum specialist.   Pupils will understand how subject specialists think, behave and learn.  They will know how to learn and investigate as a scientist and understand how this may be similar or different to learning as a historian or artist.

Behaviour and Attitudes

Behaviour and attitudes to learning have substantially improved under new leadership and show the capacity to swiftly reach the high expectations set by the Executive Headteacher.

The school has a diverse community and is now highly effective at promoting positive behaviour for all pupils.  This has been achieved through a robust behaviour policy that is linked to latest research and recommended best practice. 

Since the Federation there has been significant investment in professional development and staff now have an expert understanding of the communicative function of behaviour.  The school uses emotion coaching and restorative practice to support behaviours at school and a system of stepped consequences to reinforce high expectations and the school social norms.  Pupils with complex additional needs are well supported by adults and the school is proactive in engaging in outside agency support.

Any evidence or suggestion of bullying, harassment or discrimination is responded to swiftly and the school uses assemblies, councils and the curriculum to promote equality, acceptance and positive relationships within our community. 

Attendance at Greenfields is now good and staff are proactive at engaging with parents and outside agencies to offer support when needed.  The school is not afraid to challenge poor attendance or lateness and will proceed to legal intervention if required.

Areas for Development

Continue to embed research and professional development to ensure all teachers, including those new to the school, consistently apply the behaviour policy.

This will ensure the ethos and culture of the school is maintained and pupils continue to demonstrate excellent behaviour and attitudes to learning.

Enhance Teaching Assistant capacity to implement behaviour management strategies at a proactive and reactive level.  This will allow pupils’ needs to be met through connected and supportive relationships and positive behaviour management strategies.

Personal Development

At Greenfields pupils treat each other with respect and understanding and feel safe and happy at school.

They now have a strong understanding of our school values and demonstrate these in their thoughts and actions.   Pupil voice is valued and respected and the school has an active school council to allow debate, discussion and shared agreements between pupils. The school also has a pupil Governing Body and these Young Governors assist the Executive Headteacher in leading school improvement. This has built a collaborative culture at the school and strengthened the school into a community that values each other. 

Our pupils actively contribute to the local community and our school choir regularly performs at our elderly residents’ community centre and local events. Our Evergreen Café is run by our Community Young Governors and our pupils enjoy talking to our elderly guests, playing games and singing alongside them.

The school champions physical and mental health and well-being for pupils, staff and parents and a strong emphasis is placed on promoting and developing healthy and supportive relationships.

We have strong links with Oakwood, our federated infant school and also our local secondary school, Robert Mays.  This allows transition between school phases to be carefully planned and enables our pupils to have the confidence and resilience that they need to be successful in the next stage of their education.

Greenfields is part of a diverse community that includes pupils with Special Educational Needs, our local Gypsy Roma Traveller community and families from other ethnic minority groups.  The school understands, respects and celebrates diversity and is proactive in supporting families who may feel  marginalised or disadvantaged.

Areas for Development

Improve opportunities to contribute to society at a local and global level.

This will ensure our children are responsible, respectful citizens who are actively involved in their school, local and global community.

Continue to develop pupils’ knowledge on how to keep themselves mentally as well as physically healthy.  This will ensure pupils understand how to support and protect their own mental health leading to emotional resilience and well-being.

Enable pupils to recognise online and offline risks to their well-being and recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of mobile technology and social media.  This will ensure pupils and parents understand the responsibility and challenges of technology and social media and how to protect themselves online.

Continue to promote an inclusive environment that allows children to support each other and challenge prejudice and inequality.  This will ensure equality of opportunity, an understanding of diversity and enable all pupils to thrive as part of a supportive community.

Develop pupils’ age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships, including sex education.  This will help pupils to recognise the changes that they go through as they grow and to understand the features of healthy relationships.  This will give them the skills that they need now and in the future. 

Leadership and Management

The Executive leadership team and Governing Body are core strengths of the school.

The Executive Headteacher has swiftly established an in-depth understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and has high ambitions for the school.  The Federation with Oakwood Infant School has enabled the Executive Headteacher and Governing Body to define a long term vision and strategy across the schools and this has strengthened the capacity to secure the best possible outcomes for pupils in the long and short term.

The Head of School at Greenfields shares the same drive and ambition for Greenfields and this is being instilled within the wider leadership team.  There is a clear vision and strategy to lead and sustain improvement and this is rapidly becoming embedded throughout the school. 

The school now has a distributed leadership structure with year group and Key Stage Leaders.  The leadership team works with senior leaders, Governors and advisors to continually evaluate the quality of education and implement improvement priorities.  This is reflected in the improved outcomes across the school.

The school has a strong safeguarding culture, and systems and procedures to safeguard pupils are rigorous and robust.  There is a tiered support system for families, and pupils and families in need are exceptionally well supported by staff. 

Areas for Development

Continue to enhance the distributed leadership structure of the school to improve accountability and shared ownership for school improvement.

This will ensure rapid and sustained improvement with all staff understanding and leading the vision and values of the Federation.

Enhance foundation subject leadership to improve curriculum intent, implementation and impact.  This will ensure the successful implementation of a global, connected curriculum. 

Improve parent and pupil understanding of safeguarding including e-safety.  This will allow a safeguarding community that values and respects the rights of the child.