Lyndhurst Infant School

School report Lyndhurst First School Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, BN11 2DG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 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 Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Most pupils make good progress throughout the school and some make outstanding progress, especially in reading.  Though a high proportion of children start in Reception with well below typically expected skills, by the time they reach the end of Year 2 they achieve at the national average or above in reading, writing and mathematics.  Most teaching is good and a high proportion is outstanding. As a result, almost all pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, or who are disabled, or who have special educational needs, make at least good progress.  The school pays particular attention to the safeguarding of its pupils and staff. Every effort is made to ensure the safety and happiness of all pupils.  Pupils say they love coming to school and their behaviour in classrooms and around the school is generally excellent. Almost all pupils have at least good, and often better, attitudes to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning.  The range and quality of the learning experiences provided, both inside and outside the school, are outstanding. The school provides excellent opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and engages its community in many of its activities.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher, with strong support from the governors, provide outstanding leadership.  They have driven improvement with passion and vigour since the previous inspection. All teachers respond to this extremely well. As a result, pupils who are falling behind are quickly identified and any gaps in performance are narrowing quickly.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Fewer pupils make outstanding progress in writing than in reading and mathematics.  There are weaknesses in spelling, especially of pupils who join the school partway through their primary education. Inspection report: Lyndhurst First School, 29-30 January 2014 Error! Reference source not found. 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 26 lessons and part lessons in the main school and in the special support resource base for pupils with statements of special educational needs. All teachers present during the inspection were observed teaching. Seven of the lesson observations were observed jointly with the headteacher and three were with the deputy headteacher.  The inspectors talked with pupils, looked at samples of their work, and listened to pupils read.  Meetings were also held with teachers, the Chair of the Governing Body, Vice Chair and other governors, the headteacher and deputy headteacher, and some of the school’s subject leaders. A meeting was held with a representative of the local authority to discuss the extent and impact of support provided to the school.  In planning the inspection, the inspectors took account of the 43 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the views of twelve parents who spoke with them during the

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Information about this inspection

inspection, letters from a parent and from the headteacher of a local middle school, and 41 questionnaires returned by school staff.  The inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at many documents, including minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s checks on how well it is doing, the school’s development plan, performance management documentation, planning documents, monitoring and assessment information, school policies, and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safety.

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Inspection team

John Collins, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Joyce Lydford Additional Inspector Julie Ward Additional Inspector Inspection report: Lyndhurst First School, 29-30 January 2014 Error! Reference source not found. 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 The school is a much larger than average-sized first school. In addition, it has specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs in the form of a special support centre that caters for up to eight pupils with autistic spectrum disorder and speech and learning difficulties.  The vast majority of pupils are White British and speak English as their home language. However, there is an above average proportion of children at the early stages of learning English.  About one in five pupils are supported by the pupil premium, which is well below average. This provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with

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Information about this school

a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school has been awarded, Artsmark, Basic Skills Mark, Geography Mark Silver Award, Healthy School status, ICT Mark, the Eco-School Award, the International Schools Award, and the prestigious United Nations Rights-Respecting School Award.  The governors provide a breakfast club which is attended by up to 20 pupils, a few of whom attend free of charge.  The school has experienced significant changes in staffing due to the long-term absence of four experienced teachers, including an assistant headteacher.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the rate at which pupils make progress in writing so that greater numbers can be outstanding, by improving spelling, especially for those who join partway through their education. Inspection report: Lyndhurst First School, 29-30 January 2014 Error! Reference source not found. 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Almost all pupils make good, sometimes outstanding, progress in reading, writing and mathematics through the school so that by the time they reach the end of Year 2 they achieve at, or above, the national average.  Their achievement is also good in other subjects and has led to awards from national bodies. One Year 2 pupil’s expertise with information and communication technology won the school free internet provision for five years, worth £12,500, and a new PlayStation for himself.  A very high proportion of children start in Reception with skills that are well below those typically expected. They include children who speak English as an additional language and children eligible for the pupil premium, many of whom also have special educational needs.  However, by the time they reach the end of Year 2, almost all achieve average or above average attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. This good progress is a result of the

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The achievement of pupils is good

consistently good and often outstanding teaching and support they receive, together with the benefit of strong home-school links.  Reading is given special emphasis in all years and pupils gain greatly from the programme in which they learn about the sounds that letters make (phonics). Some pupils’ reading is exceptionally good; they are fluent and read with engaging expression. One Year 3 pupil, reading about dinosaurs, was able to justify why she thought the information was true by referring to text she had read on the previous page.  Pupils’ writing is often very creative and they write long stories using imaginative language. However, some of the children, particularly those who joined partway through their primary education, have difficulty with spelling key words. This is mostly because they have missed the early stages of learning how to sound out the words bit by bit.  In mathematics, pupils learn to think about problems and solve them using any method they

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The achievement of pupils is good

choose that works. They are able to apply these skills very competently to everyday calculations.  Pupils who join the school partway through their primary education are well supported in their studies but achieve slightly less well than those who started in Year 1. This is mostly because they have special educational needs or have had lack of continuity in their education.  The progress of pupils supported by the pupil premium is good because it is very close to that of other pupils and is sometimes better. In 2013 the attainment gap between eligible pupils and the others by the end of Year 2 was approximately one term.  The progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good in most subjects in all Years. This too is mostly because of the high quality teaching and support they receive.  Most children in the special support centre also make good progress, comparable to that of other

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils with special educational needs, from often very low starting points. This enables them to work successfully in some lessons with pupils in the main school.  Children who speak English as an additional language are strongly supported by specially trained staff and consequently most make good and sometimes outstanding progress in reading and mathematics, though less so in writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good and an increasingly high proportion is outstanding.  Responding to the previous inspection report, teaching has been a focus for improvement and the results are clear to see. Topics are well explained and pupils know how well they are doing. For example, when checking pupils’ work, teachers provide clear and helpful advice to pupils both orally and in writing. Pupils clearly enjoy their lessons and almost all make good progress. This supports the view of the great majority of parents who responded to Parent View.  Strong emphasis is given to developing the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Some teachers are specially trained in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to improve pupils’ learning of these basic skills; their expertise and success in improving pupils’ achievements has resulted in the school gaining the ICT mark.  Teachers provide ample opportunities for pupils to use and develop their literacy and

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The quality of teaching is good

mathematical skills in real-life situations in most subjects. At the time of the inspection children were giving special emphasis to perseverance, the value of the week. Year 2 children learning halving and doubling, and their ‘times tables’, demonstrated this very well.  Some teaching is inspirational and sets very high expectations for pupils to attain; this led to high levels of achievement. For example, in a Year 3 literacy lesson, pupils were asked to make their writing more interesting by finding alternatives to the word ‘said’. Pupils offered suitable words such as ‘exclaimed’, ‘declared’, and ‘announced’. They were then taught to use a thesaurus to find even more alternatives. The most able pupils are well challenged in all years.  The school provides stimulating teaching in dance, art, drama and music.  Lessons are planned to make sure that pupils supported by the pupil premium, disabled pupils

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The quality of teaching is good

and those who have special educational needs do not fall behind. These pupils make good progress and their efforts have resulted in narrowing the gap between them and other pupils.  Children who are at the early stages of speaking English are paired with a ‘young interpreter’ who speaks the same language and is fluent in English. This creates a wonderful sense of belonging for such children, motivates them to learn the language, and, as a result, almost all make excellent progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils say they feel safe and happy in school and enjoy their lessons. As a result, almost all pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behave well, both in lessons and around the school. The great majority of parents agree.  Children of different nationalities and backgrounds play and work harmoniously together. They learn to appreciate each other’s cultures and benefit greatly from the school’s strong links with different communities both locally and abroad.  The school has done a great deal to be inclusive and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Pupils’ achievements in these areas have been recognised by both the United Nations Rights-Respecting School Award and the International School Award.  Pupils told inspectors they love taking part in learning activities along the nearby beach and in forests. Through such work, they develop a love and appreciation of the natural world, which

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

motivates their learning.  Pupils are very aware of the need to live healthy lifestyles; for example, at lunch many children chose fresh fruit over less healthy alternatives and they speak highly of their enjoyment of dance and sport.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. The safety and well-being of all pupils is given paramount importance as the school provides a very safe, welcoming, learning environment. Parents told inspectors how pleased they are with the effectiveness of the anti- bullying policy. Pupils say that bullying rarely happens and if it does, teachers deal with it very quickly.  Pupils have a very good understanding and knowledge of how to keep safe, for example in road safety and e-safety. They are taught from an early age how to deal with conflict in a calm and sensible manner and this has resulted in the school being a very orderly community.  Behaviour is not yet outstanding because occasionally some pupils become distracted and make

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

less progress than they should.  Strong efforts to improve attendance by senior leaders have not always been welcomed by parents, but have resulted in significant improvement in pupils’ attendance and punctuality over the past two years to average.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide outstanding leadership. They are wholly committed to providing the best possible education for all pupils and hold all staff accountable to achieve this aim.  All teachers are involved in driving school improvement through their membership of teams that, for example, focus on improvement in the core subjects of English and mathematics. Subject leaders play a key role in this by regular checks on the progress of pupils in each class and making sure extra support is given to those who need it.  The Early Years coordinator provides outstanding leadership of the relatively inexperienced team through her guidance, monitoring and expert knowledge of the Foundation Stage. As a result, a well above average proportion of children reach a good level of development.  Issues from the previous inspection have been successfully tackled and the school’s effectiveness has improved, successfully accommodating increasing numbers of pupils joining

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The leadership and management are outstanding

partway through their education, those with special educational needs, and those who speak English as an additional language.  Leaders, managers and governors have also dealt very effectively with long-term staff absence and other staffing difficulties. Given its track record, the school is well placed to improve further towards its goal of becoming outstanding.  The school’s tracking of individual pupils’ progress is exceptionally good and any pupils falling behind are quickly identified and supported effectively. Planning for further improvements is correctly focused on improving the achievement of all pupils. Leaders’ evaluation of how well the school is doing is accurate and makes clear where its strengths and weaknesses lie.  Teaching in particular has improved because the senior leaders and governors, well supported by the local authority and an external consultant, focused effectively on improving it. As a result,

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The leadership and management are outstanding

pupils’ achievement has also improved. The local authority and other partner schools verify the accuracy of teachers’ assessments of pupils’ achievements.  The checks on teaching and learning are systematic and accurate. This results in teachers and teaching assistants benefiting from additional training where appropriate.  The curriculum motivates and inspires pupils and promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. It provides a rich and exciting programme of opportunities for pupils to learn. This happens not only through the subjects taught but also through many educational visits, clubs, and contributions from the local community and distinguished visitors.  The governance of the school:  The well-trained governing body visit regularly and have excellent knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governors know how pupils’ performance compares with those in

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The leadership and management are outstanding

similar schools nationally. Hence, they are able to provide both support and challenge to the school’s senior leaders and hold them to account. Governors give strong emphasis to safeguarding and have done much to ensure the premises and site are safe. They have made clear that bullying must not be tolerated and that equal opportunities are to be promoted. They know how and why pupil-premium funding is being used and how it improves the progress of eligible pupils. For example, they approved the use of funds to pay for one-to-one tuition for slower readers and to help children who arrived partway through the year to catch up. Governors know about the quality of teaching and use safe recruitment procedures. They take a real interest in teachers’ professional development and records show that good teachers are enabled to move up the pay scales. However, governors do not support unjustified promotions or salary increases. Governors make good use of the sports funding to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

improve pupils’ physical development. They provide specialist training for teachers in dance and gymnastics and appointed specialist sports coaches to work with pupils in well-attended after-school clubs. The governing body meets all its statutory 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. Inspection report: Lyndhurst First School, 29-30 January 2014 Error! Reference source not found. 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 125960 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 431063

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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 First School category Community Age range of pupils 4 – 8 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 367 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Donna Felstead Headteacher Diane South Date of previous school inspection 20–21 June 2012 Telephone number 01903 235390 Fax number 01903 823627 Email address head@lyndhurst.w-sussex.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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