The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have developed an effective staff team who work enthusiastically together, aiming to achieve the best for pupils. You have a clear and accurate view of what your school does well and what could be even better. Your positive collaborative approach to leadership ensures that all staff share your vision. Staff appreciate working in a school which values and promotes their professional development. Pupils told me how much they enjoy coming to Winklebury Junior School. They spoke about how much they like their school because they have ‘nice teachers who are strict, kind and fun’. My classroom visits confirmed how much pupils enjoy their learning and how strong their work ethic is. For example, in a mathematics lesson pupils were working well together to prove how many tens were in a four-digit number. They listened well, building on each other’s ideas. Pupils concentrate well and show resilience in their work. They are very clear about what they are learning and why. They also know how to improve their work. This is because teachers make this clear to them. The previous inspection recognised the many strengths of the school, including the progress pupils made in their learning. Most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, continue to make good progress at Winklebury Junior School. However, you were right to recognise, and take action after, the disappointing progress in reading made by Year 6 pupils last year. At the time of the previous inspection, the inspector identified that boys’ attainment in writing was not high enough. Leaders’ current analysis of assessment information shows, in most year groups, that boys are doing as well as, if not better than, girls across the curriculum. Inspection evidence supported this. Together with other leaders at the school, you have identified that there is still work to be done in mathematics so that more pupils, especially the most able, consistently reach the higher standards. End of year outcomes in 2016 showed that the most able pupils made excellent progress in writing compared to most schools. Currently, standards and progress in writing are high throughout the school, although you have rightly identified that standards of handwriting can improve for some pupils. Safeguarding is effective. School leaders and governors ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. You involve other professionals swiftly to keep pupils safe when necessary. Staff are vigilant in following up any welfare concerns they have about a child. Pre-employment checks to ensure the suitability of staff are fully in place and recorded appropriately. Safeguarding training is regular and up to date. The induction of new staff includes keeping children safe. As a result, staff and governors understand their roles and responsibilities very well. Pupils attend school regularly. Leaders monitor attendance carefully and work effectively with families to help pupils’ attendance to improve. As a result, there is an improving trend in the attendance of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the number of pupils who are persistently absent is decreasing rapidly. The pupils who spoke to me said that they always feel safe in school. They said that bullying is rare, but when it does happen, ‘Teachers sort it out perfectly’. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. Parents appreciate the dedication of the whole staff team to the well-being of pupils. As one parent wrote, ‘The school works very hard to ensure all children are happy, respectful and safe.’ Inspection findings During the inspection I considered: how well pupils make progress in reading, how effectively mathematics is taught to ensure that the most able pupils reach the higher standards and the accuracy of teachers’ assessments of pupils’ writing. The inspection also focused on the impact leaders have on the quality of teaching and learning, and how effectively the school keeps children safe. You responded swiftly and effectively to the disappointing reading outcomes for Year 6 in 2016. You have introduced new teaching strategies focusing sharply on reading skills, ably led by your English leader. Pupils’ work indicates that this new approach to the teaching of reading is beginning to have a positive impact – particularly on the ability of older pupils to justify their answers to questions about what they have read. Pupils’ work shows a clear progression of the skills now being taught systematically. Your strong system for tracking and assessing the achievement of pupils shows that most pupils are now making at least good progress in reading. Any pupils whose progress is a cause for concern are carefully monitored and they receive helpful interventions tailored to their needs. You have found pupils’ enjoyment of reading lessons increasing, although this has yet to result in pupils reading more for pleasure, particularly older boys. My classroom visits, including scrutiny of pupils’ work, showed that the most able pupils are making sound progress in mathematics and pupils say they feel challenged with their work. You are rightly promoting further challenge in mathematics for the most able pupils, as work in books showed that pupils need more opportunities to reason mathematically and solve mathematical problems, in order to test and deepen their understanding. In Year 6 in 2016, the progress made in writing by the most able pupils was significantly better than the national average. You have ensured that teachers’ assessment of pupils’ writing is consistently sound. Furthermore, the helpful way that teachers help pupils to identify what their next steps should be motivates pupils to improve. The school makes good use of the local authority and another local school to check the accuracy of teachers’ assessments, as well as the expertise that exists within the school. You have rightly identified improving pupils’ handwriting as important for their achievement to improve further. The way you delegate responsibilities, along with your commitment to improve the teaching and leadership skills of your staff team, has boosted the pace of school improvement. Middle leaders regularly check on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. They have valuable opportunities to lead improvements across the federation. You ensure that the professional development of staff is a priority, supported well by rigorous systems to manage teachers’ performance. Where pockets of less good practice are identified, you ensure prompt and effective challenge and support for staff. Governors are thorough in their work. They raise pertinent questions, supporting and holding you to account well. They have a good understanding of the school’s challenges and are strategic in their approach to tackling these. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: pupils have increasing opportunities to reason and solve problems in mathematics, in order to deepen their understanding and so that more pupils reach higher standards by the end of key stage 2 recent improvements to the teaching of reading are consolidated, to ensure that all pupils make consistently good progress where necessary, pupils’ handwriting improves. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Lea Hannam Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you and your deputy on several occasions throughout the day to discuss the school’s effectiveness. Together, we visited lessons in all the classes and looked at pupils’ work. I met with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body, and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. I considered six responses by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the accompanying free-text responses. I spoke to pupils and heard a group read. I checked safeguarding arrangements. I analysed a range of documentation including: the school’s development plan and your evaluation of the school’s effectiveness; information about pupils’ progress; minutes of governing body meetings; performance management arrangements; records of pupils’ attendance and local authority reports. I also considered the responses of staff and pupils to Ofsted’s online questionnaires.