Wootton Bassett Infants' School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of governance to provide effective strategic leadership that: ensures that school leaders have the capacity and skills to monitor the work of teachers effectively supports and challenges school leaders to bring about the improvements needed improves the progress pupils make over time from their different starting points ensures the efficient spending of public funds, so that disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are making strong progress and the sport premium is used to enhance the skills of teachers ensures that the curriculum, especially in science and the foundation subjects, is organised and sequenced, so that pupils consistently learn what they need to know.
• Leaders, including governors, must ensure that:

the school’s monitoring and evaluation of its work are accurate so that actions have a greater impact on the main priorities that will improve standards and the quality of education in the school processes and procedures for gathering information are more efficient and show the progress pupils make over time from their starting points

the most able pupils in all year groups, including those who are disadvantaged, are provided with learning that is sufficiently challenging and deepens their thinking pupils’ attendance improves so that it is at least in line with the national average. An external review of governance 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 school is undergoing extensive building work, so the site has limited space for pupils to play outside. In addition, there were staffing changes since the last inspection in March 2018. This turbulence has affected the ability of the headteacher and governors to focus on the monitoring of school systems. As a result, there is some inconsistency in practice and a lack of strategic information on the standards in the school.
• Governors are not reacting effectively to leaders’ weak evaluation of standards. The information provided to governors is superficial and fails to include the essential aspects of the school’s progress. They are too reliant on verbal information without conclusive evidence.
• In addition, there is no stringent management of the performance of teachers, so the support and training are not focused on essentials. As a result, pupils receive different experiences, dependent on their class teacher.
• Leaders do not have a clear plan of the curriculum offer, especially in science and the foundation subjects. As a result, leaders are not aware of what pupils know and can do in a range of subjects.
• Plans for English and mathematics follow the guidelines in the national curriculum. However, leaders in the core subjects have insufficient opportunities to oversee the work of the whole school, which limits their impact.
• The greatest concern expressed by parents and carers in the Ofsted online survey Parent View is the lack of information about what pupils are learning. Leaders and governors have undertaken surveys with parents. There are plans to improve this and some actions have taken place.
• Leaders are working to stem the decline in the progress of disadvantaged pupils. However, actions are not evaluated stringently by the governing body. Consequently, plans from year to year are not based on evidence of the impact of actions taken.
• Pupils are well-behaved and respect their teachers and leaders. When there is poor behaviour, leaders act effectively. However, the analysis of behaviours and plans for reducing any possible repetition of misbehaviour are less secure.
• The range of subjects is appropriate. There is a strong focus on the arts, which reflects the headteacher’s expertise. Professional dancers were working with pupils from Year 2 and Reception on one day of the inspection. Staff were joining in as well, to learn innovative ways to engage pupils in movement in the future.
• The school is a rich and stimulating environment for the pupils, despite the limited and temporary nature of many school buildings. Leaders have made every effort to provide the best facilities for pupils within a limited space.
• The work of the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is a strength of the school. She has an acute awareness of the needs of pupils who have SEND, as well as those who are vulnerable. In addition, she is the deputy designated safeguarding lead, and her support of pupils and parents is exemplary.
• Leaders and governors promote equality of opportunity through their words, actions and influence. They prevent discriminatory behaviour and prejudiced actions and views.
• There are many extra-curricular activities and trips to enrich the experiences of pupils.

Governance of the school

• Governors are enthusiastic in their support of the school and are aware that they have not been strategic enough in the past. They have organised sub-committees to deal with important aspects of the school. One of these, the communication with parents group, has put effective plans in place, and some actions have started. Governors are aware that these actions are not yet complete.
• The governor for safeguarding and SEND is very new in post. She will undertake relevant training in March 2019, after this inspection, so she has not been able to check the requisite aspects yet.
• Governors have not scrutinised the use of public funding efficiently. As a result, the improvements for disadvantaged pupils were slow to happen and are not evaluated effectively. The leader in charge of the pupil premium is keen to amend this situation, so she has taken the initiative herself, but would value more input from governors.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements. The administrative staff make stringent checks when recruiting staff. There is vigilance in this area. The deputy designated safeguarding officer manages child protection cases and other issues that require multi-agency involvement well.
• Several safeguarding concerns were identified at the time of the inspection, such as the lack of supervision of the main gate on to the main road. The issues were remedied immediately, and the safeguarding officer for the local authority has visited to undertake an audit and will return in a fortnight to make further checks. This is particularly important because of the young age of the pupils and the current building works taking place.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Because there is no strategic overview of the curriculum, planning from year to year is not yet sequential. As a result, pupils are receiving differing levels of knowledge in the various subjects. There is, therefore, a lack of uniformity.
• When there are concerns about teaching, leaders do not take immediate action to support less effective teachers, because of the lack of measures to check teachers’ performance.
• Teachers are not building on pupils’ strengths or providing them consistently with challenge and extension work.
• Reports provided to parents for Years 1 and 2 explain what pupils have done in numeracy and literacy, but the information is vague about what has happened in the foundation subjects.
• Most teachers develop pupils’ reading, writing and mathematics sufficiently. The extension of reading, writing and mathematics skills is less effective in cross-curricular work.
• There is a variation in the amount of time given for pupils to review what they are learning and to develop it further. Often, pupils are not provided with the necessary resources to support their learning.
• Teachers do not tackle misconceptions in phonics regularly. This limits pupils’ ability to apply their phonics skills effectively. For younger children, the teaching of phonics is not yet effective in enabling them to tackle some unfamiliar words.
• Although there are termly newsletters from each class teacher, they do not provide adequate information for parents to support their children at home effectively.
• Most teachers use more effective planning in English and mathematics than in other subjects to help pupils learn well.
• Teachers expect and encourage pupils to work with positive attitudes. When teachers combine this with effective planning, pupils apply themselves and make strong progress. However, this is inconsistent, and some pupils are making weak progress as a result.
• Some teachers identify pupils who start to fall behind and intervene quickly to help them to improve their learning.
• Teachers give pupils feedback in line with the school’s assessment policy. Most pupils know what they need to do to improve.
• Teachers set homework in line with the school’s policy. Pupils learn spellings and read at home. This prepares pupils well for work to come.
• Pupils are keen learners who want to find out more.
• There is no derogatory language in lessons or around the school.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Personal development and welfare Requires improvement

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are confident and they communicate well with each other and their peers.
• Bullying is rare. Pupils and parents do not feel that bullying is an issue at the school.
• Pupils learn how to respect each other. There is a culture of acceptance of difference, in whatever form that may be.
• Most pupils take pride in their work and are keen to do well.
• Most pupils’ attitudes to learning are enthusiastic. Pupils, even very young children, focus on the tasks.
• Pupils conduct themselves appropriately at lunch and breaktimes. Key stage 1 pupils are more boisterous than Reception children. The restrictions of the site during the building works contribute to this. Pupils are tolerant of the restricted space in which they play.
• Pupils respond quickly to instructions and are eager to please their teachers.
• Pupils are safe. They learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy at an age- appropriate level.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well established.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Attendance is below the national average and has declined further this year. No systematic actions have been taken by leaders to halt the decline.
• Some staff are not yet sufficiently trained to calm down the inappropriate behaviour of some of the pupils with more complex needs.
• Exclusions are higher than the national average. However, the use of exclusions is appropriate for the behaviour exhibited.
• In assembly, some minor disruption occurs when very young children become disengaged from the proceedings.
• There are no persistent absentees currently.
• Minor disruptions in classes are very rare, as teachers’ expectations for conduct are high.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Leaders are not measuring progress effectively and efficiently over time. Pupils’ outcomes are not targeted to improve by leaders. As a result, the most able are not consistently achieving as well as they should.
• In the core subjects of English and mathematics, the progress of disadvantaged pupils is not yet at the level of pupils nationally.
• Most pupils arrive at the school with knowledge and skills in line with national expectations. Leaders are not focused adequately on the progress that pupils should make. As a result, few pupils are achieving well.
• Progress in science in Years 1 and 2 is not monitored well. Consequently, pupils are not prepared effectively for the next stage of their education in this core subject.
• There is no sequential planning in foundation subjects, so pupils receive a range of experiences. This means that pupils’ knowledge in Years 1 and 2 depends on the choice of topic work. This does not prepare them sufficiently for key stage 2 work.
• The progress of pupils who have SEND is close to other pupils with the same starting points. Many pupils no longer require an education, health and care plan because of the support received.
• Most pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension. In 2018, pupils in Year 1 achieved the expected standard in the phonics screening check.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader has an accurate view of the quality of provision for individual children.
• Safeguarding is effective. Adults chaperone children as they move around the uneven pathways. All teachers have paediatric first aid qualifications, so they deal effectively with any knocks and scrapes.
• Adults implement child protection policies and procedures consistently; they review practice regularly. When children start in Reception, parents provide information on medical needs, such as allergies. Teachers care for children appropriately.
• Leaders visit the pre-schools and get to know the children before they start in Reception. The headteacher speaks to every parent individually about their child’s learning so far. Once the children have settled in, there is a parents’ evening in October, so parents can ask questions and find out about their child’s progress.
• Adults record children’s progress daily. Parents supply information about their child’s achievements at home to supplement the teachers’ knowledge of the learning journey.
• Teachers motivate and interest children in a broad range of activities. Children are keen learners. They listen carefully to adults and each other.
• Children behave well, and they are safe.
• One of the classrooms for Reception does not have a suitable outdoor space, but the leader has taken steps to include more activities internally. Teachers underuse the outdoor facilities in the other two Reception classes. Pupils are not provided with enough opportunities to learn and explore there.
• The early years leader has planned an effective curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education to show how other children are different. Children complete topics about themselves and their families and share the findings with each other.
• The SENCo identifies children’s needs early. She gives children the support they need, including through effective partnerships with external agencies and other providers.
• Most teachers provide a curriculum with a broad range of interesting and demanding experiences. Consequently, most children progress towards the achievement of the early learning goals. However, there is not enough challenge to help children exceed them. The early years leader recognises this and is making changes accordingly, but it is too soon to see any measurable progress.
• The leader does not have a full picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision, as she has not been part of the management of teachers’ performance.
• Reports to parents provide details about the early learning goals, but parents are not told whether their children are reaching a good level of development or exceeding it.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 126235 Wiltshire 10054398 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 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Marcus Farr Mark Hazzard 01793 852254 www.woottonbassettinfants.com/ admin@woottonbassett-inf.wilts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection March 2018

Information about this school

• The school is undergoing extensive building work currently. A two-storey structure comprising four classrooms is being built alongside the existing buildings. There are five classrooms which are of a temporary nature. The school is built on a sloping gradient.
• Wootton Bassett Infants’ School is smaller than the average infant school.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEND is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is below the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team visited lessons jointly with the headteacher and other leaders.
• Pupils’ work, from all year groups and a range of subjects, was scrutinised.
• Inspectors talked with groups of pupils from key stage 2, as well as with pupils informally across the site.
• Pupils read to the inspection team.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, leaders and members of the governing body and the school’s challenge and support partner.
• Information and documentary evidence were evaluated, including that relating to safeguarding, assessment, school evaluation and external reviews.
• The lead inspector took account of the 156 responses to, and 81 comments in, the online Parent View survey.

Inspection team

Kathy Maddocks, lead inspector David New

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector