Healdswood Infants' and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes by making sure that:
  • pupils make faster progress across key stage 1 so that the proportion of pupils who attain at least the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics is broadly in line with that typically found in other schools nationally.
• Improve teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • all teachers have high expectations of pupils
  • pupils are moved on to their next task as soon as it is clear that they can competently do the work they have been set
  • pupils, and particularly the most able, are consistently given work that challenges them
  • teachers give pupils sufficient opportunities to write longer pieces of work, including in subjects other than English.
• Ensure behaviour is good by:
  • improving attendance and further reducing the level of pupils’ persistent absence so that it is at least close to the national average.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • strengthening and embedding the new processes that are already bringing about positive improvements to the quality of teaching.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders over time have not ensured that teaching is consistently good throughout the school. As a result, pupils have not made sufficient progress from their starting points and too few pupils have left the school ready for the next stage of their education.
• The new executive headteacher and the head of school are bringing about rapid improvements. However, these changes are at an early stage and they have not yet led to good teaching across all year groups and classes. Too few pupils are currently making the progress of which they are capable.
• Some instability in staffing has constrained the progress that the new senior leadership team has made so far this academic year. Nevertheless, leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths of the school and the further action that is urgently needed to bring about improvement.
• Senior leaders have united staff in a desire to ensure that pupils’ achievement is good throughout Healdswood Infants’ and Nursery School. Staff morale is positive because senior leaders involve them in decision-making. One staff member who responded to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire summed up the view of many others by saying, ‘Every change has been implemented well and has had a rapid, positive impact.’
• Leaders have begun an intensive programme of meetings and professional development to improve the skills of staff. For example, staff have received considerable training in how to teach phonics well. As a result, the teaching of phonics has improved greatly and it is now good.
• Senior leaders have also commenced the development of effective systems to, for example, scrutinise pupils’ books regularly and to ensure that assessment is as precise as possible. Leaders are keen to see these systems fully embedded so that they can give the governing body consistently accurate information about both teaching and pupils’ achievements.
• The curriculum is broad and is appropriately balanced. Pupils’ workbooks show that no subject areas are insufficiently covered and that older pupils tackle concepts that are more challenging. A range of after-school clubs enhances the curriculum. Pupils were keen to tell inspectors that they enjoy taking part in, for instance, multi-sports and the Hama-beads Club.
• The school’s ‘rainbow rules’ teach children, in an age-appropriate way, fundamental British values. Pupils were able to explain how they must always respect others. They learn about a wide variety of different cultures and religions, for example finding out about Diwali in Year 1 and Islam in Year 2. Pupils also said that they feel listened to and that it is important that everyone follows the rules. Leaders ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Leaders ensure that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development takes place throughout all year groups. For example, pupils develop a clear sense of right and wrong as they grow up. Staff ask children in the early years to bring in a small box full of things from home that are special to them. Children then talk about these to their classmates so that everyone can understand and appreciate the different values, cultures and experiences that everyone has. Pupils also discover the wonder of nature by learning in the school’s extensive grounds and wooded area.
• Leaders have a good understanding of the barriers to learning that disadvantaged pupils at the school may have. They agree that, historically, the pupil premium funding was not spent in ways that were successful in removing the differences in attainment between these pupils and others nationally. This year, leaders have adjusted their approach considerably to ensure that they use the funding in ways that meet the needs of these pupils much more effectively.
• The coordinator for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities ensures that the funding for these pupils is spent well. She checks that staff support these pupils so that they can make good gains from their starting points. Parents and carers whom inspectors met were very positive about the staff’s provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, with one saying, for example, that the school ‘works wonders’.
• Leaders spend the primary physical education (PE) and sport funding well to improve pupils’ participation in this area. Pupils described how much they enjoyed, for example, the gymnastics club that this funding provides.
• A very large majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View would recommend the school to others. This positive picture reflects the results found in the school’s latest questionnaire to parents and the views of those parents whom inspectors met during the inspection.

Governance of the school

• Historically, the governing body did not challenge leaders robustly enough about low outcomes for pupils or hold them fully to account for pupils’ misbehaviour. Governors’ minutes show that they sometimes accepted excuses from leaders as to why pupils were not making the gains that they should. However, they are now asking senior leaders rigorous questions about pupils’ performance and other matters. Governors understand their responsibilities fully and, enhanced by new members who have good levels of specialist expertise, they are fulfilling their strategic role well.
• Governors also ensure that they maintain the school budget effectively. They undertake health and safety checks on a regular basis so that they quickly attend to any hazards to both pupils and staff.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that staff, including those recently appointed, are trained well in safeguarding. As a result, staff are vigilant and aware of the wide range of indicators of the many different forms of child abuse. Staff understand clearly that their most important responsibility is the safety of every pupil. They report any concerns to leaders without delay.
• School records are clear and well kept. Files scrutinised by inspectors showed that leaders do not hesitate to take immediate action when staff report concerns to them. This includes referral to a range of external agencies, such as the local authority’s multi-agency safeguarding hub.
• Leaders work well with parents to ensure that the risks of harm to their children are minimised by, for example, giving them good information on the school’s website that shows them how to keep their child safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Although children are taught well in the early years, the quality of teaching over time in key stage 1 has not been consistently good. It remains variable. Pupils’ workbooks from different classes and year groups show that, as a result, pupils do not make enough progress.
• Teachers in key stage 1 do not consistently move pupils on to harder work soon enough. Pupils’ books show that, too often, teachers give work to them that they can already do. As a result, pupils mark time rather than learning new skills, extending their knowledge or deepening their understanding.
• Not all teachers in key stage 1 have sufficiently high expectations of what pupils can do. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils. These pupils are not consistently given work that challenges them. Pupils’ exercise books show that, in most subjects, they are often required to complete tasks that are the same or nearly identical to those that teachers give to other pupils. The most able pupils, however, now receive work in mathematics that meets their needs.
• Teachers in key stage 1 do not plan sufficient opportunities for pupils to write extended pieces of work, including in subjects other than English. As a result, pupils do not develop sufficient stamina to write pieces of work that are long enough.
• The most recent work in pupils’ books in key stage 1 shows clear improvements in teaching compared with that seen in the autumn term and in the previous academic year. For example, mathematics exercise books show that teachers now give pupils better guidance on what to do next, along with resources to help them to learn more effectively. Books show that teachers cover an appropriately wide range of areas. The most able pupils are being given good opportunities to solve problems and to reason mathematically.
• Evidence of better teaching this term in key stage 1 is also reflected in pupils’ English books. Overall, pupils use better grammar and spelling and teachers are now showing them how to use punctuation appropriately. Teachers’ application of the school’s new handwriting scheme is improving pupils’ neatness and presentation.
• The teaching of phonics has improved considerably this academic year and is now good. The lead teacher for phonics has injected a sense of urgency into improving the teaching of reading. She has, alongside senior leaders, given a message to all staff to the effect that no pupil must be left behind. Staff are using a consistent approach to teaching phonics across the school and teachers are giving increasing opportunities to pupils to apply their new skills in their independent writing. Classrooms are now positive learning environments with engaging wall displays to help pupils learn, for example, the phonic skills they do not confidently have yet.
• Teachers are developing an early love of books in pupils. The curriculum includes daily times when staff read stories to children, including traditional tales such as Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood. Pupils in Reception were keen to tell inspectors how much they liked hearing staff read them books such as ‘Room on the Broom’, while pupils in key stage 1 enjoy ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Staff help pupils to develop their confidence and show them how to learn well. Pupils use appropriately, for instance, school resources for mathematics and reading. They understand the system for giving them feedback about their work and said that it is helping them to improve.
• Pupils stay healthy because staff teach them, for example, which foods they should eat plenty of and which they should consume sparingly. Pupils also like keeping fit and the many opportunities for physical education (PE) and games which staff provide. Inspectors noted how much pupils were enjoying a very energetic PE lesson where the teacher asked them to move about pretending they were different animals, such as snakes and giraffes.
• Staff attend to pupils’ emotional well-being, showing them, for example, how to recognise the things that happen to their bodies when they get angry. A number of pupils take advantage of good support to help them to stay calm and to manage their own emotions.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe. They know that they should always tell a member of staff if they are worried. Pupils whom inspectors met explained how there was very little unkindness in the school and that, if it ever happened, adults would ‘sort it out’ quickly.
• Pupils are taught, in an age-appropriate way, about a range of risks to their safety, such as fire, strangers and roads. Pupils in Year 2 also have swimming lessons so that they can protect themselves if they fall into water. Staff teach pupils that they must always be with an adult they know if they use a computer or tablet online.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Published information shows that the level of pupils’ absence has been above the national average for the previous three years. Although it is improving, too many pupils miss important learning because they do not come to school as regularly as they should. This is having a negative impact on their progress.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are persistently absent has also been far too high. In the first two terms of the previous academic year, for example, more than one in four of these pupils were persistently absent from school. Due to sustained work undertaken by leaders, persistent absence has since decreased considerably. However, it still remains above the national average.
• Staff consistently apply the new behaviour policy across the school. This has had a marked effect on improving both pupils’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour around the school. In classes, pupils pay attention and they do not disrupt learning. They are keen to contribute in lessons and they complete their work neatly.
• Both lunchtimes and breaktimes are happy, social occasions. Pupils are kind to each other, helping others using the playground ‘Friendship Stop’ and keeping the school clean, tidy and free from litter. Pupils like the school’s new system of rewards and were proud to tell inspectors how they had won Gold Awards for behaving well and trying their best.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Although children get off to a good start in the early years, pupils’ achievement in key stage 1 has been too low.
• Attainment by the end of Year 2 has been below the national average for more than three years. Last year, it was in the lowest 10% of all schools nationally. Very few pupils attained a greater depth of understanding.
• Pupils’ workbooks confirm that, although progress in key stage 1 is now improving overall, it is too recent and not sufficiently embedded throughout all classes. School information indicates that the proportions of pupils on track to attain at least the expected standards are set to rise considerably this year. However, assessment information shows that these proportions will not match the national average.
• Last year, disadvantaged pupils did not make sufficient progress across different subjects. Only around one in three met the standards expected of them. Due to better support, a large majority of disadvantaged pupils currently in the school are now making at least the progress expected of them and a good proportion are making accelerated progress.
• High proportions of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are making good progress. Effective monitoring of the achievements of these pupils by leaders ensures that they continue to make good gains from their starting points.
• Not enough pupils over the past four years have attained the standard expected of them in the Year 1 phonics screening check. However, considerably more effective teaching of phonics this academic year across the school means that the proportion of pupils on track to pass is much closer to the national average.
• Pupils make better progress in other subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ workbooks show that, for example, they make good overall gains in science because teachers plan regular lessons where pupils can plan and carry out simple investigations, such as which material makes the best toy rocket to fly. Pupils also learn well in music. They were able to explain to inspectors, for instance, how they had learned what a minim was, alongside demonstrating clearly that they understood the concept of pitch.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader ensures that her staff have high expectations of all pupils. She is determined that all children are challenged across all areas of learning. She is determined to improve provision further until it is outstanding.
• The assessment of children is accurate. The head of school, who is a moderator of the early years for the local authority, ensures that the checks staff make on children’s skills is precise. Staff use these assessments to plan interesting activities across the curriculum that move children on.
• Staff place emphasis on speaking well to children and on developing their self-confidence. Children see that staff value their opinions and thoughts and they begin to respond well.
• Adults in the early years are quick to notice what catches the interests of children and use this to develop their skills. For instance, inspectors noted that children were independently trying to make marks on the ground with chalks and how a member of staff did not hesitate to go over and show them how to develop their early writing.
• Staff teach phonics to children from when they begin in the Nursery. Children are taught rhymes, actions and songs such as ‘Puff out the candles on the pink pig cake’ so that they are helped to understand the different sounds that letters make.
• Teachers ensure that they give the most able children tasks that challenge them fully. They are asked to write descriptions about, for example, Bonfire Night, using words such as ‘pop’, ‘fizz’ and ‘bang’ to describe the scene to the reader. As a result, the most able children make good gains in their learning.
• Additional funding is spent well to support disadvantaged children. For example, a member of staff gives specialist teaching to develop the speech and language skills of those children who require it. As a result of good provision, these children make good progress from their starting points. Children who have SEN and/or disabilities make similarly good progress because staff meet their needs well.
• Staff work well with parents in an effective, ongoing partnership. In order to update their own assessments, they use the things that parents tell them about what their child can do. They inform parents of their child’s skills in relation to those typically found nationally. Staff invite parents into the early years to show them how to, for example, read books to their children in the most effective ways. Staff also provide good information for parents using, for instance, booklets with tips on how they can help their child learn their writing, reading and mathematics at home.
• Children behave well in the Nursery. They line up sensibly and do not run about indoors because it may cause an accident.
• Staff ensure that children develop good attitudes to learning. Children are keen to learn more and know that they must do their best. These good attitudes, together with their willingness to cooperate and share resources well, contribute to them being well prepared overall to begin Year 1.
• Most children enter the Nursery with skills that are well below those typically found in children of the same age. They make good overall progress during their time in the early years. As a result, children are at or close to the expectations for their age across most areas of learning by the time that they leave the Reception classes.

School details

Unique reference number 122488 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10045133 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 193 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Lianne Grinski-Colley Jayne Renshaw (Head of School) Telephone number 01623 462 449 Website Email address www.healdswood.notts.sch.uk/ jrenshaw@healdswood.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 July 2014

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than others of a similar type.
• The head of school took up her post in July 2017. The executive headteacher commenced at the school in September 2017.
• The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium funding is much higher than average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well below average. Most pupils are of a White British background.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is slightly below average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classrooms. Some lesson observations took place with the head of school or with the executive headteacher. In total, learning was observed in 16 lessons. Inspectors also scrutinised many 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 senior leaders and members of the governing body. They analysed the 11 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, looked at the free-text comments submitted by those parents and spoke with parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors also looked at the views of the 116 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 who have SEN and/or disabilities, the school’s information about pupils’ achievement and attendance and records of meetings of the governing body.

Inspection team

Roary Pownall, lead inspector Andy Lakatos

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector