Sparrow Farm Infant and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Increase the precision with which leaders and class teachers use assessment information so that groups of lower-attaining pupils in every year group make rapid progress.

• Raise expectations of handwriting and presentation in all subjects for low-attaining pupils so that they can show what they can achieve, especially in Year 1.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has driven rapid improvement in the school since her appointment. This has resulted in a positive school culture where an increasing number of children believe they can succeed, and do so.
• The school leadership team has addressed the areas for development identified in the previous inspection. A larger number of pupils than nationally now achieve greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 1.
• The school has recruited leaders and experienced teachers. Consequently staffing is now much more settled. Parents commented that they have seen the difference this has made to the relationships they have with class teachers.
• Leaders have high expectations and lead by example. Staff morale is high. One staff member commented, ‘The children are our main priority and just seeing how they are developing and progressing every day is such a reward.’ Inspectors saw evidence of openness and transparency among the different levels of leadership and management in and around the school.
• Self-evaluation is accurate and school leaders know what works well and which aspects of the school’s work are less effective; for example, identifying teaching that is not yet good enough and implementing plans for improvement.
• The headteacher and senior team have worked with determination and resilience, successfully improving this school from a low starting point. Teaching is increasingly strong. As a result an increasing number of pupils have made better progress.
• The headteacher has effectively revised systems to ensure that teachers are held to account for the impact of their work on pupils’ progress. Procedures are in place to reward those whose performance is effective. High-quality training has improved teaching and outcomes. The school’s capacity to improve further is good.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and pupils learn a wide range of subjects. These are often taught in imaginative ways. For example, the children were very excited to talk about the ‘Aliens tea party’ which took place as part of a cross-curricular enrichment day.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is good and is woven into the curriculum. During class assemblies, inspectors observed how pupils demonstrated their understanding of compassion when reflecting on how they could try to make others happy. Pupils enjoyed laying the memorial wreath in Feltham and making ‘Diva’ lamps to celebrate Diwali.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and have a good understanding of democracy and the rule of law; for example, they quickly learn to adhere well to school rules and they have contributed successfully to improvements to the lunchtime menu.
• Senior leaders and governors have used pupil premium funding to diminish the differences between disadvantaged pupils’ attainment and that of other pupils nationally since the previous inspection.
• The school makes good use of the additional primary school sport funding. Pupils enjoy sport lessons and extra-curricular sporting clubs are well attended. Pupils now participate in school-organised sporting competitions.
• The school is broadening the ways in which it maintains good communication with parents and carers. Parental surveys have been used to improve access to information on the school website and to improve pupil lunchtime experiences.
• Most parents who made written comments during the inspection or were spoken to at the gate were full of praise for the school and its positive effect on their children. They say they are especially pleased to see more challenging work and that their children’s reading is developing well. They say that teachers are much more accessible than they have been in the past.
• Leaders do not make the best use of the information available to them about the progress that lower-attaining pupils make in lessons and in their books, so that leaders can support teachers in helping these pupils improve.
• Middle leaders are beginning to take responsibility for aspects of school improvement work. However, this is mostly directed by senior leaders. They have implemented new initiatives in response to identified weaknesses and plans are in place to enable further improvement by middle leaders.
• The school leadership team has benefited from well-targeted support and challenge from the local authority and three local schools, particularly when checking the accuracy of their judgements.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has strengthened its effectiveness since the last inspection, using local authority support. A well-organised committee structure has been established with clearly defined roles for all governors. As a result, governors have a better understanding of their responsibility for holding the school to account for pupils’ achievement.
• Governors take their responsibilities very seriously. They keep themselves up to date through training, networking and accessing national information about improving governance. They use their wide-ranging skills to good effect to keep the work of the school under close review.
• Governors commented that gaining information about the work of the school has improved since the last inspection. There is no complacency, and governors are anxious to add further to their effectiveness. Governors make well-informed decisions about pay progression for teachers and robustly hold the headteacher to account for this.
• The governing body regularly makes sure that the school’s procedures keep pupils safe in all respects. They ensure that the right checks are made on all staff who work at the school or otherwise come into contact with children.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school’s arrangements meet all statutory requirements. The headteacher has ensured that the staff are familiar with the most recent guidance, and have been fully trained. All staff are vigilant and know the school’s policies and procedures very well.
• Inspectors found that staff keep detailed records, and work well with parents and other agencies to help pupils whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable.
• The school promotes a caring ethos within which pupils have a strong voice and where their welfare is of paramount importance. Consequently, staff take notice of what pupils have to say and are attuned to spot any signs that might suggest something is amiss. Issues are followed up in a timely manner. The school works well with outside agencies to ensure that pupils are safe and happy.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• During the past 12 months, well-targeted professional development and support have brought about many strengths in teaching and learning. These improvements have had a tangible impact on pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning, as well as their academic progress.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and generally ensure that any misunderstanding is addressed quickly. The accurate teaching of phonics, for example, ensures that an increasing proportion of pupils reach the required standard by the end of Year 1.
• The most able pupils are challenged particularly well and are expected to think hard about their work.
• Reading is taught well. Since the previous inspection, the school has changed the ways in which reading is taught. Teachers use a wealth of different strategies to increase pupils’ interest in reading and confidence to read, including frequent one-to-one support where needed. This has led to an improvement in outcomes for all pupils, including the least and most able. Pupils told inspectors that they ‘love to read’, and parents are fully engaged with the well-kept home/school reading records. Pupils use their phonics knowledge well when reading and spelling.
• The teaching of writing is strong. Teachers give pupils many opportunities to write for a purpose. Consequently, pupils’ confidence, stamina and motivation to write have grown and this has resulted in the rapid improvements seen in their work. Homework is used to encourage research and creativity. However, teachers’ expectations of lower-attaining pupils’ handwriting and presentation are inconsistent. These pupils do not transfer their developing handwriting skills into their everyday written work.
• Teaching assistants support learning and help pupils develop their ideas and understanding effectively, for example in encouraging pupils to build a physically challenging obstacle course.
• Pupils tackle a suitable range of writing styles and genres in English lessons and in other subjects. Interesting stimuli help them write creatively and descriptively. For example, in a Year 2 lesson, pupils played a game of ‘Stuck in the mud’ before writing a set of instructions to teach Year 1 how to play the game.
• In most instances, teachers use assessment information to enable pupils to know how well they are doing and what they need to do in order to improve their work. This is strongest in writing across all year groups and in Year 2 mathematics. However, this is not always as effective for the lower-attaining pupils.
• Teachers establish routines well and are successful in fostering good attitudes to learning among their pupils. As a result, learning is not usually slowed by off-task behaviour. However, at times, some teachers are too accepting of fidgeting and inattention from pupils, noticeably lower-attaining pupils.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils feel very safe in school. They describe bullying as not being kind to each other and say that this happens very rarely. ‘Worry boxes’ are available for pupils to raise their concerns privately and they say that there is always someone with whom they can share a problem.
• Pupils are very confident in the knowledge that staff listen to them and value their opinions and efforts. They have a sense of fairness and they accept, and abide by, the school rules.
• There is a strong culture of respect, equality and tolerance throughout the school. Pupils have a clear sense of belonging. They get on well with one another and form good friendships at school. Inspectors were very impressed with pupils’ good manners.
• In key stage 1 lessons, pupils work well in pairs and small groups, cooperating with one another and contributing ideas. This builds on the good learning they have done on this in the early years.
• Most pupils work hard in lessons and get their work done. Some work at a slow pace or are slow to get started, which means they do not get as much done as others.
• Pupils enjoy playing at break and lunchtime. They play cooperative games well together. Lunch is an orderly affair where the pupils eat high-quality healthy food. Pupils, parents and school leaders have worked hard on developing a healthy lunchtime and pupils say the food has improved recently.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite, friendly and courteous to each other and to adults. They care about their school and look after it and each other.
• Pupils typically behave well in lessons and around the school site. They show enthusiasm for learning and pride in their work. Pupils are friendly and polite to staff and visitors. At break and lunchtime, conduct is calm and orderly. At the end of lunch, pupils line up quickly in silence and follow their teacher sensibly into class. This leads to a calm start to the next lesson.
• Most parents agree that the school ensures that pupils are well behaved. Lessons are rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Occasionally, when pupils are not given sufficient challenge, they are less attentive and do not listen as well as they could.
• A small number of parents expressed concerns about poor behaviour, but inspection evidence shows that any such incidents are few and are managed appropriately.
• A small number of pupils do not pay enough attention during class discussion and at times there is a sense of restlessness.
• Attendance, although still below the national figure, is improving. Leaders are relentless in their drive to ensure that children are in school every day and arrive on time. This has resulted in a sharp decline in the number of pupils who have been persistently absent or late to school and is contributing to the positive impact on pupils’ outcomes.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress in the early years and during key stage 1 from their starting points. Improvements in teaching since the previous inspection mean that pupils currently in Year 1 and Year 2 are working at a higher standard than in previous years and so are better prepared for learning in key stage 2.
• Higher than average proportions of pupils reached the expected standard and greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 1 in 2016. This was as a result of good progress from below-average starting points at the end of the Reception Year.
• There is an increase in the proportion of most-able pupils achieving high standards, and this is above the level seen nationally.
• Inspectors took time to scrutinise pupils’ work in books. These clearly demonstrated the good progress that pupils continue to make in Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Improvements in the teaching of reading during the early years and key stage 1 ensure that pupils are well equipped with key skills to help them to read successfully and to make good progress.
• Although more pupils are achieving the expected phonics standard in Year 1 than in the previous inspection, the proportion meeting the expected standard in 2016 was still below that seen nationally. Every year a higher than national proportion of pupils who did not pass the phonics screening check in Year 1 catch up in Year 2.
• The number of disadvantaged pupils in each cohort is relatively small, but taken as a whole, recent test results together with inspection evidence shows that the attainment of the most able disadvantaged pupils has rapidly improved, to be above that of other pupils nationally.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ work indicates that lower-attaining pupils’ progress in mathematics in Year 1 is not as swift as in other year groups. This is because pupils are not stretched enough and are not given enough opportunities to solve problems and apply the skills they have learned.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Teaching assistants combine effective support for individual pupils with opportunities for them to work and play alongside their classmates.
• Teaching does not consistently help the lower-attaining pupils across all groups to understand the activities they are undertaking. As such, the lower-attaining pupils do not make the same rapid progress as other pupils in the school.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader has made rapid improvements since her appointment, especially in Reception. This is now bearing fruit, as seen in the systematic improvements to teaching and provision in the last year. As a consequence, there has been a rapid rise in the number of children reaching a good level of development in Reception.
• The early years leader has a clear view of strengths and aspects which need further development in the quality of teaching. The leader has introduced substantial, sustained improvements in the past year and continues to develop the quality of teaching rapidly.
• Children enter Nursery with skills and knowledge that are broadly typical for their age. The setting is well resourced and Reception classes provide a stimulating environment where children learn and thrive. Teachers plan a range of interesting outdoor and indoor learning activities for children to choose from. Staff keep records of the activities that children have completed in their ‘learning journals’. However, these records do not identify the next steps that each child needs to take to further their learning.
• Relationships between adults and children in the two-year-old provision are strong. These young children make decisions about which resources to choose, for example collecting dinosaurs from a storage drawer when playing in a large construction that they had just made. Adults model reading well. As a result children enthusiastically choose books to share with adults and each other.
• Children learn rules and routines quickly and respond to adults promptly. They behave extremely well and learn to play together harmoniously so that the setting is always calm and purposeful.
• Clear expectations and well-established routines help children to settle quickly and safely. For example, children know that they must put on their coats to keep warm when going into the outdoor areas and understand why they need to sit down at a table in the classroom to eat their fruit and vegetables and drink their milk.
• Children are safe and very well cared for, in line with school policy and procedures, and staff ensure that all welfare requirements are met. Children behave very well, are interested in learning and listen carefully to their teachers.
• Improvements in aspects of teaching over the past three years have accelerated children’s progress during the early years. The proportions of children achieving a good level of development are higher than at the time of the previous inspection. In 2016, the proportions were in line with the national average. This represents good progress from children’s starting points, which differ each year.
• Adults’ careful planning and organisation of interesting and challenging activities encourages children to be curious and solve problems. They are able to sustain concentration for a considerable time because they enjoy and are relaxed in their play. For example, two boys were working together intently to make cakes for ‘Spot’ the dog. They were making decisions and problem solving about which equipment would be best to use, really challenging each other’s thinking.
• All adults make effective use of questioning to probe and extend children’s thinking and develop their talk. There is good modelling of the spoken word. This is helping children to develop their speaking skills quickly.
• Links with parents are good and parents are very positive about their children’s experiences in the early years. They say they value the opportunity to contribute to the development of children’s records. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning in Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number 102499 Local authority Hounslow Inspection number 10011884 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 2 to 7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 337 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michelle Keene Headteacher Amie Cella Telephone number 020 8890 2063

Website www.sparrowfarminfs.co.uk/ Email address office@sparrowfarm-inf.hounslow.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 7–8 May 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Sparrow Farm Infant and Nursery is slightly larger in size than other schools nationally with provision for two-year-olds managed by the governing body. There are more boys than girls on roll.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average.
• The majority of pupils are White British and the next largest group are from a wide range of ethnic minority backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is in line with the national figure.
• At the time of the inspection there were no children in receipt of additional funding in the early years foundation stage.
• The school works with two local schools in a ‘School Improvement Triad’ as well as receiving support from Ivy Bridge Primary School.
• There have been a number of new appointments to the governing body and the senior leadership team and teaching staff since the last inspection. The present headteacher took up post in 2015.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 33 lessons, 10 jointly with the headteacher. In addition inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work from a range of subjects, including English and mathematics. They looked at children’s learning journals and they listened to some pupils read.
• The inspectors held discussions with senior leaders, including the headteacher. Discussions were also held with governors, teachers and pupils. The lead inspector met with a local authority representative.
• The inspectors reviewed documents including the safeguarding policy, behaviour and attendance records, self-evaluation, planning documents, the school’s records on performance management, minutes of the governing body meetings, local authority notes of visits and records of external moderation of assessments.
• Informal discussions were held with parents at the start of the school day and the 16 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents (Parent View) were analysed.
• Inspectors also considered 27 questionnaires completed by staff.

Inspection team

Rebekah Iiyambo, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Helen Morrison Ofsted Inspector Elizabeth Hayward Ofsted Inspector