Sunshine Infant and Nursery School

Age group 3–7 Inspection date(s) 2–3 July 2012 Inspection number 395406 Sunshine Infant and Nursery School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 104145 Local authority Walsall Inspection number 395406 Inspection dates 2–3 July 2012 Lead inspector Peter Sudworth

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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 and Nursery School category Community Age range of pupils 3–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 222 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Pauline Millward Headteacher Sarah Corkindale Date of previous school inspection 19–20 March 2009 School address Blakenall Lane Leamore Walsall WS3 1HF Telephone number 01922 710174 Fax number 01922 491710 Email address postbox@sunshine.walsall.sch.uk 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

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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 . 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 information 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’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 16 lessons or parts of lessons and saw seven teachers and also some of the group work undertaken by teaching assistants. They had discussions with pupils, staff and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, listened to pupils read and examined pupils’ work. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at various documents, such as those relating to safeguarding and progress. The inspectors analysed the parents’ and carers’ comments on the 85 questionnaires returned and also examined responses from staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

This is an average-sized Infant and Nursery school. There are seven classes, including a part-time Nursery which operates morning and afternoon sessions. Children start in the Nursery after their third birthday, dependent on available places. Most pupils are White British and no pupils speak English as an additional language. Just over two-thirds of the pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. The percentage of children who transfer in or out of the school at times other than the usual ones is higher than normally found. The school has several awards, including the Active Mark, Forest Schools and also financial accreditation and Healthy Schools status. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Information about the school

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

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Key findings

 This is a good school. It is not yet outstanding because pupils do not yet make the same rapid rate of progress in mathematics as in reading and writing. The vast majority of parents and carers are thoroughly satisfied with their children’s education. Typically, one parent comments, ‘I am so impressed with Sunshine School. The teachers are brilliant. My child loves going to school.’

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Key findings

 Pupils achieve well and reach broadly average standards. They make good progress throughout the school, although their mental skills in mathematics are not yet sharp enough and they do not benefit enough from correcting the mistakes they make in their written calculations.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good, contributing significantly to pupils’ good achievement. The favourable adult to pupil ratio enables the pupils to receive good support in their learning. The leadership of teaching is good. Staff have good opportunities to develop professionally and are well supported by the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Lessons are frequently well conducted but pupils are not always clear about how to maximise learning and progress in their daily activities and they do not refer to their individual targets frequently enough. Staff ensure that the pupils are polite and considerate, which contributes to a very pleasant learning environment.

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Key findings

 Pupils behave well and show a lively interest in their learning and good attitudes to their work. They are keen to do well. They have a good knowledge of keeping themselves safe. The staff take very good care of the pupils.

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Key findings

 The school is well led and managed. High expectations are reflected in the good quality of work that pupils produce. The governing body is keenly involved. Performance management successfully incorporates all staff and contributes to their high level of contentment and to their deep commitment to the pupils and their families. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that pupils make at least good progress in mathematics and so raise attainment by:  giving greater attention to developing the pupils’ skills and strategies and mapping out a sequential core of skills to be learned to support mental calculation  ensuring that the pupils learn more effectively from the mistakes that they make in their written calculations.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that there is a greater consistency across the school in helping the pupils to know how they can be consistently good learners in their various activities by:  ensuring that pupils are more alert to what they need to include and remember when they undertake their tasks so that they can be even more successful in their learning and  encouraging them to refer to their personal learning targets before they begin work.

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Achievement of pupils

Children’s skills on entry to the Nursery and Reception are well below those expected for their age. The children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, and results at the end of Reception, although below average, are improving and getting closer to national averages. The most recent reading results at the end of Reception were in line with the national average. Writing at the end of Reception remains the weakest area, despite improvements in the last year. Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is broadly average by the end of Year 2, with reading a strong element. Although there has been a steady improvement in mathematics at the end of Year 2, pupils do not yet make such rapid progress as in reading and writing. Mental skills in mathematics are not yet finely tuned. The good progress in reading and writing is helped by the good adult to pupil ratio. Government pupil premium money is being well spent and targeted to support this.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are increasing their progress and closing the gap nationally with those who are not eligible. Almost all parents and carers responding to the questionnaire feel their children are making good progress. Inspectors agree.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are identified quickly and action taken to assist them. Pupils achieve well in science and cover much ground. They put on goggles and white coats when investigating, which heightens the importance of, and interest in, the subject for them. 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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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ communication skills show good progress because of the good opportunities to converse and answer questions. In mathematics, pupils partner up responsibly to teach one another how to undertake specific processes, such as simple four-digit addition and subtraction which helps to check their understanding of place value and calculation method as well as developing their speaking and listening skills. Pupils read their books with interest and show a good knowledge of the text they read. The advice given to parents and carers enables them to support their children’s reading at home and usefully adds to the strenuous efforts that the staff put in. Some pupils are still a little confused about technical terms, such as glossary and non-fiction, but they are acquiring a good interest in books and an expected fluency when reading.

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Quality of teaching

The vast majority of parents and carers rightly feel that teaching is good. Staff manage the pupils well. Their high expectations of politeness and good behaviour support the pupils’ good work ethic. Expectations of presentation are high, including the appropriate use of rulers. The provision of good quality exercise books supports the pupils’ efforts to work neatly. Lessons are planned well, with a good match of work to pupils’ needs. For example, in a Year 2 English comprehension lesson for able pupils, good planning by the teacher meant that different tasks were set according to pupils’ abilities within the set. Consequently, learning and progress were good for all groups of pupils.

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Quality of teaching

Staff track pupils’ progress regularly. Assessments of writing are particularly thorough. When marking, staff balance well positive comments with points for improvement. They set attractively designed targets for the pupils in both mathematics and English and written in language that they can understand, often with exemplification. However, pupils do not refer to these often enough to remind themselves of what they need to do to improve. The teaching of reading and writing is finely tuned and well taught.

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Quality of teaching

The good teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs through the finely tuned work in small groups supports these pupils’ good progress. The school makes good use of teaching assistants who make an effective contribution to the pupils’ progress, especially for those who need extra help because of their learning difficulties. One teaching assistant has specialised in speech therapy to support the significant number who have speech difficulties. A successful session was observed where pupils had lots of opportunities in meaningful sentences to tackle sounds they found difficult to enunciate.

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Quality of teaching

New materials are being trialled in mathematics to try and increase the rate of progress and raise attainment further. It is too early to judge their full impact. Mental mathematics sessions sometimes cover too much ground so the pupils do not have time to digest specific strategies or techniques to improve their skills.

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Quality of teaching

In lessons, there is a good balance between the introduction of the work and the activities. Modern technology is used effectively to provide a visual approach and the 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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Quality of teaching

good preparation of materials for the electronic screens contributes to a good pace in lessons and helps to retain the pupils’ concentration.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

All parents and carers responding to the questionnaire state that behaviour is good and that their children feel safe. Inspectors agree. Records indicate that behaviour is good over time too. Pupils show a real enthusiasm for both class and extra-curricular activities. They demonstrate positive behaviours in and around the school. They walk around the school calmly and listen attentively to each other in class. They know and follow the school’s expectations, such as putting up their hands to answer. They are considerate of each other, ingrained from the Nursery upwards, because of the staff’s high expectations. Instances of poor behaviour are extremely rare. Bullying of any kind, including name calling, is not a worry for the pupils because they say it does not occur. They report feeling very safe in school and very much enjoy it. They know how to keep themselves safe outside school, for example walking on the

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

pavement and keeping their parents and carers informed of where they are.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school council takes its work very seriously, keeping minutes of meetings and recording actions to be undertaken. It was seen discussing ideas for playground equipment, taking into consideration all the views of pupils of all ages. Members demonstrated a real maturity and consideration for others. Older pupils enjoy the responsibility of being Playground Pals, helping to set out and collect in equipment for playtimes and alerting an adult to anyone who may be upset. Attendance is broadly average. Pupils are generally punctual for school. Pupils who join mid-year are warmly welcomed and quickly helped to settle and play a full part in school life and so continue to progress as well as others.

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Leadership and management

The school works successfully with its parents and carers, who testify to the good level of communication and appreciate the way that any concerns are quickly dealt with. Special events to help involve the parents and carers in their children’s education have been increasingly successful and well attended. The good partnership is typified by their cooperation in hearing their children read at home.

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding arrangements are up to date and child protection procedures secure. The school knows its local context very well and works closely with the full range of external partners to provide targeted support to the families who need help.

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Leadership and management

The school has the correct priorities for development in its effective school development plan, with the actions that need to be taken and appropriate success criteria against which to measure progress. Its self-evaluation is accurate. The governing body works well in partnership with the school. Governors visit the school and take part in a good range of monitoring activities, such as consulting reports written by subject leaders and senior staff. This joint work helps to improve achievement and also the quality of teaching through good professional 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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Leadership and management

development. The governing body regularly reviews the progress of the priorities on the school development plan. Its financial accreditation indicates good quality financial control.

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Leadership and management

Pupils have equal opportunities in the curriculum through the well-matched work and access to the good range of extra-curricular activities which support the Active Mark and Healthy Schools status. There is no evidence of discrimination. All staff take part in performance management and there are good opportunities to develop professionally.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is well planned and contains a good breadth and balance of experiences, including in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where there is a good balance of adult-led and activities which the children choose for themselves. Reading, writing, communication and numeracy are threaded through different subjects in a themed approach. However, the school lacks a clear structure for developing key mental skills. Pupils are increasingly being involved in the learning plans through questions such as ‘What do we want to learn?’ The provision is monitored regularly by senior staff. Enrichment days broaden all pupils’ understanding of cultural, moral and spiritual areas, including science days with specialist visitors. During their study of Spain, pupils enjoyed the performance of flamenco dancers.

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Leadership and management

The school is led successfully. The high expectations and deep commitment of the staff and the support and involvement of the governors are resulting in rising attainment. This demonstrates good capacity to improve.

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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. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. 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

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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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

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and 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 governors and 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.

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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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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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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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Inspection of Sunshine Infant and Nursery School, Walsall WS3 1HF

We were pleased to be able to visit you for two days and would like to thank you for sharing your work with us, talking to us about your school and helping us so much. We really enjoyed our visit. You attend a good school and you are making good progress, especially in your reading and writing. The staff work hard to make your school life enjoyable and your parents and carers are very pleased that you attend Sunshine Infant and Nursery School. We were impressed with your good behaviour and your interest in school. You clearly enjoy your activities a great deal. You carry out your jobs well and we were pleased that you can give ideas to the school council so that they can make suggestions to the staff.

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Inspection of Sunshine Infant and Nursery School, Walsall WS3 1HF

Although your progress is good in reading and writing, it is not yet as rapid in mathematics. We have asked the staff to help you speed up your skills in working out numbers in your head.

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Inspection of Sunshine Infant and Nursery School, Walsall WS3 1HF

You have some good targets to aim for that are pasted in the front of your exercise books, and we would like you to look at these more often so that you can remember what you have to do to improve when you do your work. We have also asked the teachers to make sure that you know how to be really successful in your daily lessons.

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Inspection of Sunshine Infant and Nursery School, Walsall WS3 1HF

Thank you once again for all your help. We really enjoyed meeting you and we trust that you will carry on working hard. We are sure that you will always try to do your very best.

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Inspection of Sunshine Infant and Nursery School, Walsall WS3 1HF

Peter Sudworth Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: 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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