Kilburn Infant and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders at all levels make better use of the school’s tracking systems to check how much progress pupils from different groups are making from their different starting points
  • middle leaders have a greater responsibility for supporting the headteacher in driving forward whole-school improvement
  • senior leaders and governors use the school improvement plan to set out a clear direction for the next phase of school development
  • senior leaders’ communication with parents is improved to help parents better understand the work of the school and enable them to contribute more to their children’s learning.
• Further improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning by ensuring that:
  • teachers help pupils to develop a deeper understanding in their learning so that they achieve higher standards, especially the middle-attaining pupils
  • teaching continues to accelerate the progress of disadvantaged pupils so that they catch up with other pupils nationally
  • leaders and teachers continue to tackle the remaining inconsistencies in the quality of teaching.
• Further improve the behaviour of pupils by ensuring that:
  • leaders establish procedures which record valuable information on incidents of poor behaviour and use this to reduce occurrences of poor behaviour and the number of fixed-term exclusions from the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and the governing body have improved the school considerably since the last inspection. Leaders and other staff work together well and form an effective team. Expectations are high and the quality of teaching in the school and pupils’ achievement have improved.
• Leaders have ensured that the school’s curriculum is well designed. Pupils benefit from and enjoy interesting and stimulating topics. Leaders maintain a detailed overview of what pupils need to learn in each year group and supplement this where they believe it does not provide enough challenge. The curriculum has a positive impact on pupils’ behaviour and supports their good achievement.
• Leaders and governors have responded well to the high-quality support and challenge they have received from the local authority. The school has effective links with other schools through a teaching school alliance. Strong arrangements for transition both into the school and onwards to junior school help pupils settle quickly into their next stage of learning.
• Following detailed analysis and comparisons to national assessment results, action taken to improve the quality of phonics teaching has raised standards in all year groups. Writing, particularly spelling, punctuation and grammar, now has a much more prominent place in the school’s curriculum. Writing standards are rising quickly throughout the school.
• Leaders work hard to ensure that different groups of pupils make good progress and have equal opportunities to succeed. Leaders of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities work closely with other teachers to check the progress these pupils are making. Senior leaders and governors place a strong emphasis on raising standards for disadvantaged pupils. Funding allows a range of individual support programmes for these groups of pupils so that they can catch up from any identified underachievement. Disadvantaged pupils are now making accelerated progress.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong and the school’s work on promoting British values is effective. Pupils develop a range of skills by holding positions of responsibility and taking part in extra-curricular activities, which are plentiful.
• Leaders have an accurate picture of the school’s strengths and where further improvements are required. They use this information effectively to ensure that pupils achieve well. However, the priorities set out in the school improvement plan now need to be more challenging to recognise the successful journey the school has taken and ensure that improvement continues.
• Leaders have been successful in their work to improve the quality of teaching. Professional development to improve weaker teaching has been effective. Where teaching has not improved, leaders and governors have not been afraid to tackle difficult issues to ensure that pupils receive a high-quality education. Procedures for holding staff to account for pupils’ progress are robust. Teachers meet with leaders to discuss the progress of each pupil and identify those pupils who are not making the progress they should. Leaders still have work to do, however, to tackle the remaining inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Middle leaders know their subjects well and are involved in improving the quality of teaching and learning. They carry out learning walks, book checks and joint lesson observations and provide support for other staff. They do not yet, however, hold sufficient responsibility for pupils’ progress in their subject areas.
• The school uses the additional physical education and sport funding to promote pupils’ interest in, and enjoyment of, sporting activities. Teachers have benefited from working alongside specialist coaches and have increased their level of expertise and confidence. Pupils’ participation rates in physical activity are high.
• The headteacher and governors have begun to improve communication with parents and carers. Views from Ofsted’s online survey (Parent View), the school’s own parental surveys and parents spoken with during the inspection all indicate that the majority of parents are appreciative of the work of leaders. However, leaders need to develop the work they do with parents to ensure that a greater proportion understand, and are able to support, the work of the school.

Governance of the school

• Governors are ambitious for pupils who attend Kilburn Infant and Nursery School. They have a clear understanding of the improvements that have taken place at the school since the last inspection. Governors bring a range of experience and expertise to their roles.
• Governors use information gathered through visits to the school, together with reports from leaders, to ask challenging questions aimed at bringing about improvements. They regularly review the effectiveness of the leaders’ work to keep pupils safe. They also evaluate how well the school’s pupil premium funding is used to help disadvantaged pupils catch up. This is having a positive impact on improving disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes.
• Governors are diligent and effective in their monitoring. They have improved the way in which they record their visits to the school and how this information is shared with one another so that they are more fully informed of the school’s work. However, sometimes they do not have sufficient information to measure the impact of any additional support pupils receive. For example, governors do not have a clear enough understanding of the progress different groups of pupils make from their different starting points. Nor do they have a clear enough picture of behaviour and attendance within the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. All statutory requirements are met and all polices are up to date. Appropriate vetting checks are undertaken when staff and volunteers join the school to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.
• Leaders ensure that a strong culture of safeguarding is instilled among all staff and volunteers. Staff are provided with training and regular updates on safeguarding and child protection procedures, including those associated with radicalisation and extremism. Partnership work with external agencies is effective in making sure that pupils are supported and are kept safe. Procedures are implemented robustly.
• Pupils who spoke with the inspector said that they feel safe in the school because of how well the adults look after them. The curriculum helps pupils gain a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. A very large majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey and to the school’s own surveys, agreed that their children were safe and well cared for. This view was shared by parents spoken with during the inspection.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Effective leadership has led to an improvement in the quality of teaching since the last inspection. Teaching, learning and assessment are now typically good and this enables most pupils to make good progress.
• Staff form good relationships with pupils and manage their behaviour well. Pupils show positive attitudes towards their learning because teachers have high expectations of them.
• Teachers display good subject knowledge. This is used to model learning effectively and support pupils in understanding new concepts. Teachers make strong use of the curriculum to plan learning that interests and engages pupils. They also build effectively on what pupils already know, understand or can do. Evidence in pupils’ workbooks shows pupils participating in a wide variety of tasks and motivating activities.
• Teachers use questioning carefully to check pupils’ understanding and to challenge their thinking. For example, in Year 1 mathematics, pupils were provided with an answer and asked to work out the question. This increased the level of difficulty of their number work. Teachers monitor pupils’ learning to pick up and correct any misconceptions and to move their learning on. For example, in Year 2 English, pupils were challenged to provide correct definitions when learning about homophones.
• Careful planning ensures that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with appropriate support to progress well with their learning. Teaching assistants provide effective small-group and one-to-one teaching.
• Teachers set interesting and relevant homework which helps to improve pupils’ skills and consolidate learning. Parents are encouraged to play an important role in supporting their children’s learning.
• Reading skills are taught well throughout the school. The teaching of phonics is much improved. Pupils of different abilities read to the inspector. They demonstrated good levels of fluency and confidence and used their phonics skills well when reading difficult words. The most able pupils read with intonation and expression. All pupils said how much they enjoy reading. However, the most able pupils do not routinely read sufficiently challenging books.
• Teachers develop pupils’ writing effectively. Evidence in pupils’ workbooks shows that they are applying their skills successfully across a wide range of subjects. They write regularly and with purpose. However, some pupils do not achieve a greater depth to their learning. For example, pupils’ workbooks showed few opportunities for pupils to write at length and make use of more complex concepts and skills.
• Pupils’ achievement in mathematics is good. Teaching ensures that pupils have a range of opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills to solve a variety of problems and develop their reasoning. However, teachers are not as clear about what pupils should do to increase their knowledge and understanding in mathematics as they are in literacy.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils learn about rights and responsibilities, tolerance and the rule of law. They increase their understanding of democracy through elections and by voting for how their fundraising monies will be spent and what new resources to buy for the school.
• The school’s records show that bullying and racist incidents are rare. Pupils told the inspector that bullying did occasionally occur but that adults followed it up. The majority of parents agreed with this.
• Pupils take full advantage of the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities to help them develop important additional skills. For example, they attend a film club and take part in school productions. They are also able to take on responsibilities such as head boy and head girl and playground pals. They said they enjoy taking part in physical education and in the school’s sporting clubs.
• Pupils who spoke with the inspector were clear that they are safe and well cared for. The school’s curriculum ensures that pupils know how to be healthy and look after themselves, including when using technology. The majority of parents agree that their children are safe and well cared for.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Teachers and teaching assistants apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently and pupils know what is expected of them.

• Pupils’ conduct is good at playtimes and around the school site. Pupils enjoy their lunch in a peaceful environment because of their mature behaviour during this time. Pupils are welcoming, polite and well mannered to each other and to adults.
• Pupils’ attendance is around the national average. Leaders have taken effective action to tackle the high number of absences of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Attendance rates for both these groups of pupils have improved considerably. The number of pupils who are persistently absent has also decreased.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and engage positively in their learning. Their behaviour has a good impact on their learning. However, some pupils occasionally lose focus on their learning and need to be reminded to concentrate by adults. Most pupils and parents agreed that behaviour is good. Although still small, the number of incidents of poor behaviour has risen over the last year. The number of pupils who are fixed-term excluded from the school has also increased. Leaders do not monitor behaviour information sufficiently well to help them reduce future occurrences of poor behaviour.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils’ work and the school’s accurate assessment records indicate that pupils are currently making good or better progress from their individual starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The number of pupils in Year 1 reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening checks increased considerably in 2016, and was above the national average. The school’s tracking system indicates that current pupils in Year 1 will do similarly well. Disadvantaged pupils however, while making good progress, are not progressing rapidly enough to catch up with others nationally.
• Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 2 was broadly average in reading and mathematics in 2016. Current assessment information indicates that reading and mathematics attainment will be even better this year. Writing attainment, however, was below average in 2016. Leaders have taken swift and effective action to improve the quality of teaching of writing. Current assessment information indicates that pupils in both Year 1 and Year 2 are now set to achieve higher than last year’s national average.
• Leaders effectively check assessment information in a range of different subjects. This information indicates that most pupils are currently making good progress in each of their foundation subjects.
• Senior leaders and governors recognised that not enough disadvantaged pupils were making sufficient progress when compared to national averages. Leaders’ focus on bringing about necessary improvements has ensured that disadvantaged pupils are now making rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, while they are on track to attain higher than disadvantaged pupils have achieved in previous years, they are not expected to have caught up with other pupils nationally.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive high-quality support and make good progress towards their individual targets. Higher-attaining pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics but the rate of progress in Year 1 reading and writing is not as rapid. Some inconsistencies also remain in the proportion of middle-attaining pupils who are reaching the higher standards.

Early years provision Good

• The majority of children join the school with skill levels that are typical for their age. They make good progress in their learning and development and the proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the time they leave Reception is above the national average. Children are well prepared for entry into Year 1.
• In the absence of the early years leader, senior leaders have ensured, through distributed leadership and a dedicated and hardworking team, that a good provision has been maintained and that the quality of teaching has remained good. The early years team have made valuable use of support from the local authority and other providers.
• Adults are vigilant in their supervision of children, ensuring that the school’s high expectations for keeping children safe are upheld in the early years provision. Safeguarding is effective and statutory duties are met.
• Children’s behaviour and their personal development are good and sometimes their behaviour is exemplary. They collaborate with each other purposefully and also show independence in their learning. For example, in Nursery, a group of boys built different arrangements of wooden beams to walk along successfully as a team. Adults encourage the children to resolve their own disagreements and the children do this with great thought and maturity.
• Children sustain focus and concentration in their learning because they enjoy and are confident in their play. For example, the inspector observed children in Reception focusing on counting and ordering money for sustained periods of time.
• The learning environment is rich, colourful and stimulating, both indoors and outdoors. Children benefit from an exciting and well-planned curriculum based on accurate assessment information of what they can and cannot do.
• Purposeful activities are targeted at widening children’s experiences and skill development. This means that all groups of children, including the most able and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress. Children show great pride in their achievements, as shown by the Nursery children who were keen to demonstrate their counting skills to the inspector.
• Parents are involved in their children’s transition into the school and lines of communication have been extended to maintain parental involvement in their children’s learning during the early years. Adults capture children’s learning and progress in workbooks which are routinely shared with parents. Partnerships with external agencies are used well to provide any additional support that may be needed. There are good links with other schools to moderate assessment and share best practice.
• Literacy and numeracy skill development is routinely built into daily activities. Phonics teaching is strong and provides children with a solid foundation for their transition to key stage 1. There is a strong emphasis on developing children’s early writing skills. In the Reception class, children made strong progress with their writing, learning how to grip a pencil and include finger spaces between words in a sentence. Leaders know that further attention needs to be given to the outdoor learning activities to provide the same level of skill development as there is indoors.
• Adults interact with children well to extend and move their learning on. They use questioning effectively to make children think and to extend their language development. Adults in Nursery effectively engaged the children in learning. An adult-led tea party captured the children’s interest. However, in the Nursery, literacy and numeracy adult-led activities are not routinely in place.
• Disadvantaged children in the early years make good progress. This progress is now accelerating and they are making better progress than their peers in reading and writing. Numeracy progress, however, remains slower.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 112577 Derbyshire 10031158 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Infant School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 149 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Vickie Elsey Joanne Baillie 01332 880449

www.kilburnprimaryschool.co.uk enquiries@kilburn-inf.derbyshire.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 24–25 March 2015

Information about this school

• Kilburn Infant and Nursery School is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It is split between three buildings on the same site. Some pupils are taught in mixed-age classes.
• The majority of children are from White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is well below average.
• The school is a member of the Derbyshire Partnership for Learning.
• The early years leader is currently absent from school.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed pupils’ learning in all classes. Some of this learning was observed together with the headteacher.
• Discussions took place with the headteacher, other leaders and staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• The inspector met with a group of pupils and talked to pupils informally. Playtime and lunchtime were observed. The inspector also listened to Year 1 and Year 2 pupils reading.
• The inspector observed the work of the school and looked at a broad range of evidence, including: the school’s analysis of its strengths and weaknesses; planning and monitoring documentation; the work in pupils’ books; records relating to behaviour and attendance; and the school’s own information on pupils’ current attainment and progress in reading, writing, mathematics and in a range of other subjects.
• The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised. A review of the school’s website was made to check whether it met the requirements on the publication of statutory information.
• The nine surveys completed by staff and the 80 responses submitted by parents to Ofsted’s online survey (Parent View), including the 12 free-text responses, were taken into account. The inspector spoke informally with parents at the beginning of the school day and reviewed the school’s own surveys.

Inspection team

Vondra Mays, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector