Maun Infant and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the school’s arrangements to keep pupils safe by ensuring that:
  • leaders share information about pupils’ welfare with staff
  • designated safeguarding leaders keep pupils’ records up to date.
• Improve the leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • the curriculum develops pupils’ moral and social education
  • the support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils is monitored carefully to ensure that it is raising attainment for these pupils.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve
  • teachers use their knowledge of what pupils can already do to set tasks that challenge pupils at the right level in mathematics
  • pupils receive opportunities to develop their writing skills across the curriculum
  • tasks are set that are the most appropriate for achieving the desired learning outcome
  • teachers develop pupils’ spelling skills to enable them to spell unfamiliar words
  • teachers have the required subject knowledge to support pupils’ learning.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning in the early years by ensuring that:
  • teachers plan for children’s next steps in learning
  • adults have a good understanding of the purpose of activities and how they develop children’s learning
  • adults have a secure understanding of the early years curriculum
  • all children have access to high-quality provision.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by ensuring that:
  • staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour in class
  • pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in a way appropriate to their age. An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The headteacher is ambitious for the school. Since her appointment she has effectively identified the areas for improvement and has put in place comprehensive plans to raise standards. She has successfully implemented changes to the curriculum to bring it in line with the expectations of the national curriculum.
• The headteacher has maintained the focus on raising standards across the school during a period of turbulence. The raised expectations of teachers, and other unforeseen factors, have resulted in changes in staffing. While the headteacher has worked hard to maintain consistency, this has not always been possible.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils have opportunities to learn in all subjects. There has been a focus on raising pupils’ attainment in English, mathematics and science. However, the quality of teaching in subjects such as history and geography is not always strong enough to develop pupils’ skills in these areas.
• The leaders for mathematics and English have established a whole-school approach to teaching and have coached staff who are less confident. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, both the English and mathematics leaders are currently not in school.
• The leader for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities understands pupils’ needs. She has provided coaching for staff to support pupils in class, and in small groups. The school’s systems for monitoring the support provided are not developed well enough to show how well these pupils are doing.
• Leaders have identified pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium grant. There is not a sharp enough focus on raising the attainment of these pupils. Disadvantaged pupils are not making as much progress as other pupils in the school.
• Leaders have identified that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is a priority area for development. Leaders have established links with a school in a contrasting locality to develop pupils’ cultural education. The curriculum does not provide enough opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, social and moral education.
• Leaders have matched opportunities for staff development to the school’s improvement priorities and where pupils’ progress is not good enough. The headteacher has been unafraid to tackle weaker teaching, setting high expectations for staff. Staff at the school say that the headteacher has encouraged them to think carefully about their own practice and has helped them to develop their teaching.
• Leaders have used the sport premium funding effectively to promote pupils’ physical well-being. For example, children in the early years learn how to use balance bikes, and a trained member of staff runs physical activities for pupils at lunchtimes.
• The local authority has provided effective support for the headteacher since her appointment. This has included support with school improvement planning and self-evaluation. This year, the school’s adviser has assisted leaders to review the quality of teaching and learning across the school, including providing targeted support for staff in the early years.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has been through a period of transition since the appointment of the new headteacher. The chair of the governing body has raised the expectation of the role governors will play in school improvement. Governors have become more involved with monitoring the school’s priorities, with each governor taking responsibility for different aspects. The minutes of governing body meetings show that its members are providing appropriate challenge and are holding leaders to account.
• Governors have supported the headteacher through a significant period of change. They have ensured that recruitment processes are robust and that leaders have followed safer recruitment procedures.

Safeguarding

• The designated safeguarding leaders monitor safeguarding records. Staff log safeguarding concerns. Sometimes leaders have not recorded their actions following incidents, and information and evidence are incomplete. Occasionally, leaders have not shared information about pupils with teachers and other staff effectively.
• The designated safeguarding leaders have established a programme of training to keep staff up to date with developments in safeguarding, including the findings from serious case reviews. Staff understand how to pass on concerns and can recognise the signs of abuse.
• Leaders complete safeguarding risk assessments for events outside of the school building, such as sports day. Adults are vigilant in ensuring that pupils are kept safe. The family support worker has developed links with vulnerable families to ensure that they receive appropriate support.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Due to changes to staffing the headteacher has been unable to sustain consistently good teaching.
• Sometimes teachers are not using their knowledge of what pupils can do well enough to challenge pupils. Teachers are not planning carefully enough to meet the needs of some pupils.
• The teaching of mathematics is inconsistent. Some teachers do not have secure subject knowledge and are unable to develop pupils’ understanding well enough. Sometimes teachers do not set tasks that are related closely enough to the intended learning. The purpose of these activities becomes confused and pupils do not have a secure understanding of what they are learning.
• Following a recent review of teaching and learning, in mathematics there has been an increase in opportunities for problem-solving and reasoning. Teachers are planning more for pupils’ different needs. However, these changes have not had time to have an impact on the progress that some pupils are making.
• Sometimes teachers’ subject knowledge is not strong enough to develop pupils’ writing skills. Teachers use complex grammatical vocabulary but are occasionally unable to explain the meaning effectively to pupils.
• Sometimes teachers do not provide pupils with enough opportunities to practise grammar skills in their writing. Pupils’ spelling and letter formation mistakes go uncorrected and they repeat the same errors.
• Teachers develop pupils’ reading skills through guided reading sessions. Adults help pupils to choose books which match their abilities and they listen to pupils read regularly. Teachers set pupils questions to deepen their understanding of texts.
• Teachers provide additional support for pupils who have not understood the tasks they have been set. This includes additional support for disadvantaged pupils, and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. The purpose and type of support are sometimes not thought out sharply enough. The impact on the progress that pupils make is unclear.
• Recent changes to the teaching of phonics have had a significant impact on the development of pupils’ phonics knowledge. Most pupils can use their skills to read unfamiliar words. However, there are still some inconsistencies in the teaching of phonics. Some teachers do not have secure knowledge of how to pronounce sounds precisely and therefore provide an inaccurate model for the pupils.
• Where teaching is stronger, teachers have a good understanding of pupils’ next steps in learning. They use their knowledge of what pupils can do to set tasks that are well matched their abilities and that will move their learning on. Teachers build upon learning from previous lessons.
• Teachers plan learning activities that will interest pupils and help them to develop their thinking. For example, during an English lesson, pupils felt hidden materials to help them think of adjectives to describe what Alice may have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe appropriate to their age is not developed well enough. For example, pupils were confident to explain what they would do in the event of a fire drill. However, they were less knowledgeable about how to keep themselves safe online, or outside of school.
• Pupils who require additional support to develop their behaviour and their social and emotional skills receive targeted help through the school’s nurture provision. Teachers encourage pupils to be resilient and to develop learning skills using the school’s characteristic animals as a guide. For example, pupils are encouraged to be ‘creative chameleons’ or ‘go for it gorillas’.
• Pupils know and understand what bullying is. They say there are few incidents at school, and adults sort problems out quickly. They believe that adults at the school look after them well, and they feel safe.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Sometimes in lessons pupils do not focus well on the tasks they are set. They become distracted and this has an impact on the progress that they make. Teachers’ methods used to gain the attention of pupils are not always effective. Pupils do not respond quickly enough to instructions, and learning time is lost.
• At times of transition during and between lessons, teachers are sometimes not rigorous enough in ensuring that pupils move from one task to the next quickly. Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils or expect them to respond in a timely manner.
• Pupils behave well around the school. They participate well in the activities that adults provide at break and lunchtime and they play well together. Pupils help each other and carry out jobs around the school, for example Year 2 pupils serve meals to younger pupils at lunchtime.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils and families understand the importance of good attendance. The school’s rates of absence have improved and are above the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard at the end of key stage 1 in reading and writing has been below the national average for the past two years. The school’s own assessment information shows that this is set to be the case again this year. Year 2 pupils’ workbooks show that they are making progress in line with the school’s expectations. However, due to inconsistent teaching while these pupils were in Year 1, they have not made as much progress in key stage 1 as they could have.
• In mathematics, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard by the end of key stage 1 rose significantly in 2017 to be in line with the national average. The school’s own assessment information shows that the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics is set to fall slightly this year. Workbooks of pupils in Year 2 show that progress has accelerated since the end of the spring term.
• The school’s own assessment information shows that disadvantaged pupils are not attaining as highly as other pupils in the school. Support provided is not targeted sharply enough to close rapidly these pupils’ gaps in learning.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make progress towards the short step targets they have been set. However, leaders’ monitoring of the specific support provided for them is not developed well enough to give a secure view of the amount of progress that these pupils are making.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been falling for the last three years. Due to changes in the teaching of phonics, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard has risen considerably this year and is set to be in line with the national average.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Leaders have evaluated the quality of teaching and learning in the early years. Due to inconsistencies in teaching, leaders have acknowledged that children in the Nursery have made better progress than those in Reception. Leaders have put in place a programme of professional development to develop consistency across the early years.
• While there have been improvements to the quality of teaching and learning in the early years, there is some inconsistency in the development of children’s English and mathematical skills.
• Sometimes, teachers do not plan activities well enough to target children’s needs. Adults do not consistently challenge boys and girls to participate in non-gender-specific activities. Adults do not always understand how activities should develop children’s learning, or how the tasks set link to the early years curriculum.
• Children in the Reception classes do not receive the same range of learning opportunities as children in the Nursery. They do not have easy access to an outdoor area, and while there are plans in place to change this, current children do not have equal access to outdoor learning.
• Where teaching is better, adults encourage children to participate in a range of activities. They use their knowledge of what children can do to plan carefully for their next steps in learning. Where activities are purposeful, children participate well, and adults develop their learning further. For example, adults encouraged children in Reception to make a board game, correctly writing numbers and then adding them together. The teacher supported children to think about the next number and to check for mistakes.
• In the Nursery there are many opportunities for children to practise their writing. Children’s workbooks show that many children are forming letters correctly and are writing simple words.
• Leaders provide support for the small number of children who have SEN and/or disabilities using additional adults. Leaders seek external support when required. Sometimes, leaders do not have a secure understanding of how support is impacting on the progress these children make.
• Leaders encourage adults to consider the needs of disadvantaged children. Adults provide specific support when required to develop children’s next steps in learning. Sometimes leaders do not monitor the impact of support carefully. They do not always have a clear picture of the progress that these children have made.
• Parents contribute to children’s learning by sharing ‘wow’ moments with teachers. Parents say that teachers keep them well informed about their child’s learning journey.
• Most of the time children play well together and listen to instructions well. However, sometimes children do not share well together, and adults are required to intervene.

School details

Unique reference number 122667 Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council Inspection number 10047378 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 243 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Sam Wakefield Kerry Norman 01623 860773 www.mauninfantandnurseryschool.co.uk office@maun.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 September 2013

Information about this school

• The school has undergone a period of significant change in staffing since the appointment of the headteacher in September 2016.
• Leaders have received support from the local authority.
• There are two parallel classes in each year group from Reception to Year 2.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is slightly above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes, on occasion jointly with leaders. Inspectors observed the teaching of early reading skills and listened to pupils read. Inspectors talked with pupils about the school and looked at examples of pupils’ work to gain a view of the impact of teaching over time.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, the leader for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, the family support worker, the interim mathematics leaders and members of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with the local authority’s link advisor for the school.
• Inspectors spoke with parents informally and considered the 13 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including: the school’s self-evaluation and plans for improvement; the school’s most recent information on the attainment and progress of pupils; information relating to the health, safety and safeguarding of pupils; and the school’s most recent data on the attendance of pupils.
• Inspectors considered the range and quality of information provided on the school’s website.

Inspection team

Helen Williams, lead inspector Moira Dales Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector