Yeading Infant and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to review and develop the curriculum to ensure that it keeps delivering the best outcomes for all pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders have a clear vision for the school, and they do not waiver from this. The headteacher and her team understand the families and the community they serve and share their high aspirations for their children. All pupils receive a high-quality and well-rounded education that prepares them for the next phase of their schooling. Pupils have outstanding academic and social skills by the time they move on to key stage 2 at the end of year 2. Leaders are not complacent and continue to look for ways to build on their successes and enhance the curriculum further.
• The design and implementation of the curriculum are key to these successes. Pupils are exposed to high-quality texts in all year groups. These are linked to wider learning opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom that help the pupils make sense of the world. Teachers plan lessons based on their accurate assessments of what the children need to know next, while using what motivates and engages them to fire their imaginations. They might be searching for earth worms as part of science, cooking garlic bread and pizza as part of Forest School or re-telling the story of King Midas to understand the moral as well as the structure and the grammar. Whatever the challenge, the pupils rise to it.
• The high-quality training that staff receive has had a measurable impact on the outcomes that pupils achieve, particularly in writing. They write with thoughtfulness and a maturity that belies their age. Staff value this training because they can see the difference it has made to their teaching and, as a result, morale is high. There is a purposeful and positive air in the school.
• The teaching and learning are of such quality that the school is regularly called on to share best practice with other schools. Leaders are generous with their time and their resources. Staff enjoy the opportunity to support and develop other colleagues and feel valued for their contributions.
• Funding from the government to promote sport and increase physical activity is being used successfully. Pupils have opportunities to take part in taster sessions for ballet, yoga, fencing and archery. Leaders are also careful to ensure that any skills or knowledge that are brought into the school by specialist teachers are transferred to the permanent staff. This is another way in which staff development is prioritised and sustainability is secured.
• The actions of leaders to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are strong. Pupils use the school’s values successfully to guide them in how they think and act as people. They display high levels of resilience and understanding of complex issues such as caring for the environment. As part of the ‘Green team’, they uphold the school’s four pledges to look after the earth and have worked with the local community to enhance the area around the school. Pupils explore a range of faiths and cultural backgrounds. They then produce high-quality writing, art and assemblies to celebrate them. These are enjoyed by families and other pupils.
• Families also play an important part in the academic success of the pupils. Leaders recognise this and ensure that they have ample opportunity to visit classes and receive information about how to support their child’s learning. This partnership has real strength and shows pupils that learning beyond school is of high value.

Governance of the school

• Governors share the headteacher’s commitment to securing the highest standards of care and academic progress for pupils. They have developed effective systems for checking school performance and have recently made well-considered changes to the way they receive reports and question the school to make their discussion more focused and insightful. This level of challenge is reflected in the detailed minutes of meetings.
• Governors systematically plan opportunities to meet with senior and subject leaders from across the school. These leaders present information to governors in meetings about their areas of responsibility. This information helps governors to deepen their understanding of the school’s work.
• Governors know the school and community well. They visit regularly to witness first-hand how the school implements new initiatives or changes curriculum areas. They then report their findings back to the governing body and discuss how it fits with other information presented to them by the school.
• Governors are strongly committed to improving the quality of pupils’ lives. They ensure that additional funding given to the school to support disadvantaged pupils is spent well. They are clear about the impact that these interventions and additional staffing make.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Safeguarding and staying safe are high on the agenda for the whole school community.
• Designated safeguarding leaders are highly effective. They make sure that staff are trained in reporting concerns about pupils. This means that pupils are well cared for. Records are kept meticulously, and there are strong partnerships with external services. As a result, issues are followed up effectively and quickly.
• Leaders have ensured that policies and procedures are up to date; these are regularly scrutinised by governors to ensure that they meet statutory requirements. Leaders carry out thorough checks to ensure the suitability of all adults working on site.
• The site is well maintained and secure. The headteacher has made well-considered changes to the school entrances so that pupils’ route into school is safe. The school also has a parent council that is working hard to convince the local authority to make additional provision for road safety close to the school.
• Leaders have created a safe culture in school, with a focus on nurture and care. This has created high levels of trust between adults and children. As a result of these strong relationships, teachers are able to use the curriculum effectively to teach pupils about risk. The pupils understand how to stay safe and who to talk to if they have a concern.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Evidence in pupils’ writing books reflects very effective teaching. Work shows that all groups of pupils, including the disadvantaged and those with SEND, make sustained and substantial progress. The school has developed strong systems to develop pupils’ writing. Pupils talk together extensively to plan their writing before moving on to mapping out their stories pictorially. Once they are clear about what they want to say, they then commit their ideas to paper. These approaches help the pupils refine their vocabulary choices in and be ambitious about what they write. They write effectively at length in English and across the wider curriculum.
• Adults use questioning effectively to challenge pupils’ thinking and to gauge their understanding. Pupils speak well and with confidence. They are regularly called on to do so in public, in assemblies and performances. These plentiful opportunities to practise the spoken word give pupils a greater understanding of models of standard English. They then use these to refine their writing.
• Teachers successfully help pupils to develop their mathematical understanding. Pupils build their awareness of number through regular practice. As they progress through the school, they have increasing opportunities to solve problems and explain their answers.
• Pupils read extremely well and are able to infer and make predictions based on what they already know about a text. This is because teachers model these skills to pupils through the use of high-quality, age-appropriate texts. As a result, progress in reading is strong and historical outcomes have been high.
• Teachers manage learning very well. Routines and expectations are embedded and well understood. Pupils are calm and settled in the classrooms. This means that they are ready to learn and able to make best use of the time available. Adults are able to build on this highly positive climate for learning, providing stimulating and increasingly challenging activities in all subjects, which pupils really enjoy.
• Teaching assistants are well trained and knowledgeable. They work successfully with groups or individuals, providing highly focused intervention when necessary. They have been trained to deliver input on a number of areas such as speech and language, reading, and social and emotional regulation. They work in real partnership with teachers and are respected by pupils for the support that they give.
• The provision for pupils with SEND is extremely strong. Teachers have a clear understanding of these pupils’ needs. Adults employ a range of well-targeted interventions so that these pupils can receive specific support as needed. The progress that they make is at the same strong level as that of their peers.
• Leaders ensure that parents receive regular opportunities to support their children’s learning in school. Twice a week, parents can spend the first 15 minutes of the day either reading or writing with their children. Parents who spoke to inspectors noted that this time in school really helps them understand what their children are learning and, more importantly, how they are learning it. This understanding means that they can then support their child more effectively at home.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school's work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils have a clear, age-appropriate understanding of how to keep themselves safe from danger, including on the internet. In an assembly, they were able to discuss how to stay safe online and sensibly concluded the best way was not to have unsupervised access to devices.
• Pupils are clear that there has never been any bullying at the school. They attribute this to the respect and care they have for each other. School staff emphasise friendship through the curriculum and children talk about how they like to play together. They are confident that if they had a problem, there are adults they could trust to deal with it.
• Pupils enjoy the extra responsibility that they are given in school. Some are members of the school council or the ‘Green team’, which looks after the environment. ‘Green team’ members have been part of wider initiatives involving litter picking in the community and enjoyed this opportunity to make a positive contribution to the local area.
• Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They are clear about the impact of diet on fitness and well-being. They know that the vegetables that they grow in the school contribute to a balanced diet and why it is important to try new things. They talked about the best ways to exercise for free and where to do that. They gave examples of exercise you could do in the playground when you have time, explaining that you do not need to go to the gym to keep fit.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils are polite and kind. They show good manners at all times and demonstrate high levels of empathy in their relationships. They like each other and enjoy each other’s company.
• Pupils talk extremely positively about the school and enjoy all the opportunities that they get. They concentrate well in class and because of this are able to make excellent use of learning time to make substantial progress. Their books are well presented and looked after. They take great pride in their work.
• Pupils play together harmoniously. Children as young as Year 1 are able to organise and referee their own games sensibly. Adults are strategically deployed to engage pupils in a range of play activities at break and lunchtime. The school has recently employed rangers to supplement their Forest School offer, and pupils were incredibly absorbed in tepee making and showing off their shelter-making skills with the rangers’ support and advice.
• Pupils are happy to come to school. Attendance for all year groups and classes is excellent, and persistent absence is rare. School staff, and in particular the headteacher, work hard and with success to discourage absence during term time. Lateness is unusual, and when it occurs, it is tackled straight away.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• At key stage 1, pupils achieve levels of attainment that are consistently above those seen nationally in all subjects. In addition, the proportion of pupils who attain a greater depth of learning in reading and mathematics by the end of Year 2 is consistently better than is the case nationally. This represents outstanding progress for the majority of pupils.
• A thorough scrutiny of books across all subjects showed that current pupils are continuing to make outstanding progress and attain high standards, especially in writing. Handwriting is neat and cursive starting from Reception, and improves over time.
• Pupils are voracious readers. They read with fluency and understanding. They use these skills successfully to make sense of a wide range of challenging texts.
• Provision for disadvantaged pupils is highly effective. Leaders know these pupils very well and have a comprehensive understanding of their individual barriers to learning. They make it their mission to ensure that every child receives high-quality intervention and support. As a result of this help, disadvantaged pupils make strong progress over time.
• Pupils demonstrate a real depth of knowledge and understanding across a range of foundation subjects such as science, history and religious education. They use their literacy skills extremely well to then develop and demonstrate what they know. The standard of their work across these subjects is consistently as high as it is in English and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND are as well supported. As a result of well-planned interventions and effective teaching, they make similarly strong progress in literacy and numeracy as their peers.
• The progress that pupils make in phonics is outstanding. This is a result of effective leadership and consistent, high-quality teaching. In key stage 1, pupils also report that they love spelling and they regularly achieve full marks in their weekly spelling tests.
• Progress in the early years is outstanding. In Nursery, teachers provide a stimulating and challenging learning environment that enables children to develop fully and make strong progress from their starting points. This continues through Reception and ensures that children are fully prepared for their transition to Year 1.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The majority of children join the Nursery with starting points below those that are typical for their age. Many speak little or no English. From these starting points, they make outstanding progress because of a highly stimulating learning environment and outstanding teaching over time.
• Leadership of the early years is outstanding. The leaders of Nursery and Reception work together highly effectively and with a shared vision for excellence. They have created an atmosphere of purposeful learning that is consistent across the phase. Children thrive in this environment, developing their resilience and relationships.
• Teaching is strong in the early years. Classrooms are vibrant and well resourced to give the children access to a wide range of learning experiences. Adults miss no opportunity to involve children in activities that support their language development, whether that is through role play, construction or art. They pose skilful questions to probe children’s understanding and record their observations accurately to capture progress at the point of learning and to plan next steps.
• The children in the early years love books and are enthralled by the possibilities for creative play that they afford. They regularly revisit familiar and classic texts. Adults build on this enthusiasm by providing activities that allow the children to write or act out their own stories based on these models. As a result of this, and because there are planned opportunities to write across the early years, progress in writing is outstanding.
• Children across the early years are happy and confident. They enjoy playing and learning together. They are especially excited about outdoor learning opportunities, including the school’s Forest School. They use this area to build dens, dam streams, cook over a campfire and learn about the natural world. It is an outstanding addition to the school’s core provision.
• As with the rest of the school, parents are treated as equal partners in their children’s learning and development. They value how informed and involved they can be. They are regular visitors to early years and come in great numbers to the school’s early morning reading, writing and Zumba sessions.
• Children in early years are safe and well cared for. Leaders ensure that regular checks of equipment are made and that all resources are fit for purpose. The children demonstrate a clear awareness of safety, for example when cooking with an open fire as part of their outdoor learning. They behave well and understand the rules and routines of the setting.
• When children leave early years, they are undoubtedly ready for Year 1. Transitions across the school are well planned. Progress in books shows that children have acquired the skills and knowledge they need to move on to the key stage 1 curriculum successfully.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102404 Hillingdon 10058845 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 478 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mr Sumit Parmar Mrs Rupinder Kaur Ahluwalia Telephone number 02085733389 Website Email address www.yeadinginf.co.uk yeading@yeadinginf.co.uk Date of previous inspection 6 March 2018

Information about this school

• The school is much larger than the average-sized infant and nursery school.
• Children join the school part time in the Nursery and then full time in Reception.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding in this school for children in local authority care and pupils entitled to free school meals, is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.
• The proportion of disabled pupils and those with SEND is average
• The school has won various awards, including the Green Flag eco-schools award and the International Schools award, and is a flagship school for the Inclusion Quality Mark.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors met with leaders, groups of staff, pupils and governors. The lead inspector spoke with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors visited all classes with senior leaders to observe learning across a range of subjects. They looked at pupils’ books and talked to pupils and leaders about their work. Inspectors heard two groups of children read and visited two assemblies.
• Inspectors considered survey responses for 174 pupils and 44 staff. They also considered 11 responses to the Parent View online questionnaire, including 11 free-text responses and one written response. Inspectors also spoke informally to parents at the start of the school day.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents on the school website and provided by school leaders. These included the school’s development plan, records of meetings, curriculum planning and leaders’ information about pupils’ behaviour, attendance and academic performance.

Inspection team

Karen Matthews, lead inspector Mineza Maher David New

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector