Summerhill Infant School

Summerhill Infant School Cloud's Hill Road, Bristol, BS5 7LE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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 in every year group and attain broadly average levels by the end of Key Stage 1.  Teaching is effective in meeting pupils’ learning needs and progress is generally monitored well to ensure pupils are given any extra help they need.  Topics embrace a wide variety of subjects which enable pupils to practise their literacy and numeracy skills.  Caring relationships between staff and pupils ensure that pupils behave well and feel safe.  School leaders and members of the governing body have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness and are ambitious for the pupils’ progression.  Leaders and managers respond quickly in making improvements that have an impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In lessons, teachers do not always check frequently enough that all pupils are making at least good progress.  Marking and feedback do not always enable pupils to respond and help them improve their learning.  Leaders do not check frequently enough that all pupils are making at least good and, increasingly, rapid progress.  Action plans for English and mathematics lack clarity about how improvements in these areas are to be addressed and checked.  Attendance, although improving, is still in line with the national average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 16 lessons taught by 10 different teachers. Two were joint observations, one with the headteacher and one with the deputy headteacher. Meetings were held with governors, staff, groups of pupils and a representative of the local authority.  They observed the school’s work and looked at planning documents, monitoring records, assessment data and pupils’ work.  Inspectors took account of the 24 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

David Shears, Lead inspector Additional inspector Rowena Green Additional inspector Juliet Jaggs Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Summerhill Infant School is larger than most primary schools.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is lower than the national average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above the national average, as is the proportion of those who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for looked after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and pupils from service families, is above the national average.  There is the opportunity for before- and after-school care, although this is managed by an external body and so was not checked as part of this inspection.  The Chair of the Governing Body has been in post for one year.

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative off-site provision for any pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and the progress of pupils so that both are outstanding by making sure that:  teachers check in lessons, more frequently, that all groups of pupils are making rapid progress and provide further support or challenge where needed  marking and feedback consistently gives opportunities for pupils to respond and helps them to accelerate their learning.  Strengthen the effectiveness of leadership and management by making sure that:  senior leaders rigorously check the quality of teaching and the progress of pupils to ensure that all make rapid progress  subject leaders in English and mathematics have clear actions for improvement that are robustly checked for their effectiveness.  Raise the attendance of pupils so that it is above the national average by finding ways to encourage all pupils when their attendance improves.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The majority of children begin school in the Reception class with skills and knowledge that are at least below age-related expectations and well below in aspects of literacy. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and this continues to be built on in Years 1 and 2 so that by the time they leave they are reaching standards that are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress because their learning in literacy is clearly reinforced when they are exploring different topics. For example, in one lesson about making telescopes, children were using their knowledge of phonics (linking letters to the sounds they make) to think of rhyming words and writing them independently.  In Years 1 and 2, pupils continue to learn new ideas while still reinforcing those that have been learnt. In one lesson, pupils were learning about using time connectives when writing about their

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The achievement of pupils is good

experiences in the snow. The teacher opened a toolbox of skills so that pupils could check that they had also remembered other important writing skills such as capital letters, finger spaces and using adjectives.  All groups of pupils make good progress, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, because they are supported well by teaching assistants. In one lesson about subtraction, these pupils were given practical support using smaller numbers. Pupils who speak English as an additional language and those from minority ethnic groups equally make good progress. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity and tackling any discrimination.  In particular, those known to be eligible for pupil premium funding are achieving well and the average points scores at the end of Key Stage 1 are improving. The gap in attainment with other pupils is reducing. This is because they are receiving extra support though activities such as one-

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The achievement of pupils is good

to-one support and group sessions for reading and writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make good progress because the quality of teaching is good, and examples of outstanding teaching were seen during the inspection. This is because teachers carefully plan lessons that are designed to ensure that pupils get work that is right for them, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. However, teachers do not always check often enough in lessons whether pupils are making at least good progress and intervening when they are not.  Pupils say how much they enjoy learning because teachers make it interesting for them. For example, in one lesson where, after having read a story about a dark tunnel, the teacher set up a tunnel in the classroom for pupils to feel their way through to experience what it might have been like. Good use was made of this to encourage pupils to think of similes, one saying ‘It felt as slimy as a snail.’  Pupils are told what they are going to learn in lessons and then are given clear guidance to help

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The quality of teaching is good

them know when they have been successful. At the end of lessons, pupils use coloured dots to let the teacher know how confident they feel about their learning.  All pupils have individual targets in literacy and numeracy that are recorded on a card and these are kept on their tables so that they can refer to them at any time. When pupils can demonstrate that they have independently achieved a particular target three times, they are given a new one to replace it. Topic work, as well as enriching pupils’ experiences, also gives good opportunities for pupils to practise their literacy and numeracy skills.  Teaching assistants are particularly effective when pupils are working in groups either in the class or for specific support. They have received training to support them in these roles.  Marking is regular and feedback is consistently given to pupils, although subsequent discussions to help pupils to improve their work are not always recorded carefully enough in books.

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The quality of teaching is good

Teachers use success criteria to mark the work, and highlight where pupils have achieved well and where they need further support. While marking sometimes tells pupils what they need to do to improve their work, this is not frequent enough. Pupils do not always benefit from the comments because they do not have enough opportunities to do practical activities to show their response.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and are keen to learn. They listen carefully and want to please their teacher, the result of positive relationships present in every class. Pupils are learning to work well together, sharing their learning, but are increasingly able to work independently when needed.  Pupils behave well in the playground and many enjoy playing physical games. The school provides a range of equipment at lunchtime to provide a focus for pupils. Pupils play nicely together and enjoy social times such as when they eat together.  There are a few pupils who find good behaviour difficult but pupils say that this is managed well by staff. Pupils say that they all feel safe and know who to talk to if they have any worries. They are very aware of the school’s rules for behaviour and say that most pupils follow these in school. They have a good understanding of what good behaviour looks like and what is not

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

acceptable. They have an understanding, appropriate to their young age, of the different types of bullying. Staff as well as parents and carers agree that the behaviour of pupils is good.  The school has worked hard to improve the attendance of pupils by introducing a number of changes such as not authorising term-time holidays and rigorously checking why pupils are absent. As a result, attendance is improving, although it is still broadly in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently late has also dropped and it is now only slightly above the national average. The school encourages those who attend all sessions over a term, such as by presenting certificates, although not to those who are working hard to improve their attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers know what they want to achieve and are ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. They have an accurate knowledge of the strengths of the school and what needs to be done to improve it further, acting quickly to address this. Their self-evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the school is accurate.  Plans to show how the school intends to improve are in place. These are based on the good analysis of information that shows how different groups of pupils are performing in each year group. However, the overall development in English and mathematics is not sufficiently broken down into individual actions. It is not clear how improvements are to be made and what is being done to check whether these changes are having a good impact.  The quality of teaching is regularly checked and teachers are given a clear indication of their strengths and what could be improved. However, there is not always enough focus on helping

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The leadership and management are good

teachers to move their teaching from good to outstanding. The school has recognised this and there are plans for this to be addressed. The monitoring of the quality of teaching is used to ensure that teachers’ salaries reflect their performance.  Regular meetings are held with staff to discuss the progress that pupils make. Pupils who are identified as not doing well enough are given extra support and are enabled to catch up with their peers. However, a minority of pupils are not always targeted closely enough to ensure that they make good or better progress.  There is a good emphasis on the care of pupils and the vast majority of parents and carers, staff and pupils say that pupils are kept safe. Safeguarding policies and procedures meet current national requirements. Child protection procedures are all in place and staff training up-to-date.  The local authority provides light-touch support for this good school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governors are well informed by the headteacher of the progress that pupils make and how this relates to the performance of pupils nationally, and are able to ask searching questions during discussions. They are supported by the headteacher in identifying how they can monitor the school’s provision, although they recognise that this needs to be more consistent so that they can show the impact of their monitoring in making improvements to the school. Governors manage the budget well and have a good knowledge of how the pupil premium funding is being spent in the school and the impact that this is having in the progress these pupils make. Governors are informed about the targets set for teachers. They are aware of how well pay increases are linked to pupils making good progress through discussions with the

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The leadership and management are good

headteacher. They have positive relationships with parents and carers who have opportunities to talk with them at parents’ evenings. They ensure that safeguarding requirements are met.

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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 108966 Local authority City of Bristol Inspection number 413410

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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 4–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 270 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Susan Foster Headteacher Ira De N'Yeurt Date of previous school inspection 12–13 July 2010 Telephone number 0117 9030243 Fax number 0117 9030243 Email address summerhill.i@bristol.gov.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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