St Michael and All Angels CofE Infant School

St Michael and All Angels CofE Infant School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 116366 Local Authority Hampshire Inspection number 357950 Inspection dates 2–3 March 2011 Reporting inspector Janet Sinclair

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Infant School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 86 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Burret Headteacher Tina Daniel Date of previous school inspection 24 June 2008 School address High Street Lyndhurst SO43 7BB Telephone number 023 8028 2244 Fax number 023 8028 2890 Email address Tina.Daniel@lyndhurst.hants.sch.uk

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Age group 4–7 Inspection dates 2–3 March 2011 Inspection number 357950 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the documentation in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to 'Subscribe'. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors. The inspectors visited 11 lessons or part-lessons, observing four teachers and several teaching assistants. Inspectors also held meetings with representatives of the governing body, senior staff and groups of pupils. They scrutinised samples of pupils' work, and looked at a wide range of documentation, including policies, the school strategic plan and records of pupils' progress. They considered the 35 responses from questionnaires returned by parents and carers. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.  Attainment and rates of progress for all groups of pupils, particularly in writing.  The extent to which teachers use assessment information to plan lessons that match pupils' needs and how well they involve pupils in improving their work.  The extent of the federation's success in enabling leaders to drive improvement.

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Information about the school

St Michael and All Angels is much smaller than the average-sized infant school. There is a below average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups, some of whom are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average; these are mainly speech and language difficulties. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The school is part of the Oaks Church of England Learning Federation, which was formed in May 2009. It is part of a hard federation consisting of three schools. A new executive headteacher was appointed in April 2010.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Main findings

St Michael and All Angels is a good school. The executive headteacher gives a strong steer to the school's work and has a clear vision for its development. She is using federation status well to provide increased benefits to the school. This is seen in the joint Forest Schools and Dance projects and in the sharing of staff expertise from across the federation to support writing improvements, as well as in the way in which heads of learning are enabled to support each other in their roles. Staff provide a caring, welcoming environment and this ensures that pupils are happy to come to school and attend regularly. Pupils feel extremely safe in school and fully confident of adult support should they need it; they clearly reported to inspectors that there is no bullying at the school. They have an excellent understanding of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, confidently talking about the importance of exercise to

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Main findings

increase their heart rate and the need for pasta and bread in order to release energy slowly. Parents and carers are mainly happy with the school and what it provides. They strongly agree that the school helps their children to have a healthy lifestyle and ensures that they are safe. Excellent relationships and an effective learning environment ensure children settle well into school routines and quickly become confident, active learners. They make good progress during their time in the Reception class and achieve well. By the end of Year 2, attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils make good progress given their starting points. There has been a notable improvement in writing recently due to a strong emphasis on sounds and letters work, regular opportunities for extended writing and the use of talk and storytelling as a means of encouraging good writing. Teachers organise and manage lessons well and ensure a good match of work to

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Main findings

pupils' needs. They use support staff effectively to work with small groups. Although staff interact well with pupils, they do not always challenge them sufficiently through effective questioning and this slows their progress. Teachers mark work regularly and set targets for pupils but do not always ensure pupils know what they need to do to improve or refer to their targets as a means of supporting this. This limits pupils' ability to assess how well they are doing or be involved in improving their work. The curriculum is broad and balanced and enriched well through the use of topics and special events such as World Book Day. Rigorous tracking of pupils' progress and effective actions to support those falling behind ensures all groups of pupils make similarly good progress. Leaders have a clear and accurate view of the school and know what needs to be done to bring about further improvement. The school has maintained its overall good provision since the

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Main findings

previous inspection and the benefits of federation, such as the joint writing review, are beginning to impact positively on the work of the school. There is a clear focus on raising

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

attainment further through rigorous tracking and effective support. On the evidence of the progress made so far, the school has good capacity for sustained improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure greater consistency in marking pupils' work and using targets so that all pupils have a clearer idea of how they can improve.  Involve pupils more fully in their learning by giving them more opportunities to respond fully to teacher questioning in order to develop their thinking skills.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Pupils enjoy their lessons and many say that 'school is fun'. They particularly like their literacy and numeracy lessons and concentrate well. For example, in a mental mathematics session in Year 2 that involved rapid recall of doubling and halving numbers, they worked hard and responded enthusiastically. Another example of effective learning was seen when pupils concentrated extremely well when using Carroll diagrams to place numbers in the correct quadrant using odd and even numbers and multiples of ten. In a literacy lesson, pupils worked well in pairs to discuss Mr Grinling's character and came up with some sensible ideas for his suitability to continue as lighthouse keeper. They also enjoyed answering questions on this subject, but were not given enough opportunity to respond fully or explain their ideas and this limited their progress. A group of pupils in Year 1 enjoyed estimating how many exercises they could do in a given time and then

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

doing them to assess how accurate they were. They also did exercises when trying to find out if they could help Mr Grinling to be healthier by finding exercises that would 'make the blood pump round his body faster'. Pupils make good use of information and communication technology, for example when using an electronic thesaurus to find adjectives and check their spellings. Pupils know they have targets and use them well to improve their extended writing, but not in other aspects of their work and this limits their ability to improve it. Pupils with special educational needs and those at an early stage of learning English make good progress and achieve well. This is because the school monitors their progress carefully and has clear plans and actions to support their specific needs. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They are kind, thoughtful and reflective. This was especially noticeable when praising the qualities of each other in

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Assembly, saying, 'she is very kind' or 'he is a talented artist.' Pupils know right from wrong and support each other well in class and around the school. They feel very safe in school and are particularly pleased with the help they get from playground buddies when they are unhappy. They like to be involved in checking safety and carried out a risk assessment on playground equipment in a local park prior to designing and making their own safe equipment as part of a design and technology project. Pupils make a good contribution to the community through raising money for local and national charities and when taking part in local music festivals.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes

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Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 2

Taking into account: Pupils' attainment¹

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Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 2

The quality of pupils' learning and their progress 2

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Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 2

The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

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2

Taking into account: Pupils' attendance¹

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The extent of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4

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How effective is the provision?

Teachers plan lessons well and make good use of resources to enliven tasks and engage pupils fully in their learning. Examples seen during the inspection include special letters, teacher in role as a councillor and the use of real fruit and vegetables for weighing. The many opportunities for small group work led effectively by support staff means that pupils get effective help with their learning. This was particularly noticeable in a guided reading session, where all groups were on focused adult-led tasks, thus enabling good progress. They also work well with pupils with special educational needs and those at an early stage of learning English, using strategies that meet their specific needs. Effective assessments enable teachers to match work well to pupils' needs and this ensures that pupils are motivated to learn and stay on task well. Teachers question pupils about their work but do not always give them enough time to respond fully, which limits their pace of learning.

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How effective is the provision?

Most teachers explain things clearly to enable good understanding, for example when ensuring Year 1 pupils were clear about how to estimate and record their measurements. Teachers regularly mark pupils' work and set targets for their learning but do not always use them well enough to fully involve pupils in securing improvement. Exciting topics provide good cross-curricular links, enrich the curriculum and enthuse pupils. They particularly enjoyed the project on Forest Schools, where they had to work as a team on activities such as making a den, lighting fires and solving real-life problems. Visitors such as the African Drummers, the sports coaches who take physical education

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

lessons, and events such as Writing Week contribute well to their learning and personal development. The school makes some provision for its gifted and talented pupils but recognises that this could be extended further. The school ensures good provision for its most vulnerable pupils and their families. There are good links with outside agencies and effective support within the school to ensure pupils' needs are met. Good links with the junior school and a detailed programme of activities for Year 2 pupils ensure a smooth transition to the next phase of their education.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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The quality of teaching 2

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

Senior leaders ensure a clear sense of direction and a strong commitment to further improvement. There are effective systems in place to promote pupils' learning and drive improvement. The school's strategic plan is a comprehensive document and is the key driver in setting out and monitoring key improvement areas, such as writing, which is already showing a successful outcome. Teaching is monitored carefully and areas for improvement agreed and evaluated. However, there is sometimes not enough emphasis on its impact on pupils' learning. Effective tracking of pupils' progress enables the school to analyse assessment information and put strategies in place to ensure good outcomes for all pupils. This, together with the work done to meet the needs of vulnerable pupils and the efforts to ensure all pupils succeed equally well, shows the school's good commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination.

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How effective are leadership and management?

There are good partnerships with parents and carers fostered through regular newsletters, termly progress review meetings and their involvement in a project to improve reading. There are effective partnerships with other schools, particularly the schools within the federation and the sports partnership that enhance the school's provision and enrich pupils' learning. The school works well as a cohesive community and has strong links with its local community, for example through visits to local cafes and shops as well as the St George's Day parade. It has audited its provision and evaluated its work effectively and acknowledges that although curricular topics are used well to extend pupils' knowledge of national and global communities, this could be further developed. Systems for safeguarding pupils are robust and all policies and procedures are securely in place, known to staff and endorsed by the governing body. The school ensures pupils'

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How effective are leadership and management?

safety awareness through, for example, talks from police and fire safety officers. The federated governing body have worked productively to set up and consolidate the federation, whilst maintaining the uniqueness of each school. They are very pleased with its positive impact and their involvement in this. They have a good knowledge of the

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

school through their committee work and visits to the school. This enables them to be proactive in challenging the school and holding it to account for its actions.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for leadership and management

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2

Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children fully enjoy the extensive range of activities on offer and develop good levels of independence, concentration and self-reliance. They engage well in self-chosen tasks such as building towers with bricks, making music and creating models from a variety of materials. They enjoy using the outdoor area, which gives them ample opportunities for exercise and imaginative play. Excellent relationships at all levels motivate children to behave well. They clearly know the routines and carry out all their activities sensibly and thoughtfully. They use equipment safely and know the importance of fruit at snack time to keep them healthy. Provision is well planned to ensure continuity in children's learning. It also provides exciting activities that motivate children and help them to achieve well. For example, in one lesson staff dressed up as characters from the story of 'The Little Red Hen' and the children were taken on a walk round the classroom to meet them. They were very excited

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Early Years Foundation Stage

as they were introduced to each new character. They enjoyed doing the activities related to the story afterwards, particularly grinding the wheat to make flour and making their own bread. Good questioning and effective interactions ensured children made good progress in acquiring new knowledge and skills. Occasionally, however, adult questioning does not fully challenge children and this slows their progress. The good focus on letters and sounds ensures children get off to a good start in their writing and reading. They enjoy being part of a small group and are pleased when they recognise the many sounds and letters they are learning. Good use of ongoing

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

observations ensures children's learning is tracked carefully and work is well matched to their needs. This enables children to make good progress across all areas of learning. Effective leadership has ensured excellent relationships with parents and carers, a positive learning environment and a good team ethos that enables children to achieve well. Parents and carers are particularly pleased with the regular newsletters that contain photographic evidence of their children's engagement in activities.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Views of parents and carers

The responses to questionnaires show that the vast majority of parents and carers are happy with the school and what it provides. They consider that their children enjoy all that the school has to offer and are safe and well looked after; inspectors agree with this view. A small minority of parents and carers were concerned about the amount of information they get about their children's progress. The inspectors found that the school knew this was a concern and has already put strategies in place to improve it through more frequent parent and carer consultation meetings and the sharing of personal learning plans. The plans provide a review of their child's progress over the term and sets targets for learning for the next one.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at St Michael and All Angels Infant School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire

The inspection team received 35 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 86 pupils registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 25 71 9 26 1 3 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 24 69 11 31 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My school informs me about my child's progress 9 26 18 51 8 23 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child is making enough progress at this school 9 26 23 66 2 6 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The teaching is good at this school 15 43 18 51 1 3 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps me to support my child's learning 11 31 20 57 4 11 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 15 43 19 54 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 17 49 16 46 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child's particular needs 12 34 23 66 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 8 23 21 60 1 3 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 9 26 23 66 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 10 29 19 54 3 9 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 16 46 19 54 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2009 to 31 August 2010 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2009/10 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

 The school's capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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7BB

I am writing to tell you how much we enjoyed our visit to your school. Thank you for helping us with the inspection. We were pleased to learn that you enjoy school, especially exciting topics such as the Forest Schools project. We judged that your school is a good school, where all staff work hard to help you achieve well and take good care of you. Here are some other things we particularly liked about your school.  You make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  You are well behaved, friendly and keen to learn.  You have an excellent understanding of what makes a healthy lifestyle.  You feel extremely safe in school and know you will be well looked after. These are the things we have asked your school to do to make it even better.  Ensure that marking and the targets set for you give you more opportunities to find out how well you are doing and how to improve your work.  Help you do even better by making sure you are given questions in lessons that

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7BB

make you think hard and develop your ideas. You can play your part by making sure you respond to your teachers' marking of your work to help improve it. We enjoyed talking to you and wish you every success for the future.

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www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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