Grange Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Accelerate pupils’ progress and raise their attainment in writing, so that it more closely matches that in reading, by: encouraging pupils to use the literary devices and vocabulary they come across in their reading in their writing ensuring that teachers routinely draw attention to such links during lessons

fully embedding the successful, innovative approaches to teaching pupils how to analyse texts.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has played a pivotal role in improving the school’s effectiveness and establishing an ambitious culture. There is a shared sense of purpose, reflecting the school’s core values of ‘respect, care, achievement, behaviour, independence’.
• Inclusion underpins the ethos. Leaders have high expectations for all groups and provide much support and guidance for pupils and parents. Meticulous records are kept to track progress and spot any pupils falling behind.
• The performance management system is used effectively to raise standards. Leaders check the quality of teaching, promote effective methods and provide support where improvement is needed. Teachers new to the profession are well supported.
• Staff benefit from many opportunities for professional development, such as training in how to widen pupils’ skills in reading and deepen their understanding of mathematics through solving increasingly complex problems.
• Middle leaders are given time to develop their awareness of subjects through lesson observations, work scrutiny and the analysis of assessment information. They play an essential role in devising, modifying and planning a curriculum which is engaging, motivating and challenging.
• Innovation is encouraged and has resulted in some imaginative and effective curriculum design. Although not fully implemented, a new approach to teaching reading, including the analysis of texts, is bearing fruit. There are widespread opportunities for pupils to develop reasoning skills in mathematics.
• The science curriculum is of note, as it focuses on the progressive acquisition of scientific skills, underpinned by key knowledge. Pupils have ample opportunities to learn in real contexts. For example, cameras in a bird box and a badgers’ sett bring their learning to life.
• The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. Visits and visitors are numerous, including trips to local museums. After- school activities include sports, arts, science, reading and music. All staff have an outdoor leadership qualification.
• Pupils gain a secure and age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values, such as tolerance and fairness. Topics, such as exploring the school’s location as an airbase in the First World War and finding out about the sinking of the Titanic, make a significant contribution to pupils’ understanding of respect, tolerance and courage.
• The school makes effective use of the additional funding to ensure that disadvantaged pupils have similar opportunities as others to learn. Additional funding for physical education and sport is used well. Sports coaches take physical education lessons and after-school clubs, passing on their skills to school staff. Leaders use funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well.
• Parents feel welcomed and well informed. Their comments included, ‘I’m delighted with the warm welcome’ and, ‘We’re thrilled, she’s learning such a lot.’ Parents of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were equally complimentary.

Governance of the school

• Governors make an excellent contribution to the school’s leadership. They have a wide variety of skills and expertise. They are extremely well informed, gaining information through rigorous questioning of school leaders, sampling pupils’ work alongside teachers, meeting with pupils and analysing assessment information.
• Governors seek assurance that all groups do well, including those who are disadvantaged, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most able.
• Governors are proactive and have a shared commitment to improvement. They support and challenge leaders, contributing to the culture of ambition throughout the school. Improvement plans are firmly based on rigorous self-review and include specific targets and measurable success criteria.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils are taught how to be safe. They understand how to look after themselves in a variety of situations, such as avoiding hazards when crossing roads and using the internet. Pupils care for one another. They have the confidence to speak to an adult if they have any concerns about themselves or a friend.

• Governors have ensured that safeguarding procedures are very effective. All staff are well informed about keeping children safe and visitors are reminded of their responsibilities as they enter the school.
• Staff are well trained on how to care for pupils and how to respond appropriately if they have concerns. The school ensures that local agencies dedicated to keeping children safe respond promptly to any concerns raised.
• Recruitment procedures are secure. Record-keeping is detailed and systematic. The school works effectively with parents to keep children safe. A breakfast club provides a welcoming haven for pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers create stimulating learning environments. These include imaginative reading corners linked to current topics. Classrooms abound with prompts to support pupils’ learning, including, for example, lists of vocabulary and mathematical terms.
• Relationships are very positive. Pupils respond positively to the high expectations of their behaviour. They are attentive and cooperate well when working in pairs or small groups.
• Teachers have very secure subject knowledge. They interpret the curriculum in imaginative ways which engage and motivate pupils. Pupils in Year 2, for example, were full of enthusiasm as they showed photographs of their teachers in the roles of Tinker Bell and Samuel Pepys.
• Teachers use questions skilfully to elicit pupils’ ideas and promote deep understanding. Teaching assistants are also adept at prompting pupils’ thinking as they interact with them. They make a valuable contribution during class lessons. For example, they often take small groups to provide additional challenge or to help pupils who are finding things difficult.
• Pupils are routinely challenged, with a special focus on the most able. Careful planning and sequencing of lessons help to ensure that learning moves at a good pace for all pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Pupils enjoy reading and are proud of their achievements. They were keen to show their certificates for reading at home consecutively over 100, 125 and 150 days. The systematic teaching of phonics enables pupils to move from recognising individual letter sounds to reading and writing unfamiliar words.
• Pupils respond enthusiastically to writing tasks which interest and challenge them. This was evident as they discussed the progress shown in their ‘best writing’ books, which include independent written work at specific points during the year. Pupils delighted in showing some of their work. One had written: ‘Interestingly, frogs lay eggs on wet places. Eggs look like dots in the middle of jelly. How amazing.’
• Teachers do not routinely encourage pupils to draw on their increasing skills in textual analysis when thinking about the literary devices, sentence structure and vocabulary they might include in their own writing.
• Teachers use resources effectively. Much work in mathematics involves practical counting and sorting equipment, and challenging problems linked to current curriculum topics. Pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, benefit from visual resources, including interactive computer display boards and well-designed information sheets.
• The school’s marking scheme is applied consistently and pupils routinely read and respond to teachers’ comments. Pupils know what is expected as they work on independent tasks, and this helps them gain a good idea of what they need to do to improve.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.

Outstanding

• Pupils’ extremely good conduct reflects the school’s success in promoting high standards. Bullying is rare. If it occurs, it is immediately addressed. Pupils know what to do if they are worried. They are confident in confiding in an adult if necessary. Pupils say that they feel safe and their parents agree. One commented: ‘Staff have always created an environment to encourage him and make him feel happy and safe.’
• Support for pupils’ social, emotional and mental health is highly effective, and the school draws on outside agencies when necessary. Children with complex behavioural issues are very well supported and, for the most part, take a full part in lessons. Support for vulnerable children and their families is very strong. Staff are sensitive to the needs of pupils whose parents are posted overseas with the armed forces.
• Pupils have a good understanding of a healthy lifestyle, including the importance of nutritious food and exercise. They are aware of possible hazards when crossing roads and using the internet. Before visits, pupils contribute ideas to assessing the potential risks involved.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils are confident and take pride in their work and their school. Their comments included, ‘I love everything about this school’ and, ‘I get so many exciting challenges, especially in maths.’
• Pupils behave extremely well in lessons, moving from one activity to another without fuss. Their positive attitudes make a significant contribution to their achievement. One pupil proudly explained: ‘I can do arithmetic – that’s adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing – using four digits.’
• Pupils’ behaviour during assemblies is exemplary. Pupils play with one another harmoniously and are well mannered during lunchtime. They cooperate very well in groups and pairs and share resources amicably. They respond maturely to flexible grouping and partnerships, quickly settling down and exchanging ideas with their classmates.
• Pupils conduct themselves well and show respect. They value the ‘respectful awards’ given daily in each class. A lottery of award winners results in a group visiting the mayor. Pupils are confident when talking with adults. They are inquisitive but, at the same time, polite and courteous.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress through the school. As children enter Reception, their communication, language and numeracy skills are frequently well below what is typical for their age. By Year 2, pupils’ performance is typically close to the national average.
• In 2016, national assessments showed that the attainment of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics was at or above the standards expected for pupils. The proportion of pupils achieving a greater depth in these subjects was also close to or above national figures.
• The school’s assessment information shows that the proportion of pupils reaching a deeper knowledge and understanding has increased. Lesson observations and the scrutiny of pupils’ work reflect this picture. Pupils’ skills in reading and mathematics are strong. Attainment in writing has increased, although the difference between standards in reading and writing is wider than found nationally.
• Pupils make good, and often rapid, progress in phonics. Results of the Year 1 phonics screening check have risen year by year and are in line with national averages. Pupils rise to additional challenge as they begin to analyse texts. The most able pupils increasingly identify how authors capture their readers’ attention and are beginning to draw inferences from texts.
• The attention to ensuring that pupils have a secure grasp of essential number facts and mathematical ideas is bearing fruit. Pupils respond well to the challenge of applying their numeracy skills to solve increasingly complex mathematical problems.
• Pupils make good progress in science. They learn to observe carefully, hypothesise and draw conclusions. Pupils use scientific vocabulary increasingly as they move through the school and, by the end of Year 2, they present their findings using scientific terms, diagrams and charts.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress from their starting points. Standards in reading and mathematics have improved, although pupils tend to find writing more difficult.
• The difference between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally is diminishing, particularly in reading and writing. Standards attained by disadvantaged pupils are close to other pupils in the school. The most able disadvantaged pupils generally fulfil their potential. They are among the highest-ability groups in phonics, for example.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good, and often rapid, progress. For example, a pupil who arrived struggling to write her name at the beginning of the year wrote: ‘Do you like owls? Would you want to do more? Well, read this report and you’ll be excellent at owls.’

Early years provision Outstanding

• The early years leader’s determination to help children make the best possible start to their school life is underpinned by a high degree of expertise and very effective skills in management. She keeps a close eye on the quality of teaching and sets an excellent example in her own teaching. She holds colleagues to account, while at the same time providing well-informed advice and support.
• Children’s progress is meticulously monitored and any anomalies are addressed. The early years pupil premium is used to good effect. Disadvantaged pupils are supported very well and are among the highest attainers.
• Adults have high expectations for children’s achievement and interact with them very effectively. The learning environment is stimulating. Both indoors and outside, children benefit from a wide range of opportunities to develop in all areas. They have access to an excellent range of learning resources in all three classrooms.
• Children benefit from support by staff who have an instinctive awareness of when to intervene and give guidance, and when to encourage children to play and learn independently. Children develop a good degree of resilience and learn to sustain their concentration as they try things out using their own ideas.
• Children make good and often rapid progress in personal development because adults provide excellent role models and promote social interaction and communication very effectively. Children typically achieve well across the board. From a low start, the proportion reaching a good level of development is in line with national averages and has risen considerably over the last four years.
• Staff work hard to engage parents. Parents appreciate the warm welcome they receive as they drop off their children and are confident that their children are kept safe. A typical comment was: ‘All aspects of in-class activities and learning are well organised. The changes to the school over recent years have been a real pleasure to see.’
• An electronic system is used effectively to provide ongoing records, including photographs of key moments in children’s learning. Parents have access to the program via the internet and routinely contribute to their children’s ‘learning journeys’. Parents also complete ‘wow eggs’, recording specific accomplishments at home. These are celebrated at school and added to assessment information.
• Children’s eagerness to learn, secure basic skills and inquisitive attitudes equip them very well for their entry to Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116171 Hampshire 10032858 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 4 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 233 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Jan Heath Sarah Duffy Telephone number 02392 582984 Website Email address www.grange-inf.hants.sch.uk adminoffice@grange-inf.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 April 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• The school is larger than the average-sized infant school.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. Around 12% pupils are at an early stage of learning English. This is half the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average.
• Early years provision consists of three full-time Reception classes.
• The school runs a daily breakfast club.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed activities in all year groups. Most observations were undertaken with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors met with members of the governing body and a member of the local authority.
• Meetings were also held with pupils to discuss their views on their learning and well-being, and with parents to gain their views about the school.
• Inspectors heard pupils read from Years 1 and 2. They talked to pupils at breaktimes and in the lunch hall, in lessons and as they moved around the school.
• Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including information on pupils’ performance across the school, school improvement plans, the school’s evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment, governor minutes and curriculum plans.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of books to see what progress had been made across a range of subjects.
• Inspectors took account of 18 responses to the Ofsted parent survey, Parent View, and the results of the inspection questionnaires completed by 24 pupils and 26 members of staff.

Inspection team

Rob Crompton, lead inspector Penny Orme

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector