Nathaniel Newton Infant School

Nathaniel Newton Infant School Victoria Road, Hartshill, Nuneaton, CV10 0LS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and the governing body ensure that teachers perform well and that pupils make good progress.  By the time pupils leave the school, they reach above-average standards, particularly in reading.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress.  Teaching is good, particularly in the Reception Year and Year 2.  Pupils behave well in and around school at all times.  Pupils are safe and say they feel safe.  The school is valued by the parents. They appreciate how well the school supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils are sometimes given work to do in writing and mathematics that is too easy for them.  Pupils in Year 1 make slower rates of progress than pupils in the other years, particularly in their understanding of letters and the sounds they make (phonics).

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 11 lessons, four of which were observed with senior leaders.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about their reading.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and other governors, staff and a local authority adviser.  The 16 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire were taken into account. Reference was made to emails and telephone calls made by parents. Inspectors also spoke with parents and carers.  The views expressed in questionnaires returned by 18 members of the school staff were considered.  Inspectors observed the work of the school, looking at a range of documentation. This included an examination of work in pupils’ books.  The school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures were scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Nathaniel Newton is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is made up of two full-time Reception classes.  Almost all pupils are White British.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for the pupil premium, is the same as the national average; approximately one-quarter of all pupils.  At 8%, the proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, is below the national average.  The headteacher has been in post since September 2014 and a deputy headteacher will join the school in January 2015.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and achievement to ensure that teachers give pupils more challenging work in writing and mathematics lessons.  Improve rates of pupils’ progress in Year 1 by ensuring that phonics lessons in Year 1 help pupils to build on what they have already learnt in the Reception Year.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher leads the school well. She understands what the school does well and how it can be further improved. The governing body are kept well informed through regular reports and presentations at meetings.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders know how well pupils and staff are performing. Teachers value the system for managing their performance as it provides them with an understanding of what they need to do improve and how to achieve this.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders value the time they have to carry out checks on how well teachers are teaching their subjects and how well pupils are progressing as a result.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is currently developing its preferred approach to assessment following the removal of National Curriculum levels. Leaders are developing this assessment work in partnership with other local schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders at all levels have developed a new curriculum for the school. By considering views of pupils, they have decided what they will keep from the previous curriculum, what they will remove and which aspects will be changed. For example, leaders have retained the time given for pupils to reflect on Remembrance.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority knows the school well. It values the leadership of the new headteacher, reporting school improvements seen since her appointment. An example is how responsibility has been given to subject and other leaders to ensure that the new curriculum is effective for the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders have more detailed information about how disadvantaged pupils are progressing. The school now uses its pupil premium funding more effectively than in previous years. An example is funding more teaching assistant time which is specifically focused on supporting this group of pupils. As a result, the progress of disadvantaged pupils has improved and is now similar to the rates of progress seen for the other pupils in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has made very effective use of primary school physical education and sport funding. It has provided pupils with opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities, including boxing, circus skills and rugby. Activities on offer change every half term so the pupils can enjoy a wide variety of experiences. Clubs are very well attended, with some having waiting lists.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders ensure that pupils are tolerant and respectful. Discrimination does not occur because pupils know how to, and indeed do, get on with each other.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders ensure that all staff follow safeguarding procedures and that relevant policies are kept up to date.

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The leadership and management are good

 The good progress that children make in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not built on enough in the following year because leaders do not always ensure that the information on what the children already know is used by teachers to set appropriately challenging work, especially in phonics.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body understands the needs of the school because it is kept well informed through documents and presentations from school leaders, as well as reports from its own members, who visit the school to check on its performance.  The governing body ensures all statutory responsibilities are met, including those relating to safeguarding.  Governors are well informed about developments regarding the new curriculum. They understand local needs as they are very involved in the school community, serving on local groups. They use this knowledge to support leaders in their curriculum development work.  The governing body understands how the school promotes tolerance of, and respect for, people of all faiths and those of no faith. With its knowledge of the local community, it ensures the pupils experience cultures that they do not witness as part of their day-to-day life.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors are now ensuring that groups of pupils are making better progress as a result of better use of funding, including the pupil premium.  Governors are informed about the performance of teachers and the headteacher. They make decisions about teachers’ pay based on pupils’ progress. The governing body is currently reviewing its work as it wishes to ensure its current procedures are suitably rigorous.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They show good conduct around the school. When playing, they value the effective supervision by staff, knowing who to go to if they want to talk.

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Behaviour

 Parents, staff and pupils agree that behaviour is good. They all say that this is because the pupils get on well with each other. The behaviour policy is adhered to by staff, and pupils understand the rewards and sanctions associated with behaviour.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong and, in the main, make the right choices when moving around the school. Their positive attitudes in lessons contribute to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Behaviour

 Pupils regularly display positive attitudes to their learning. When they are challenged with harder work, they show their best attitudes.

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Behaviour

 Current attendance is above the national average. This is an improvement on recent years, when the rate has been below the national average. To achieve this improvement, the learning mentor has worked closely with parents, both supporting and challenging them to ensure their children attend well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. They talk about feeling safe in and around school. Parents agree that their children are safe.

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Safety

 All staff have completed the required safeguarding training. School leaders and governors check that relevant school policies are implemented. All staff working with pupils are checked to ensure that they are suitable to carry out their roles.

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Safety

 Pupils talk about how well they get along with each other. They respect each other and are proud of their school. Pupils understand what bullying is. They know who to go to for support and welcome the play leader system, which involves other pupils checking to see that they are happy at playtimes.

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Safety

 There have been no reported incidents of bullying in recent years.

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Safety

 Pupils’ relationships with all staff are strong. This is because staff know the pupils well and ensure that they respond to any issues in appropriate ways. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage said they feel very safe in their classrooms and outdoors because of this.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is most effective when teachers and teaching assistants use their good subject knowledge to ask questions which probe pupils’ current understanding. A good example was seen in Reception, where a teaching assistant challenged children in their phonics work by presenting words which did not fit the pattern which was already understood by the pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils know what the expectations are in terms of how to display their work. They also know how they can access support from their teachers and teaching assistants. When staff are working with a group, the other pupils work well on their own or with each other.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is very effective. This is because all relevant staff know precisely what these pupils need to do to make good progress and they have skills which enable this to happen. Pupils enjoy this teaching and, as a result, look forward to the sessions and make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking of pupils’ work and feedback from staff is effective. As a result, pupils use the information to make improvements to their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Reading is taught well in Reception and Year 2. Pupils make slower progress in their phonics development in Year 1 because the work given does not build sufficiently on what children have learnt in the Reception Year. As a result, pupils are not as well prepared as they might be for their move in to Year 2. In Year 2, progress is better as the teaching challenges the pupils more appropriately and, as a result, pupils leave the school with above-average attainment in reading.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A school priority has been to raise standards in writing, particularly for the most-able pupils. Better progress is now being seen for this group, with teachers working with these pupils to ensure they are using better vocabulary and punctuation in their writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 For groups other than the most able, teachers do not consistently set pupils specific challenges to improve their writing; for example, in expecting pupils to use more complex sentences.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Mathematics is taught well in each year group. As a result, pupils of all abilities are currently making good progress. Pupils are not making more accelerated progress in mathematics because teachers do not always set challenging enough tasks. This is especially the case in calculation work. By contrast, when they are set greater challenge, pupils thrive on the harder work. Pupils make faster progress as they have to think harder, responding to skilful questioning from both teachers and teaching assistants

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children joining the school in Reception have skills which are typical for their age. In previous years, their skills have been less well developed. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. By the end of Key Stage 1, they have made good progress, although this is not consistent throughout the key stage.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is due to effective leadership and management of the provision for this group of pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school is now effective in its provision for disadvantaged pupils. Prior to this year, there was a wide gap in performance between this group and their classmates. Pupils are now making the same rates of progress as their peers. This is due to school leaders, including governors, checking on the impact of the teaching of this group of pupils. This has been helped by staff gathering more information about pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils are now making consistently good progress through the school. In recent years, this group has reached high levels in reading, with performance weaker in writing and mathematics. Current rates of progress are better and, as a result, the most-able pupils are on track to attain higher standards in all subjects at the end of this year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils leave Year 2 with above-average attainment in reading. Pupils enjoy reading and are able to apply their phonic knowledge well, particularly in Year 2. Pupils’ reading in Year 1 is weaker as the teaching does not consistently challenge pupils, particularly lower ability pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In recent years, pupils have made good progress in writing, with girls outperforming boys in terms of the levels they attained. Current progress shows that both boys and girls are now making progress at similar rates. More-able pupils are currently on track to attain the higher Level 3 by the end of Year 2. Pupils do not currently make outstanding progress because the tasks they are set are still sometimes too easy for the more able.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are currently making good progress in mathematics. They experience a wide range of mathematical tasks, which includes problem-solving activities. Pupils say they enjoy more challenging work and their current performance shows they are able to tackle harder work than they are sometimes given.

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The early years provision is good

 Children currently make good progress in the Reception Year. This is because the Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and managed. All groups make good progress, including disabled children and those who have special educational needs.

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The early years provision is good

 Effective provision for children’s’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development can be seen in the Early Years Foundation Stage. All staff ensure good relationships are formed with all the children. As a result, children behave well and know how to stay safe, both indoors and outside.

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The early years provision is good

 Parents are overwhelmingly positive. They talk about how they value the partnership with the school, with one parent highlighting how well the school listens to parents about their children’s medical needs and then uses this information to ensure they are safe in school.

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The early years provision is good

 Despite good progress made through the Reception Year, children have not previously moved into Year 1 with expected skills across all areas of learning. This year, the children are on track for a higher proportion to leave the Early Years Foundation Stage with a good level of development.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 125513 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 448580

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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 180 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sarah Rudge Headteacher Julie Forshew Date of previous school inspection 27 April 2010 Telephone number 024 76392236 Fax number 024 76397073 Email address admin2029@welearn365.com 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

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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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