Speedwell Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Increase the proportion of pupils who make substantial progress, and achieve well, in mathematics by ensuring that:
  • the new approach to teaching mathematics is implemented fully across the school
  • pupils are taught to reason mathematically and to explain, in writing, how they reached their answers
  • pupils have sufficient opportunities to use what they learn in mathematics across the curriculum, so that they can see how it relates to learning in other subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders have high expectations. The headteacher leads a team of dedicated staff with quiet determination and ensures that all pupils are helped to make good progress and feel successful.
• Leaders know the school well. They base their judgement on a clear analysis of a wide range of evidence. From this, they write detailed plans for improving teaching, the curriculum and pupils’ progress further. These set out a range of ambitious actions which, once they have occurred, are evaluated well to ensure that they have the impact leaders intend.
• The headteacher has wasted no time in seeing that she and her staff address the areas identified at the last inspection in May 2018. For example, there is now a clear system for staff to scrutinise the progress of pupils and to ensure that those who are not making sufficient gains catch up through good support.
• Leaders monitor the quality of teaching well and help staff to improve their skills. For example, they have trained colleagues well in phonics and how to teach comprehension skills to pupils, such as predicting and summarising.
• A very large majority of the staff responded to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. Responses were strongly positive to every question. Staff are very proud to work together at the school and believe they are well led and managed. They confirm that leaders treat them with respect and are mindful of their work-life balance.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and is designed to give pupils as many captivating real-life experiences as possible. This was evident when pupils carried out research on the internet to find out about Bess of Hardwick. Then they visited Hardwick Hall for themselves to see if the information they had gathered was true. Because it was, they used the same sources to find out about the Great Fire of London. Members of the local fire brigade then came to the school to meet them and to explain their work. This approach to teaching helps pupils make clear links in their learning.
• Leaders ensure that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils listen thoughtfully to music at assembly time and learn to understand the difference between right and wrong. They are shown how to make good choices and the weekly ‘celebration assembly’ rewards pupils, including those who have been polite or helped others. Pupils learn about a range of other cultures and religions, such as Hinduism and Sikhism.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They explained to inspectors how the school teaches them to be respectful to others, whoever they are. They understand the need to follow the ‘Golden Rules’ and that rules help keep everyone safe and happy. They enjoy taking an active part in the life of the school. Pupils have demonstrated this by organising charity days and by planning and performing assemblies to teach their friends new things.
• Leaders evaluate their spending of the pupil premium funding to ensure that it has had a positive impact on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. They use this knowledge to inform their priorities for the following year. The support this funding pays for helps to accelerate the progress of these pupils.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sport premium funding is spent well to increase pupils’ participation and improve their fitness. A member of staff is employed to help Year 2 pupils become ‘little leaders’ and organise lunchtime sporting activities. This funding also pays for PE equipment, and for membership of the local sports partnership, allowing pupils to take part in events and competitions.
• Additional funding for pupils with SEND is helping them to make good progress. The confident and well-informed leadership coordinates teaching and support very effectively, based on a comprehensive overview of these pupils’ needs.
• Parents’ views of the school are highly positive. All parents who responded to Parent View, and those whom inspectors listened to, would recommend the school. One summed up the view of many others by stating: ‘This school has been an inspiration to my children. Learning their alphabet and numeracy in the Nursery has helped them so much. The staff listen and react to any problems quickly and efficiently, while always putting the care of children first.’

Governance of the school

• The governing body plays an effective strategic role in sustaining the quality of the school’s provision. Governors understand their responsibilities and ask incisive questions about, for example, the achievement of different groups of pupils, and the improvements in pupils’ attendance. They also challenge leaders about a broad range of issues, including the use of the school’s data tracker and how teachers build on what pupils already know.
• The governing body ensures that leaders are taking the actions they have planned, and that leaders and staff remain focused on the most important aspects to improve the school further. Both the chair and vice chair have a great deal of experience in their roles and undertake them well.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff are well trained and know the importance of their responsibility to take whatever steps are necessary to protect a pupil from harm. They communicate efficiently well together to ensure that information is discussed and that any concerns are reported immediately.
• Senior leaders work well with parents. They also make brisk referrals to a range of supporting external organisations, including social care, when this is required.
• All parents who responded to Parent View confirmed that their child is kept safe in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers’ subject knowledge is good. They use this to plan and deliver lessons well which meet the differing needs of pupils. They ensure that lessons build well on what pupils already know. This was illustrated when pupils in Year 1 were expected to read out questions such as ‘How does the boat float?’ after previously learning the sounds they needed to pronounce all the words.
• Teachers’ expectations are high. They challenge pupils continuously to improve their knowledge and skills. They let pupils know what is expected of them, including following instructions quickly.
• Classrooms are well organised to help pupils to learn. There are a wide range of well-chosen resources which are accessible to them, including those that remind them how to write numbers correctly, and those they can use to learn important spellings.
• Pupils say lessons are varied and interesting and this makes them pay attention. Inspectors saw pupils enjoying greatly one of the ‘forest friends’ outdoor learning sessions, making a raft together to float on the puddles.
• Relationships are very positive. Staff are caring and know pupils well. Pupils notice that staff listen to them and treat them respectfully. Pupils are respectful in return, both to themselves and to their peers. Staff teach them how to cooperate and lessons run happily without interruption.
• Teachers model learning well, using correct vocabulary such as ‘flexible’ and ‘transparent’ in science lessons. In mathematics, pupils are shown that an estimate is ‘a sensible guess’. In the early years, they are taught concepts, such as adding one more to a number and what happens as a result.
• Staff follow the school’s feedback policy so that pupils know how to improve. They are also observant of any misconceptions pupils have. When some pupils were not forming compound words correctly because they did not understand, the teacher quickly noticed, explained the mistake they were making, and how to rectify it.
• Teachers’ assessment of pupils is accurate. Teachers meet to discuss their judgements of why pupils are, or are not, on track to meet the expectations for their age.
• Staff use good questions to probe pupils’ understanding. This was demonstrated clearly after pupils in Year 2 had learned about the properties of different materials. The teacher probed them as to which materials would be most suitable for constructing a rabbit hutch, and why.
• Pupils explained to inspectors how teachers provide them with a wide range of books to choose from. They enjoy reading and look forward to receiving rewards for doing this regularly at home. Staff are skilled at selecting books for pupils that are of the right level of challenge, so that pupils develop confidence as they learn to read.
• Teaching assistants aid good learning by promoting pupils’ independence. They support pupils appropriately but encourage them to do as much as possible for themselves.
• Although mathematics teaching is good overall, teachers do not ensure that pupils’ progress is consistently substantial.
• The school’s new approach to teaching mathematics is beginning to bring about improvements but these are not well established. Although pupils’ skills in number are secure, teachers do not teach them well enough how to reason mathematically and to demonstrate this in their work.
• There are only limited opportunities for pupils to learn about mathematics across the curriculum. Pupils do not always see the links between ideas, such as time, money, shape and measures, and what they are learning in other subjects.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Staff teach pupils the characteristics of good learning so that they use terms such as to ‘persevere’ and ‘concentrate’ and demonstrate these approaches when they work.
• Pupils do not mind making mistakes and understand how this helps them to learn. Pupils in the nurture group were able to tell inspectors how they had improved over time and no longer get upset when they get things wrong.
• Pupils feel safe in school. Staff support their emotional well-being by helping pupils if they are unhappy and by arranging for visitors to come to the school to teach them about mindfulness and relaxation. Pupils say that they can, and do, talk to staff if they are worried about something.
• Pupils are assisted to stay physically healthy. Staff teach them about healthy food and give them a comprehensive programme of PE and sport.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe. They have helped the school attain the local authority’s ‘Stop’ anti-bullying award for its work, and say that bullying is very rare indeed. If anyone is ever unkind, staff deal with it quickly and fairly.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• In all year groups, pupils are consistently well behaved. They follow instructions and do not disrupt learning. Inspectors saw no disengagement at all from pupils during the inspection.
• Pupils keep the school tidy. Pupils show this when they hang their coats up properly and by tidying away at the end of the lesson. They treat school resources with respect and move about the school sensibly. Behaviour at lunchtime and breaktime is good.
• Pupils complete their work neatly. When writing, they know they must not rush or be untidy when they complete their calculations.
• School information shows that the attendance of pupils overall, as well as that of disadvantaged pupils, is currently in line with the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who were persistently absent from school over the last school year was above the national average. Though it remains so, it is reducing. A large majority is for justifiable reasons, such as long illness. Leaders work well to challenge any parents who do not bring their child to school every day. They also promote good attendance for all pupils, who greatly enjoy having ‘Arty the Attendance Bear’ in their class if everyone has come to school each day.

Outcomes for pupils

Good

• Almost all children enter the early years with skills that are not as well developed as those typically seen in children of the same age. This is particularly the case in language and communication. However, they make good progress from their starting points.
• Better teaching in phonics has halted the decline in previous years in the proportion of pupils who attained the expected standard. The proportion of pupils with good skills is now at least in line with the national average. Pupils enjoy reading and use good strategies to help them pronounce words they are not familiar with.
• At the end of key stage 1, pupils’ attainment in reading and mathematics has been slightly below the national average over time. However, the proportions of pupils attaining a greater depth of understanding in these subjects have remained broadly in line with other pupils nationally.
• The proportion of pupils attaining at least the expected standard in writing has been broadly in line with the national average for three years.
• School information shows that pupils currently in the school are making good progress from their starting points. During the inspection, inspectors undertook a wide scrutiny of pupils’ work from both the previous and current academic year groups. This confirmed that pupils’ progress is consistently good.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress over time. The proportion of these pupils in the current Year 2 cohort who are on track to reach at least the expected standards are currently in line with the national average in both reading and writing, and close to this in mathematics.
• School data indicates that a large majority of pupils with SEND make good gains across different subjects. This is reflected in exercise books from these pupils.
• The most able pupils make good progress over time.
• Pupils with lower attainment are supported well to make good progress. One result of being given work that matches their ability is that they develop greater confidence and fluency across a range of subjects.
• Pupils make good progress over time in subjects other than English and mathematics. They make good gains in science. Inspectors saw how pupils plan their own investigations, make predictions, describe their method, record their results and explain what their work shows, such as the best material to make an umbrella for a teddy bear.

Early years provision Good

• Strong and knowledgeable leadership of the early years has a positive impact on the quality of teaching and the progress the children make. A good understanding of the different areas of learning and accurate assessment underpin detailed and relevant plans to meet the differing needs of the children. Because children enter with skills in communication and language that are not as well developed as is typical at that age, this area of learning is given a high priority within the curriculum.
• Children settle in quickly. Staff are kind, caring and make children feel safe and secure. They teach quickly the routines that everyone follows each day so that children are never worried about what is happening or what they are expected to do.
• Staff are good role models who speak clearly and who often repeat new words, such as ‘sandwich’, so that pupils learn to understand and pronounce them themselves.
• Good teaching of early phonics in the Nursery class uses a range of resources, including musical instruments, to teach children, from a young age, to listen and recognise sounds. Teachers then teach them how to notice different sounds in words such as ‘cat’ and ‘pig’.
• Additional funding is used well to support children who are disadvantaged or with SEND to catch up from their starting points.
• Whether pupils are in classrooms or outdoors, they are well behaved because activities are exciting. Inspectors saw children outside balancing on planks, writing with different coloured chalks, and collecting leaves to make a saucepan full of ‘soup’. Children decorate the ‘fairy garden’, which consistently wins annual awards at Chesterfield in Bloom.
• Children are well behaved. They learn and play happily together and concentrate on what they are doing for good periods of time. They behave thoughtfully to each other and do not rush about or be unkind.
• Staff ensure that they use parents’ knowledge to help them assess what children can do before they begin school. They are invited in warmly to family reading sessions, and to watch children take part in performances, such as the story of the Little Red Hen. The ‘proud of’ board encourages parents to celebrate their children’s successes from home.
• From their starting points, children make good progress. Most are well prepared for Year 1. Staff pass on detailed information about each child to their colleagues so that they continue to make good gains in Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 112629 Derbyshire 10056192 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 Maintained 3 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 141 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Julie Bacon Jane Moore Telephone number 01246 472336 Website Email address www.speedwellinfants.co.uk info@speedwell.derbyshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 22 May 2018

Information about this school

• This is smaller than the average-sized infant school.
• The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is much higher than average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority backgrounds is well below average. Almost all pupils are from a White British background.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is below average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classrooms. A good proportion of these lesson observations took place with the headteacher. In total, learning was observed in 17 lessons. Inspectors also scrutinised examples of children’s workbooks from the early years, along with a wide variety of pupils’ exercise books for different subjects across key stage 1, including from a range of different groups of pupils.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the head of the early years, the subject leaders for mathematics and for English, and the vice chair of the governing body. They analysed the 34 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, looked at the free-text comments submitted, and spoke with parents at the end of the school day. Inspectors also looked at the views of the parents who had responded to the school’s most recent questionnaire.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school’s development plan and self-evaluation, policies and records related to safeguarding and pupils with SEND, the school’s information about pupils’ achievement and attendance, and records of meetings of the governing body.

Inspection team

Roary Pownall, lead inspector Peter Stonier

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector