St Andrew's CofE Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that phonics is taught well across the school so that more Year 1 pupils achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check.
• Increase the level of challenge in lessons so that all pupils, particularly the most able, make more rapid and sustained progress.
• Ensure that teaching is organised well to meet the varying needs of the very small number of pupils in the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has raised the profile of the school considerably since taking up post. She has maintained the caring ethos of the school while focusing on developing good-quality teaching and learning. She has managed this against a background of significant staff change.
• The large majority of parents respect the headteacher and value her leadership. One parent wrote: ‘I believe the school has got through significant changes and a number of challenges. There is now a strong and dedicated management team in place who give me confidence that the school will only continue to improve. My children love it there and the family feel has been retained, with a new more professional focus.’
• With the support of the newly appointed deputy headteacher, the headteacher is working with staff to challenge their perceptions of what good teaching looks like and how they can ensure that every pupil is well supported and challenged in lessons. The headteacher spends a lot of time in classrooms checking the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils make. She uses this information well as she strives to make teaching even better.
• The headteacher has quickly tackled any underperformance of staff. She has developed a very committed staff team whose members are all keen to improve their practice. Staff appreciate the training that the headteacher arranges for them and they enjoy working with other colleagues from across the federation.
• Leaders make effective use of additional funding. They work very closely with parents to ensure that individual pupils are well supported to make good progress. Pupils are monitored very closely. Staff have a clear understanding of the pupils’ barriers to learning and provide very high-quality support to help these pupils to catch up.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has a good understanding of how well pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities learn. She has worked effectively with parents to ensure that support plans are in place. She works well with parents and staff to ensure that pupils who need additional support in school receive it. 

• Leaders have developed an exciting and engaging curriculum, which offers a positive breadth of experience for pupils across the school. A range of activities help to keep pupils engaged and active. The emphasis on healthy living, whether through planned lunchtime games or dancing with ‘Bendy Wendy’, keeps the pupils ready to learn.
• The additional, carefully chosen after-school clubs, ranging from yoga to rugby tots, make a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Of particular note is the emphasis placed on developing pupils’ spirituality through, for example, collective worship, which gives opportunities for quiet reflection. Although the school is of a Christian character, other faiths are well represented.
• Leaders ensure that they prepare pupils for life in modern Britain well by linking the school’s values to everyday experiences. For example, the pupils understood that it was fair for each of them to have a vote to decide upon the name of the class owl.
• The school is very inclusive. Staff are strongly committed to equality of opportunity, fostering good relationships and discouraging discrimination.

Governance of the school

• The newly formed governing body has a clear and accurate understanding of the strengths of the school and of the further improvements it would like to make.
• Governors bring a range of skills and experiences to their roles and this enables them to challenge and support leaders effectively. They know where there are gaps in their knowledge, and keep themselves up to date by attending training. This ensures that they are well informed and can measure effectively the impact of leaders’ work on improving pupils’ outcomes.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• School leaders have established an extremely strong culture of safeguarding. Pupils and parents are very reassured that the systems put in place by leaders work effectively, and that everyone is safe.
• Staff work well together to ensure that any concerns about a child’s welfare are shared, recorded and reviewed appropriately.
• Governors regularly monitor safeguarding procedures and practices in the school to ensure that they are fit for purpose.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• As a result of careful monitoring and evaluation by leaders since the last inspection, the quality of teaching has improved, and most pupils are making good progress across a range of subjects.
• Teachers and teaching assistants have very positive attitudes towards learning. Lessons proceed purposefully and are fun. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their learning and make good progress because of the well-planned lessons, which actively engage them in their learning. For example, in a mathematics lesson when the pupils were ordering themselves holding different numbers, one pupil placed himself wrongly in the line. He quickly recognised his error and corrected it immediately while explaining his reasoning to the teacher.
• Teachers use their subject knowledge well, and tackle misconceptions effectively, to challenge pupils’ thinking and understanding. However, at times there are too few opportunities for pupils to develop their thinking skills and to challenge one another. On these occasions, learning activities do not always support pupils well to extend their learning and, consequently, too few pupils achieve the higher standards of which they are capable.
• Teaching assistants value the professional development and support they receive from leaders. Consequently, their input is very effective and they add a great deal of value to pupils’ learning and well-being, particularly those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The teaching of phonics is not as effective as it needs to be. Pupils do not use their knowledge and skills of letter sounds and blends to help them to read more fluently. Assessments of pupils’ phonic knowledge are not sufficiently accurate to ensure that teaching can be precisely tailored to their needs.
• Some of the small-group activities do not successfully support pupils to develop their learning skills.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are very eager to learn, and enjoy the different experiences that each day brings. They want to do their very best and are not afraid to try something new. They are resilient learners because they know that if they make a mistake they will learn from it.
• Teaching assistants make an extremely strong contribution to pupils’ welfare by helping them to develop a better understanding of their emotions and maintain a sense of well-being.
• Exceptional care is provided for pupils who have specific learning needs. Consequently, every pupil is highly valued and receives the specific support they need to help them to develop their learning skills.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They like offering a ‘helping hand’ to their friends and are very respectful to one another.
• Pupils are confident, friendly and polite. They enjoy coming to school, are welcoming to visitors, and are eager to share their experiences and learning.
• The playground is a happy place. Pupils conduct themselves well and enjoy the imaginative outdoor play area. A lunchtime physical-activity programme helps pupils to stay fit while having fun.
• Most pupils attend school regularly and punctually. Staff monitor attendance closely, and leaders ensure that pupils are safe, in school, and while learning.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 1 have been improving.
• In 2018, the number of pupils achieving age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics was in line with national figures. However, too few pupils achieved the higher standards.
• Outcomes for current pupils have improved on previous years, and many pupils are making stronger progress, particularly in reading and mathematics. Current Year 2 pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities, are making much stronger progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This is preparing them very well for their next school.
• Staff provide very good support to pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. This group now makes good progress that is closer to that of other pupils nationally.
• In 2018, all pupils had achieved the expected standard in the phonics screening check by the end of Year 2. However, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard at the end of Year 1 is below the national average.
• The work in current pupils’ books, in a range of subjects, shows that they are making good progress since the start of the academic year. However, leaders and teachers do not ensure that pupils are sufficiently challenged to reach the higher standards when they are capable of doing so.
• Leaders and staff are currently reviewing their assessment and tracking systems to improve on their data analysis at school, cohort and individual levels. Governors are taking a very active role in this piece of work and are challenging themselves to find out what difference governors can make to pupils’ outcomes.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 110443 Milton Keynes 10046306 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 4 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 18 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mr David Argent Mrs Marie-Claire Parsons Telephone number 01908 605 515 Website Email address www.standrewsinfantschool.co.uk office@standrewsinfantschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection 4−5 May 2016

Information about this school

• The school is significantly smaller than the average-sized infant school. At the time of the inspection there were 18 children on roll. Four of the children attend the Reception class in the morning. They join the pupils in the other class in the afternoon.
• In order to avoid identifying individual pupils in this small school, the report does not cover some aspects of the school’s work. As there are so few children in early years, the report does not specifically report on that stage.
• The school is a member of the Village Schools Federation. It is one of five schools which share a headteacher, deputy headteacher and governing body.
• Since the last inspection, there have been a significant number of staff changes. There was a period of interim leadership, which was followed by the appointment of a permanent headteacher from January 2018. The two class teachers joined the school in September 2018. One was appointed as executive deputy headteacher for the federation. She is currently teaching full-time at St Andrews because of the recent departure of a member of staff.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is well above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning in both classrooms, accompanied by the headteacher.
• The inspector considered a range of information about the school, including: pupils’ outcomes; the school’s evaluation of its own performance; the development plan; the school’s targeted improvement plan; governors’ minutes and records; the school’s pupil premium strategy alongside the recent evaluative report from the diocese; the school’s website; and leaders’ monitoring and evaluation records. She also examined behaviour and attendance records and information relating to safeguarding.
• The inspector viewed pupils’ work from displays and talked to pupils about their learning.
• The inspector spent time on the playground and listened to pupils read. She also looked at work in pupils’ books, with the deputy headteacher. 

• The inspector met with the SENCo and talked with both class teachers about the provision for the children in the Reception class.
• The inspector met with five members of the governing body, and with a representative from the local authority. She had a phone conversation with a representative from the diocese.
• The inspector spoke informally with staff and pupils around the school.
• There were no responses to Ofsted’s staff or pupil questionnaires. The inspector considered five responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, along with free-text comments. The inspector also had informal discussions with seven parents before school.

Inspection team

Sarah Varnom, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector