World's End Infant and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and governance of the pupil premium by ensuring that:
  • governors relentlessly challenge leaders on outcomes for disadvantaged pupils
  • the expenditure of the pupil premium is evaluated
  • a strategy is in place for the expenditure of the pupil premium
  • the school fulfils its statutory duties on what is published on its website and this is
  • checked by governors leaders commission an external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium.
• Improve outcomes for middle-attaining pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, so that a higher proportion are working in greater depth at the end of Year 2, especially in mathematics, by ensuring that:
  • middle-attaining pupils currently in Year 1 maintain their current rate of rapid progress into Year 2 next year
  • children in Reception make the same very rapid progress in mathematics that they do in Nursery.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the school was last inspected 10 years ago, the headteacher, other leaders and governors have maintained high standards in the school. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, have consistently achieved outcomes well above the national average. Leaders have maintained a very high quality of teaching and ensured that the ethos of the school is welcoming and supportive.
• Leaders have a realistic view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They monitor teaching very closely through lesson observations, focused learning walks and book scrutiny.
• Arrangements for performance management and the training of teachers are robust. A distributed leadership team ensures that a number of senior and middle leaders are involved in the monitoring of teaching. Support and induction for new staff is strong and highly effective.
• Leaders track the progress of different groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They also track the progress of individuals closely through analysis of pupil outcomes and pupil progress meetings. Through these meetings, leaders hold teachers to account for the progress of all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who are at risk of falling behind.
• Leadership of special educational needs provision is strong and ensures that pupils, including those from the specialist visually impaired unit are fully integrated into lessons. The use of this additional funding is effective through its close targeting to specific needs.
• Leaders evaluate very thoroughly the impact of the physical education (PE) and sport premium. Training provided for staff has ensured sustainability of the initiatives introduced. Pupils have access to high-quality resources including sports equipment, an astroturf and a multi-purpose games area. The PE and sport premium has generated pupils’ enthusiasm and interest in sport. Uptake of sports activities by pupil groups is closely monitored to ensure that no pupil group is under-represented.
• Parents spoken to at the school gate or who responded to Parent View were overwhelmingly positive about the school’s leaders. Almost all said the school was well led and that they would recommend it to another parent. They commended the leaders for the supportive and welcoming staff. Parents said that leaders, including the headteacher, are very accessible and listen well to their concerns. Parents said they are kept well informed and communication is good.
• Staff spoken to by inspectors share the leaders’ vision for the school.
• Pupils spoken to made very positive comments about the broad and balanced curriculum they enjoy, which includes science, humanities, art and technology. The curriculum is enhanced by a rich selection of extra-curricular activities, including emergency life skills. As a result, pupils know how to put a person in the emergency recovery position.
• There is an extensive list of visits, for example trips to a farm, the theatre, the botanical gardens and Cadbury’s world. Parents receive information on the curriculum regularly on how to support their children.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Themes in assembly, which follow a ‘rights respecting school’ programme, include behaviour, relationships, bullying, staying safe and the right to have your voice heard. Personal social and health education (PSHE) and British values are integrated well through topics and subjects studied.
• The school has engaged well with the Birmingham Education Partnership and sought external analysis of its outcomes.
• There are growing links with the neighbouring junior school to ensure that pupils have a smooth transition from key stage 1 to 2. Pupils in Year 2 are invited to junior school assemblies as well as other visits. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including the visually impaired, are well prepared for the transition, with the help of learning mentors.
• Leaders struggled initially with assessment arrangements for the new curriculum. Consequently, there was a significant dip in outcomes for pupils in reading, writing and especially mathematics at the end of key stage 1 in 2016. Most-able pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities did less well than other pupils nationally. Leaders have been quick to respond to ensure that current pupils in Year 2 are now back on track and set to achieve good outcomes in 2017.
• Leaders do not apply the same rigour of evaluation and strategic planning to the pupil premium as they do to other funding streams. Until 2015, outcomes for disadvantaged pupils compared very favourably with all pupils nationally by the end of key stage 1. However, they did not do as well as other pupils nationally or in the school in reading, writing and especially mathematics in 2016. Outcomes for current disadvantaged pupils in key stage 1 are now more favourable again.

Governance of the school

• Governors support leaders well and are actively involved in the life of the school. They ensure that performance management of staff, including that of the headteacher, is carried out effectively. Governors are seeking to increase their level of challenge through pursuing the ‘governor mark’ accreditation and they have also set up an improvement committee. They are very accessible at parents’ evenings and other events where they regularly seek parents’ views. In most aspects, governors support and challenge leaders through regular meetings and visits to school, especially for safeguarding, special educational needs, PE and sport premium and attendance where they receive regular updates and reports. However, the extent of challenge and scrutiny for pupil premium expenditure is less well developed. As a result, they have not:
  • challenged leaders on outcomes for disadvantaged pupils sufficiently in their governing body meetings and visits
  • checked whether the school fulfils its statutory duty on what it should publish on its website with regard to the pupil premium
  • received or asked for an evaluation of the expenditure for pupil premium in the last academic year
  • received or asked for the school’s pupil premium strategy for the current academic year.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school has a culture of vigilance, so that staff know what to do and who to report to should they have any concerns. Designated leaders are well trained and up to date with the information they receive. All staff receive regular training and updates. Policies and procedures meet all requirements and include the very latest guidance from the Department for Education. Governors are rigorous in ensuring that the school meets its safeguarding duties. Through regular visits, they check that a culture of safeguarding permeates every aspect of school life.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching is outstanding and has resulted in the rapid progress that pupils currently make. It is highly effective in overcoming any shortfalls in pupils’ progress that occurred last year while the school implemented new curriculum and assessment arrangements.
• Teachers establish efficient classroom routines and high expectations very well. As a consequence, pupils are quick to settle to their work without distractions, and no time is lost in their learning.
• Teachers are highly skilled in developing and extending pupils’ vocabulary. Visual prompts are used effectively to support pupils’ learning. Pupils are encouraged to share their ideas and written work with others in order to develop their use of target vocabulary. These strategies are benefiting especially those pupils learning English as an additional language.
• Teachers use additional resources and new technologies very well to enhance pupils’ learning. They use imaginative approaches to engage pupils in literacy through drama, for example by dressing as pirates, and music, which sustains pupils’ interest and engagement.
• Support staff are well deployed. Additional adults provide targeted and expert support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those who are visually impaired.
• Pupils have access to a range of activities in mathematics, which have a strong emphasis on problem solving and reasoning, for example tasks involving money, which is ensuring that the most-able pupils can work in greater depth.
• Phonics is taught well. Teachers build on pupils’ developing phonics skills by providing them with opportunities to read widely in a range of fiction and non-fiction texts and with fluency and understanding.
• There is a strong emphasis on developing punctuation and handwriting skills in literacy lessons, to enable more pupils to work at greater depth in their writing. By the end of Year 2, pupils are able to draft and redraft their written work with minimum prompting from adults. Pupils are able to extend their writing skills across a range of styles taught, including creative stories and factual reports.
• Questioning is skilful in drawing out pupil responses and addressing misconceptions as they arise. Teachers give pupils time to reflect before they answer targeted questions.
• Homework set reinforces pupils’ learning in literacy and numeracy.
• Pupils are set clear objectives so that they know exactly what they are learning. Teachers are accurate in assessing whether pupils are working at the expected standard or in greater depth in English and mathematics. Feedback to pupils, whether written or verbal, gives pupils a clear indication of how they can improve their work. Pupils extend their learning further with the additional challenges set for them.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils’ excellent attitudes have a strong impact on the rapid progress they make in lessons.
• Parents spoken to who have children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were full of praise for the support their children receive to meet their welfare needs.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are excellent. Pupils take turns to speak in lessons, and in group work they ensure that no one is left out of discussions. Pupils listen to each other’s ideas well and delight in sharing their success. There is a high degree of mutual respect between pupils. Pupils have confidence to speak up in class. They are articulate and not afraid to express their views.
• The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Pupils are able to study a range of different religions through topic work and assemblies. Cultural development is enhanced through the curriculum and an extensive visitors’ programme. There are links with the local church, the police and fire service. Pupils provide support to local charities and food banks.
• British values are promoted through meetings with local councillors, which raise pupils’ awareness of democracy and respect and tolerance for diversity in the local community. Pupils have written to their local MP about the welfare of refugees. Pupils are encouraged to practise democracy through making choices. The school council is elected, for example. The school council’s work, particularly on developing the local environment, is prominently displayed so that its achievements can be celebrated.
• Pupils follow rules carefully to keep themselves safe. They know very well the precautions they should take if a parent is not there at the end of the school day or if they encounter a stranger. They know how to stay safe when working on the computer and about the dangers of hacking. Those spoken to almost all reported that they feel very safe in school. Parents who responded to inspectors and via Parent View unanimously supported this view.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Movement around the school is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming to visitors. They show respect for adults and other pupils.
• Pupils settle well to their learning and begin their tasks with a minimum of supervision and direction. They are enthusiastic learners and happy to share their work with others. They are proud of what they achieve.
• Lessons are free from low-level disruption or misbehaviour. If, on very rare occasions, a pupil becomes distracted or switches off for a moment, they quickly re-engage with their learning.
• Parents who responded to inspectors or to Parent View were unanimous in their view that behaviour in school is good.
• Pupils spoken to by inspectors overwhelmingly agreed that behaviour is ‘fantastic’. They are aware of the consequences of poor behaviour and the rewards to promote good behaviour.
• There have been no exclusions of pupils in recent years.
• The level of pupils’ attendance is consistently above the national average and improving strongly. This is the same for all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who speak English as an additional language. Rates of persistent absence are falling as a result of the valuable work of key support staff who engage successfully with parents and other agencies to promote regular attendance. Staff know their families very well.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils currently in school in Year 2 have made good progress from their starting points at the end of Reception and this academic year are making very rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics as a result of teaching that is outstanding. The very large majority of most-able pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, who exceeded expectations at the end of Reception are now working at greater depth in all of these subjects.
• Pupils in Year 1 have made outstanding progress across all subjects since the end of Reception. At current rates of progress, a high proportion of middle-attaining as well as most-able pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are set to achieve highly by the end of next year.
• In Year 1, most-able pupils are able to produce extended pieces of writing to a standard well above that expected for their age. Disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and pupils who speak English as an additional language are also making outstanding progress in Year 1. Pupils who are visually impaired receive high-quality bespoke support in class to ensure that they are doing as well as their peers.
• Pupils’ outcomes in phonics, based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard by the end of Year 1, have been consistently above the national average in recent years, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Parents who spoke to inspectors or who responded to Parent View were overwhelmingly positive that their children, including those who have children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making at least good progress as a result of the high quality of teaching and support they receive.
• Progress overall for current pupils in Year 2 is not outstanding because when they were in Year 1, leaders and teachers struggled to adapt to the demands of the new curriculum. Expectations for a proportion of middle-attaining pupils, who left Reception at the expected standard, to be working at greater depth by the end of Year 2 were not met. As a consequence, of those who reached the expected standard by the end of early years, including disadvantaged pupils, fewer than expected are now working at greater depth in Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Up until 2015, outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 1, including for disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who speak English as an additional language, were consistently well above the national average in all subjects. In 2016, standards at the end of Year 2 were above average for pupils overall in reading and writing but below in mathematics. For pupils who had reached or exceeded the expected standard in mathematics by the end of Reception, their progress to the end of Year 2 was significantly below the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities in Year 2 was too small to comment on their progress. Those currently in school are making rapid progress.
• Leaders acknowledge that in 2016 they were insufficiently prepared for the new curriculum and assessment arrangements, especially in mathematics, but have taken steps to address this, including additional training for teachers, to ensure that pupils currently in key stage 1 have made accelerated progress since September 2016.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The proportion of children who leave Reception having achieved a good level of development is consistently above the national average as a result of the excellent provision, leadership and teaching, especially in the Nursery.
• Children make very rapid progress in early years from their typically low attainment on entry to the Nursery to above by the end of Reception. They get off to an exceptionally fast start in the Nursery where they have access to a wide range of high-quality activities to support their development and learning. Children develop a secure phonics knowledge in the Nursery.
• Children have a wide range of opportunities to write at length, so that in Reception they are able to write extended sentences unaided, for example, about fire fighters.
• Additional adults are deployed effectively and are skilled in the use of questioning to develop and extend children’s learning.
• Children settle quickly to routines and take responsibility for their behaviour, which is exemplary. Children respond very well to adults and to other children through sharing and taking turns. They are articulate and confident in talking to adults.
• The use of ‘tapestry’ and learning journeys provides highly effective links with parents, enabling them to maintain a dialogue with teaching staff.
• Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. In Reception, children have the opportunity to sample foods from different cultures and countries, including Italy, India and China.
• Although most children join Reception from the school’s Nursery, some come from other providers. The school works well on transition arrangements to find out as much information as possible about the children and to meet the parents. Induction days help children to become familiar with the environment. Staff’s use of puppets and ‘dinosaurs’ to engage children in their learning is highly effective.
• Opportunities to extend children’s learning in mathematics are exceptionally well developed in Nursery but, on occasions, are not applied as consistently well in Reception.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 103337 Birmingham 10032628 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Infant School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 354 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Fiona Northey Gillian Griffiths 01214 220453 www.worldsendinfant.bham.sch.uk

enquiry@worldsendinfant.bham.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 20 November 2007

Information about this school

• World's End Infant and Nursery School is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above the national average. The level of social deprivation locally is high.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is about one in 20, which is well below the national average. The percentage of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is slightly below average. The school has a designated unit on site for visually impaired pupils. At present, it supports six pupils, all of whom are integrated into mainstream lessons.
• The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above average, and on a rising trend. The proportion who speak English as an additional language is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school mid-way through a key stage is very low.
• The headteacher was in post at the time of the last inspection, 10 years ago.
• The chair of the governing body has been in the role since 2015.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the pupil premium on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed 21 lessons or parts of lessons, of which 18 were jointly observed with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a number of other short visits to lessons and other activities.
• Inspectors heard pupils read during lessons.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other leaders and members of staff and spoke to a group of pupils.
• Inspectors met the chair of the governing body. The lead inspector spoke to a representative from Birmingham Education Partnership by telephone.
• Inspectors spoke to 37 parents at the school gate. In addition, they took account of 21 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised a number of documents, including those relating to the school’s self-evaluation, as well as governing body minutes, improvement plans and school information on pupils’ recent attainment and progress.
• Inspectors also considered behaviour and attendance information, and policies and procedures relating to special educational needs, pupil premium funding, and PE and sport premium funding, safeguarding and child protection.

Inspection team

Mark Sims, lead inspector Russell Hinton Collette Higgins Jayne Thorpe

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector