Phoenix Infant Academy

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Require improvement 3 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is too slow. Children’s skills are not properly assessed when they join the school and their progress and attainment in the Reception class are not carefully checked by staff.  Progress in Year 2 in reading and writing is inadequate. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to write. More able pupils in Year 2 do not achieve well in reading and writing.  The impact of teaching is ineffective over time. Teachers do not always challenge pupils, including the more able, to do their best.  Teachers do not make accurate enough checks on Key Stage 1 pupils’ learning and progress.  There are insufficient opportunities for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to engage in stimulating tasks that enable them to make rapid progress in developing their basic skills.  School leaders, managers and governors do not ensure that the quality of teaching and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils’ achievement is good.  Leaders do not have an accurate view of how the school is doing. Their system for checking pupils’ progress is ineffective, and does not show how different groups of pupils perform.  Leaders responsible for pupils with special educational needs are not aware of how well they are progressing. They do not ensure that these pupils receive effective support.  Staff working with pupils with autistic spectrum disorders are not well trained or supported to ensure that their checks on how well pupils are doing are accurate.  Leaders do not check whether all employees have the right to work in the United Kingdom.  Too few governors are aware of how well pupils are achieving because the reports governors receive on pupils’ progress are inaccurate. As a result governors are unable to hold school leaders to account.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils feel safe and behaviour around the school is good.  Parents are very supportive of the school and say it is an inclusive place.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons and part-lessons, including five joint observations with the senior leadership team. In addition, inspectors heard pupils reading in Year 2.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, the Chair and one other member of the governing body, and school staff. A telephone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of a letter and the 17 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as holding informal discussions with parents who were collecting their children from school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and analysed a large range of documents and policies, including the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress and its planning and monitoring documents. They also examined records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The views of staff were analysed through the 31 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Liz Bowes, Lead inspector Additional inspector Jennifer Venning Additional inspector Susan Vale Additional inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Full report

The school is strongly advised not to appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Information about this school

 Godolphin Infant School is larger than the average-sized infant school.  Godolphin Infant School converted to become an academy school on 1 September 2012. When its predecessor school, Godolphin Infant School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be good.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is slightly higher than the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding provided by the government for looked-after children and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported through school action is much higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils who are supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also higher than average.  Almost all pupils come from minority ethnic groups. The largest ethnic groups are Pakistani and

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Information about this school

Indian. The proportion of pupils who are learning English as an additional language is much higher than the national average.  An above-average proportion of pupils join the school at times other than the beginning of the school year.  There is a specially resourced provision for eight pupils with autistic spectrum disorders aged from three to seven.  There is a breakfast club for which the governing body is responsible.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in order that pupils make good progress by ensuring that:  children in the Early Years Foundation Stage have stimulating tasks that help them to make rapid progress in developing their basic skills  teachers always challenge pupils to do their best, including those who are more able  teachers give pupils enough opportunities to develop their reading and writing skills in all subjects, particularly in Year 2  teachers check the learning of all groups of pupils more accurately  teachers are held to account for pupils’ progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:  leaders at all levels use an effective system for accurately measuring pupils’ learning and progress, and check the progress of different groups of pupils properly  accurate checks on what children know and can do when they enter the Early Years Foundation Stage are undertaken  records of assessments of children’s progress in all classes in the Early Years Foundation Stage setting provide clear information about how well children are learning over time  checks are undertaken to ensure all employees have the right to work in the United Kingdom  leaders with responsibilities for pupils with special educational needs are fully aware of how these pupils are doing and that they receive effective support  training and support is provided for staff in the specially resourced provision so they can accurately monitor how well pupils in the unit are doing

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 governors are provided with detailed and accurate information to enable them to fully understand the school’s performance and so hold leaders to account.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Children’s starting points when they enter the Early Years Foundation Stage are not carefully checked or recorded. As a result, the school does not have an accurate record of how well pupils progress in their time at the school. Children’s current progress is too slow. There is insufficient recording of their work and what records there are of attainment and progress are of poor quality. Therefore, teachers do not accurately identify the next steps in children’s learning.  When pupils enter Key Stage 1, here again staff are not always clear what their starting points are and cannot track their progress accurately. Progress over the Key Stage is inadequate, and particularly slow in reading and writing. Too few pupils achieve the highest levels in writing. In reading, achievement in the Year 1 phonics check was below the national average. Progress in mathematics is stronger although variable across classes.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 In line with that of other pupils, those from minority ethnic groups, those learning English as an additional language and more able pupils make inadequate progress in both the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Leaders are not successful in ensuring all pupils have an equal opportunity do to as well as they can.  Staff do not know how well pupils eligible for additional funding do compared to their peers. However, results in 2013 Key Stage 1 assessments show that eligible pupils were around a term behind their peers in reading, writing and mathematics.  Leaders do not have a secure understanding of how well different groups of pupils are achieving, so they can help those who fall behind. This includes disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, making it impossible to target support where it is most needed. As a result, these pupils make inadequate progress.  Work in the books of the pupils in the specially resourced provision shows that they make

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teaching is inadequate because, over time, most groups of pupils make inadequate progress. Teachers are unaware of the progress of the different groups of pupils in their classes, and, therefore, do not ensure that all pupils do as well as they can by providing the right work. Teachers are not held sufficiently to account by leaders for the progress of pupils.  The teaching of writing is inadequate in Year 2 overall because pupils are not given enough opportunities to write in different subjects. An analysis of pupils’ books shows in some classes that too little time is given to writing. Feedback in teachers’ marking as to how well pupils are doing and how to improve is too limited.  Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. More able pupils are not given work which challenges them to achieve their best, particularly in writing. Teachers do not ensure that pupils in Year 2 make good progress in reading and writing. Although progress

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

in mathematics is stronger, it is still too variable across classes and between year groups.  Reading is not well taught because teachers sometimes give pupils books that are too hard for them to read and this slows their progress.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage does not develop children’s reading, writing and mathematics rapidly enough, or provide stimulating tasks that are well-matched to children’s needs. More interesting learning, such as when Year 1 pupils were enthralled to watch ladybirds, or Year 2 pupils enjoyed seeing the emergence of butterflies from caterpillars, are too rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although in most lessons pupils are keen to learn, a few lose interest when tasks are not sufficiently challenging.  Pupils are polite and cooperative in lessons and around the school. They get on well together.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure requires improvement. The site is secure. Many parents who responded to Parent View or who spoke with inspectors reported that the school keeps their children safe and that children are well behaved. Pupils feel safe; as one said, ‘I feel safe and happy here because everyone is very nice and kind.’ Children in Reception are encouraged to think about their own safety; for example, they had to think about the rules for a safe trip when they visited a local shopping centre. However, the school’s checks on the suitability of employees are not rigorous enough.  Staff are aware of any health issues for individual pupils and know what to do if a child feels ill.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 There are very few incidents of bullying and pupils report that they know who to go to should they have any concerns. They know about the dangers of the different forms that bullying can take, such as cyber bullying.  The school successfully fosters positive relationships between pupils and tackles discrimination. The school’s records demonstrate that racism and any form of prejudice are not tolerated. There is a clear behaviour policy and pupils understand the rewards and sanctions which are used to ensure that the school operates as a harmonious community.  Parents are particularly supportive of the ‘Stay and Play’ times in the Reception class, where they have the opportunity to sit with their children in the mornings and help with the activities.  Attendance is below average, although school leaders are beginning to work effectively to improve it. For example, the school monitors the attendance of every pupil carefully and

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

contacts parents on the first day of absence.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The actions of leaders, managers and governors are having insufficient impact on raising the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. Leaders at all levels, including middle leaders, make ineffective checks on how well pupils and groups of pupils are progressing. Neither previous procedures nor current systems yield accurate information. As a result, leaders and teachers are not aware of how to improve pupils’ performance and where to direct any actions. For example, one year group leader was unaware how poorly pupils were progressing in reading and writing.  Leaders are not able to demonstrate the capacity to bring about whole-school improvements without external support. Their view of how well the school is doing is inaccurate and contains contradictions. For example, school leaders judge the school to be good, while judging that much of the teaching requires improvement.  The system for checking what each child knows and can do when they enter the school is not fit

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The leadership and management are inadequate

for purpose. Progress records are unclear and the information gathered is not used effectively across the four Reception classes to plan children’s learning.  The leadership of special educational needs is inadequate as leaders do not know if these pupils are receiving effective support that is well matched to their needs.  Staff working with pupils with autistic spectrum disorders receive too little training or support to ensure that their checks on how well pupils are doing are accurate. As a result, the teachers’ assessment of pupils’ progress is often too generous.  Statutory requirements for safeguarding are mostly met. However, the school does not check or record whether all employees have the right to work in the United Kingdom.  Primary sports funding is used effectively to promote more participation in physical education and this is having a positive impact on promoting healthy lifestyles.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The governance of the school:  Governors know about the quality of teaching and are increasingly linking pay with setting targets for teachers based on the progress of the pupils that they teach. However, as the reports the governors receive about how the school is doing are inadequate, governors lack the required information to hold leaders fully to account. Very few governors are aware of how well the school’s performance compares with that of other similar schools, which further limits the challenge they can offer to the school.  Governors have received information about how additional pupil premium funding is spent. But because the information they get lacks detail and precision, they are not able to judge the impact of the school’s actions.

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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 138731 Local authority Slough Inspection number 443772

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 3−7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 352 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Howard Evans Headteacher Arina Hester Date of previous school inspection 24 February 2010 Telephone number 01753 521888 Fax number 01753 571359 Email address post@godolphin-inf.slough.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 and 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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