Killamarsh Infant School

Killamarsh Infant and Nursery School Sheffield Road, Killamarsh, Sheffield, S21 2DX

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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 make good progress during their time in school.  All groups achieve well, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  Teaching is good. Well planned lessons capture and build on pupils’ enthusiasm for learning. Good relationships mean pupils work well together and become keen and increasingly confident learners.  Reading is taught well: older pupils in particular develop good skills in tackling text. Pupils say that they love to read.  Pupils behave well in lessons, at break and as they move around the school. They take notice of what adults say and are polite and friendly.  Pupils say they feel safe because teachers take good care of them and help with their learning.  Since the last inspection the headteacher and governing body have brought about many improvements in all areas of the school’s work including teaching, pupils’ achievement and attendance.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not yet outstanding. Lessons sometimes get off to a slow start because teachers’ introductions are too long.  There is too little use of new technology such as computers to make learning even more enjoyable.  Pupils do not always have the ready access to a wide enough range of reading materials, especially in Early Years Foundation Stage, that would allow boys, in particular, to consistently go on to achieve the highest standards in literacy.  Not enough teachers have an effective leadership role within the school, which results in too great a burden on the headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, two of which were joint observations with the headteacher. Teachers’ planning and a range of pupils’ books were scrutinised.  The inspection team met with staff, pupils’ parents and carers, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  School documents, including those relating to self-evaluation, teaching and learning, monitoring records and pupil progress records were all scrutinised, and safeguarding arrangements checked.  Inspectors took into account 11 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and held conversations with parents. Responses to the staff questionnaire were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Michael Wintle, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Lesley Sanderson Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are White British. The numbers of pupils from different ethnic backgrounds are low.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals, has grown significantly and is now well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is broadly average and the proportions of those supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are below average.  The school population is generally stable; most pupils join and leave the school at the customary times.  There have been a number of staffing changes over the last three years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by ensuring teachers:  spend less time talking at the start of lessons and give pupils more time to get on with tasks by themselves and take a more active part in lessons  make a wide range of different reading materials more widely available to all pupils, particularly boys, so that all pupils develop a love of reading and make even better progress  use new technology more frequently and effectively so that lessons are more exciting and enjoyable.  Improve the school’s already good leadership by:  making sure that more experienced teachers take on a leadership role within the school and are given the training and support that will help them to carry this out effectively.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children start school their skills are broadly in line with those typical for their age, but in early reading and writing skills they are below expectations. Children make good progress in Nursery and Reception so that by the time they enter Year 1 they are slightly ahead of pupils nationally. Good teaching and care make them feel safe and secure. Teachers offer children a wide range of stimulating activities that capture their imagination, for example the Christmas presentation they performed in front of their parents.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils continue to make good progress in Key Stage 1, where standards have been above average for the past four years and are continuing to rise. Pupils’ rates of progress are also improving, particularly in the case of more-able pupils; in 2012 nearly half of the pupils in Year 2 attained the higher reading level.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards are also good in writing, where pupils frequently write with confidence and at length. Standards are higher in reading than writing. Standards in writing are not as high because pupils, particularly boys, do not have sufficient access to a wide enough range of reading materials, which would develop their literacy skills, or enough opportunities to use new technology such as computers to improve their writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ reading skills are consistently good because teachers take care to build these up systematically year on year. Phonic skills (the linking letters and sounds) are well taught across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ mathematics skills are also good and are the result of good teaching. In one outstanding mathematics lesson, pupils were required to solve real life problems using accurate measurements, and the teacher introduced them to difficult mathematical words such as ‘symmetrical’. This ensures most pupils are well equipped to move on to their next school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are well supported by other adults. Work is carefully planned to meet their needs and good teaching, together with extra help provided by the school, has ensured that these pupils make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Those entitled to the pupil premium funding receive well targeted adult support that is additional to their daily teaching. This funding has been used sensibly by the school to provide one-to-one provision to support pupils in danger of slipping behind and to increase the achievement of all others in this group.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection and is now good across all areas of the school, because staff have received good training and support. This better teaching has led to improvements in achievement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is usually enthusiastic and captures pupils’ interest. Lessons move at a brisk pace so pupils learn quickly. Sometimes the start to lessons is too long because teachers talk too much and this reduces the amount of time that pupils’ have to learn individually and to finish their main activities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children in Nursery and Reception benefit from good teaching. Their classroom and outdoor areas are well organised and teachers plan for a good range of activities. The teaching of reading is good and children’s literacy well supported. However, not enough books of varying types are freely available everywhere in the learning environment to appeal to all children, and especially boys.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use questioning effectively to help pupils think more deeply and always ‘be on their toes.’ An example of this was a good lesson in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where children were writing to Father Christmas because he had lost their present list. Children were highly motivated because they considered the task to be really important and they wanted to get it right. As a result their writing improved rapidly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ oral feedback to pupils during lessons is good and at times outstanding. They mark work regularly and show pupils clearly what they must do to improve and what next steps they need to make. Teachers have high expectations. One Year 2 pupil said, ‘There is a lot to do here. I’m busy. My teacher works me hard.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Support staff are well deployed across the school. They are enthusiastic about pupils’ learning and make a real difference to pupils’ involvement in and enjoyment of lessons and their readiness to take on more difficult work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is good and pupils are keen to learn. Right from when they start in the Nursery, children are taught right from wrong and clearly understand the rules and routines of the school. Because of this they have a generally positive attitude to learning and want to do well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are thoughtful, polite and respectful towards their peers and all adults. Pupils know that they are expected to show care and consideration for others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 When asked about if they feel safe in school, pupils were unanimous in saying that they were well cared for. They also say that they are proud of the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire say that their children are happy and safe in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good awareness of the different forms of bullying that can occur. They say that bullying is rare in the school and that they know who to turn to if problems arise. Any unpleasant behaviour is swiftly dealt with by the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has improved since the last inspection and is now above average. Routines are in place to check attendance and ensure pupils understand the importance of arriving on time.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is well led. The headteacher has significantly improved teaching and achievement since the school was last inspected. She checks the quality of teaching closely and as a consequence has a very accurate picture of what the school needs to do to improve further. She ensures teachers receive the training and support needed for this to happen. Morale is consequently good and all adults say that they are proud to be members of staff.  The school ensures that teachers’ performance is rigorously assessed and linked to pay. Judgements of teaching quality properly reflect teachers’ impact on pupils’ achievement and whether the teachers are getting better in areas identified for improvement. As a result teaching is now good.

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The leadership and management are good

 Too much of the burden for improving the school falls on the headteacher. Not enough responsibility is being taken by other senior staff because they have not received the training needed for them to do this effectively.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching programmes are rich and varied and this has helped increase the rate of pupils’ progress. The topic studied often includes a visit or visitor which motivates pupils to learn. An example is the recent Reception/Year 2 visit to the local war memorial that pupils could remember and talk about enthusiastically in great detail.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well supported in all subjects and in assemblies.

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The leadership and management are good

 Ensuring that pupils of all backgrounds and abilities have equal opportunities to succeed is given the highest priority. The wise use of the pupil premium funding is an example of how leaders have ensured equality of opportunity. The impact of this has reduced the attainment gap between those eligible and the rest.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority offers ‘light touch’ support for the school, which works closely with the school improvement partner.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governors are regular visitors to the school, have received training in several of their roles and maintain good oversight of the school’s financial position. They know how the school has spent its pupil premium funding and have a broad understanding of the impact it is having. They have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and of the school’s overall strengths and weaknesses. They are not afraid to make difficult decisions and recognise the need to share the burden of leading improvement with other staff. They have not had sufficient training in the use of performance data to make fully informed comparisons with other schools but do take steps to ensure that the school rewards good teaching and acts to address any teaching that requires improvement. They ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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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 112579 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 405402

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School details

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

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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 162 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Phil Horton Headteacher Julia Daine Date of previous school inspection 14 September 2010 Telephone number 0114 2485852 Fax number 0114 2486832 Email address info@killamarsh-inf.derbyshire.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

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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School details

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

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