Reckleford Infant School and Nursery

Reckleford Community School and Children's Centre Eastland Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 4ET

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils achieve well and make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Their progress has continued to improve since the previous inspection.  Teaching and learning are good. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and work hard to ensure that pupils meet these expectations.  Pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language make good progress because of the effective support they receive.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The funding associated with the pupil premium is spent well to support the many pupils who have additional needs.  Behaviour has improved over time and is good. Pupils feel safe and know how to stay safe.  The school makes good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The school is improving rapidly under the strong leadership of the acting headteachers

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and the effective governing body. Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Performance management is used well to improve teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The proportion of pupils achieving the expected Level 2B, especially in writing, is not yet high enough.  Teachers do not consistently use information on how well pupils are doing to set tasks that allow all pupils to learn new skills quickly.  Attendance, although considerably improved in the last year, remains too low. While most pupils attend regularly, a few do not.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited 12 lessons or parts of lessons, some in partnership with one of the acting headteachers, and observed six teachers. Further short visits were made to four lessons and small-group sessions. Pupils were observed and spoken to at playtimes and lunchtimes.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff, and a discussion was held with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed the school’s work, looked at the school’s self-evaluation and the school development plan, evaluated samples of pupils’ work and listened to pupils from Year 2 read.  The inspector looked at documents relating to safeguarding and child protection, records of pupils’ attainment and progress, records of behaviour and those relating to the monitoring of teaching.  Too few parents and carers responded to the online Parent View survey to enable a report to be

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Information about this inspection

generated. Some parents and carers were spoken to at the start of the school day and a recent survey of pupils’ and parents’ views undertaken by the school was analysed.  Inspection questionnaires received from staff were analysed.

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Inspection team

Stephen Lake, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than most primary schools and mainly serves an area in the centre of Yeovil.  The majority of pupils are White British but a higher proportion than average come from other ethnic and cultural groups. A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  More pupils than usual leave or join the school other than at the normal time.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional funding provided for looked after children and those eligible for free school meals) is broadly average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, is average. At present, there are no pupils with known disabilities or with a statement of special educational needs. The most common areas of need are speech, language and

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Information about this school

communication, or behavioural, social and emotional difficulties.  The school is currently led by two senior teachers as joint acting headteachers.  The school shares the site with an independent children’s centre, which is subject to a separate inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of pupils attaining Level 2B or above at the end of Year 2, especially in writing, by improving the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by ensuring that:  teachers use information on pupils’ progress consistently to plan tasks that meet the needs of all pupils  marking consistently provides clear guidance on what pupils need to do to improve and is linked closely to clear targets to show pupils precisely what they are expected to learn and by when  teachers’ questioning systematically includes all pupils in the class.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance by a least 1% by September 2013, through working closely with parents and carers and the education welfare officer to reduce the amount of holidays taken in term time.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children typically start school with skills that are below or well below those expected for their age. They achieve well in the Early Years Foundation Stage and now start Year 1 with broadly average skills, which is a big improvement over the last two years.  Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 from their starting points on entry to the school. The more-able pupils do well and in 2012, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher Level 3 was better than the national figures. However, a slightly smaller proportion than average attained the expected Level 2B, especially in writing. Increasing this proportion is already a target for improvement.  In the most recent assessment of pupils’ reading skills at the age of six, the proportion of pupils who attained the expected standard, including those learning English as an additional language, was broadly average. This achievement from low starting points reflects the high focus on

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The achievement of pupils is good

language development in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Adults consistently engage children and pupils in talking about what they are doing with some innovative strategies to promote speaking and listening, including, for example, the provision of small ‘windows’ in the new fence separating the school from the main road. Children are keen to watch and talk about what is happening on the road, such as when a fire engine goes by.  Pupils with special educational needs make good progress because of the good-quality additional support they receive. The large group of pupils who speak English as an additional language are fully included in lessons because of this good support. The use of simple sign language, learnt and used by all children, pupils and adults, helps all pupils to communicate easily and freely.  The additional funding available through the pupil premium is used effectively to provide training

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The achievement of pupils is good

for teachers and teaching assistants on how to meet the needs of pupils requiring additional support and to provide additional support time. This has ensured that these pupils make at least the same progress as other pupils and that the gap between their attainment and that of all pupils is closing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Frequent and regular assessments of what pupils have learned ensure that the impact of the improved teaching is evident in pupils’ achievement. Revised procedures for checking on what pupils already know are used well in most lessons to plan work that meets the needs of all pupils. Nevertheless, in some lessons, tasks are aimed too much at the middle ability of the class and as a result, they are too easy for some and too hard for others.  Adults question pupils to assess what they understand and to extend learning but this is not always organised to ensure that the questions target all pupils in a systematic way. This limits learning a little because some pupils are not always asked whether they understand fully what it is they are learning.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage have clear individual targets that set out precisely what they need to learn in the next few weeks. Although targets are set in Years 1 and 2, they

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The quality of teaching is good

are not all as detailed. More-able pupils understand their broader targets well but some pupils do not have enough guidance about what they are expected to learn by the end of a lesson or by the end of a week.  Pupils say that marking helps them to know what they need to do to improve, but the quality of marking varies. In some books, marking does not make it clear enough to pupils what they need to do next or what they need to do to improve their work.  Homework is used well to support learning and engage parents and carers in supporting their children’s learning. In addition to the regular reading tasks that are set, more-creative and imaginative tasks are used that also contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, in a project on ‘Family’, good opportunities were provided to discuss moral issues when photographs of grandfathers and great uncles who had fought in the Second

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The quality of teaching is good

World War were brought into school.  Pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language receive good-quality additional support in classrooms and in small groups, enabling them to be fully included in lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are very positive about the way the school looks after them and helps them to feel and stay safe. They say that behaviour is usually good, although occasionally a few pupils try to disrupt lessons. Observations show that one or two pupils occasionally misbehave, which disrupts learning, but adults deal with this promptly and in a friendly, respectful manner. Pupils in Year 2 say that behaviour is better now than it was a few years ago. The vast majority of parents and carers who completed the school’s survey agree that behaviour is good.  The positive attitudes to work shown by the large majority of pupils support the clear improvements taking place in their learning. Most pupils work together well in pairs or small groups, which contributes well to their progress in all subjects.  Pupils have a sound understanding of the different forms of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying and name-calling. They say that a little bullying takes place at times but is dealt with

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

quickly and effectively by the adults.  Pupils mix and play well with each other on the playground. Movement around the school is generally calm and orderly, with all adults setting high expectations of how pupils should behave. Elements of good behaviour are targeted each week, such as being polite and opening doors for others. Consistent strategies for ensuring good behaviour in classrooms are based securely upon praise and help to ensure the good behaviour that is a key feature of the learning in lessons.  Attendance has improved in the last year because of the effective strategies used to encourage parents and carers to make sure that their children are in school. Most pupils attend regularly. Nevertheless, attendance remains below average because a small minority of parents and carers persist in taking their children out of school in term time for extended holidays.

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The leadership and management are good

 The acting headteachers have a clear and ambitious vision for the school, which is shared by all adults working in the school. The clear and consistent emphasis upon continual improvement is evident in all aspects of the school’s work.  Performance management, coaching and peer mentoring are used well to develop the skills of all staff. Frequent checks on teaching enable effective professional development opportunities to improve its quality where necessary. They also provide information to ensure that well-informed decisions are made about promotion through the salary scale.  All teachers and teaching assistants benefit from the good support given by the local authority in the last few years. Strong links with a nearby outstanding school enable the sharing of expertise and the observation of good practice as part of the professional development of all staff.  The well-planned curriculum makes a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and

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The leadership and management are good

cultural development, encouraging pupils’ curiosity, imagination and creativity. It includes good opportunities to develop strong speaking and listening skills that support reading, writing and mathematics well. Children in the Reception class do not have such good access to outdoor learning as those in Nursery because of the lack of a covered area for them to use.  The school takes all reasonable steps to make sure that pupils are safe. Child-protection procedures are robust and firmly established, with up-to-date safeguarding and child-protection training provided for staff and governors.  Information from the robust systems for recording and analysing data on the performance of individual pupils is used well. This ensures equality of opportunity and allows the progress of all pupils to be monitored, especially those entitled to support through the pupil premium and those who speak English as an additional language. Frequent meetings check pupils’ progress to

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The leadership and management are good

ensure that their good progress is maintained, and to track achievement to show trends in improvement.  The school has an accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses. Areas for improvement from the previous report have been addressed well. Pupils’ achievements, the quality of teaching and attendance have all improved since the previous inspection, including leadership and management. These developments indicate a secure capacity to improve further.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has been strengthened in the last two years through the addition of an experienced Chair from another school. The budget is monitored well. In particular, it ensures that the allocation of funding through the pupil premium is used wisely to enable its recipients to close the gap with other pupils. The governing body monitors the quality of teaching and its impact on achievement through reports from the acting headteachers. It ensures that pay

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The leadership and management are good

progression for leaders and teachers is closely linked to the performance of the school. Governors undertake frequent and regular training to help them to be more effective. They are closely involved with the school’s development planning and regularly monitor the improvements taking place. Governors are working closely with the local authority to ensure that appropriate decisions are taken with regard to the future leadership of the school.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 123726 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 406188

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School details

Type of school Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 3–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 71 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Daniel England Headteacher Vanessa May and Helen Swainson (Acting headteachers) Date of previous school inspection 6–7 July 2011 Telephone number 01935 475938 Fax number 01935 475968 Email address office@reckleford.somerset.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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