Purbrook Infant School

Aldermoor Road East, Waterlooville, PO7 5NQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics given their starting points.  Teaching is good. It is well planned and organised and meets pupils’ needs well. This ensures pupils learn effectively.  Effective provision in the early years classes enables children to make good progress across the areas of learning.  Thorough, regular checks on pupils’ progress coupled with effective actions to promote their learning have helped pupils to make rapid progress and achieve well.  The school provides a caring, supportive and purposeful place to learn and develop. Consequently, pupils feel safe, behave well and respond positively to all that is on offer.  A good range of additional activities, as well as good attention to pupils’ health and well-being, support pupils’ personal and academic development well.  Senior leaders have worked extremely hard and successfully to bring about significant improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in pupils’ achievement and teaching in the school. They have been very well supported by governors, middle leaders and the local authority.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers’ feedback to pupils is not always clear enough nor do they consistently ensure pupils respond to their guidance in order to improve their work.  Pupils’ progress slows because occasionally there is a loss of learning time when pupils and staff spend too long moving from one activity to another. Additionally, how effectively teachers use teaching assistants to support learning sometimes varies, especially during whole-class introductions.  Too few opportunities to improve Year 1 pupils’ skills in practical problem solving and investigation in mathematics hinder their rate of achievement.  Leaders have many plans to improve the school further. However, they do not always make it clear which are the most important priorities and just how they will know whether they have been successful in tackling them.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed learning in 38 lessons or part lessons, of which two were joint observations with senior staff.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and two other governors, the headteacher and other senior staff. Additionally, a meeting was held with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the 39 responses to the online Parent View survey. They also spoke to several parents when they brought their children to school. The inspectors took account of the 13 staff questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and checks on the quality of teaching and assessment. They also reviewed the new National Curriculum, records relating to behaviour and attendance, the sports premium action plan and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors listened to pupils read in the early years and Year 2.

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Inspection team

Janet Sinclair, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Purbrook Infant is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. This is additional government funding for pupils who are looked after or known to be eligible for free school meals.  Pupils attend the early years classes full time.  There have been significant changes to staffing since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and pupils’ achievement further by ensuring that:  all teachers give pupils clear and specific advice about how to improve their work and check that pupils follow this advice  more opportunities for practical problem solving and investigations are given in mathematics in Year 1  teaching assistants provide the same level of support for pupils’ learning throughout sessions  the organisation of movement between activities minimises loss of learning time  targets for school improvement prioritise key areas, and are clear and specific to allow accurate measurement.

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The leadership and management are good

 There have been many staff changes since the previous inspection that have sometimes disrupted learning. Senior staff have worked hard to manage this, while bringing about the necessary improvement. Effective support from the local authority and a determined approach by leaders have enabled recent rapid progress to be made. This shows capacity for further improvement.  Middle leaders are clear about their roles and responsibilities. They have supported staff in order to improve pupils’ rates of progress. For example, they were instrumental to improving phonics (letters and sounds) teaching, organising guided reading planners, improving the teaching of mental mathematics and checking data carefully to identify and rectify areas of weakness.  Leaders have detailed school improvement plans which cover all areas of the school’s work. However it does not clearly identify the most important jobs that need doing and is not specific enough about the

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The leadership and management are good

improvement it expects as a result of this. This limits its effectiveness.  Leaders carry out frequent checks on the quality of teaching through regular observations of lessons, sampling pupils’ work and joint checks with subject advisors. They use these to provide extensive support to help staff improve through coaching, attendance at courses and effective feedback.  The school’s process for setting targets for staff is detailed and comprehensive. It is clearly linked to pupils’ progress and whole-school targets for improvement. There are clear expectations that staff will achieve their targets.  Senior staff and subject leaders carefully check pupils’ progress and ensure that any pupils falling behind get additional support to enable them to catch up. This shows the school’s commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and limiting any discrimination.  Good use of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils provides a range of activities in order to fully

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The leadership and management are good

support their academic and emotional needs. This is enabling the school to ensure they make similar progress to their peers and is closing any gaps between their performance and other pupils in the school.  The school uses the government primary sports funding effectively to improve and extend the range of sporting activities for pupils. To secure long-term benefits from the funding the school joined a sports partnership. The partnership provides coaching for pupils, professional development for staff, support for the physical education manager and sporting competitions for pupils. Additionally, it promotes pupils’ social and moral development well through its emphasis on teamwork and fair play.  Planned activities provide breadth and balance through a range of interesting and engaging work. Well- planned progression in English and mathematics contributes well to pupils’ good achievement. A wide

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The leadership and management are good

choice of after-school clubs, including a ukulele club, enhances the curriculum well. The school promotes British values effectively through, for example, National Democracy Day. A balanced religious education programme and visitors from different faiths help to promote respect for British and other cultures well.  The majority of parents are happy with the school and what it provides. They find staff approachable and think that they take good care of their children. Regular newsletters, detailed reports on their children’s progress and subject workshops help to ensure the school keeps parents well informed.  The local authority provides good support to the school through specialist help for English and mathematics, as well as support from a local outstanding school. This, combined with a more stable staff, has helped the school to make rapid improvement.  The school’s policies and practices for keeping pupils safe meet government statutory requirements. They

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The leadership and management are good

are effective and ensure the school is a safe place for pupils to learn.  The governance of the school:  Governors fulfil their statutory duties well. They have received effective guidance and support from the local authority. This has helped them to support and challenge the school through their committees, visits to the school and regular updates from the headteacher. They have their own action plan that they use to check the school’s effectiveness. They know the quality of teaching in the school is good because they are fully informed and involved in checks on both staff and the headteacher’s performance. Governors know how well pupils achieve because they check their progress carefully, both through their own checks and updates from senior staff. They ensure all safeguarding procedures and systems meet requirements and pupils and staff are kept safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils mainly behave well throughout the school day.  There are clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour, reinforced by all staff. Pupils respond well because they enjoy school and are keen to do well. Only occasionally, for example at lesson changeover times, can they become fidgety and lose interest.  Although incidents of poor behaviour are few, the school takes them seriously. Senior staff record and check them carefully in case there are any patterns emerging that indicate specific problems.  Pupils are clear about what constitutes bullying. They say that it is infrequent but adults deal with any incidents very well.  Attendance has improved and is now above average. The school has worked hard to ensure this through effective systems that support families to ensure their children attend punctually.  Good lunchtime provision, including supportive staff, a well-organised environment and good food, helps

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Behaviour

to promote good manners and a healthy lifestyle.  Pupils work well together and show respect for each other and all adults. They engage well in their learning with occasional examples of outstanding enthusiasm when lessons inspire them.  They enjoy taking on responsibilities. For example, they enjoy being play leaders who supervise the use of the play trail at break times.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Assemblies effectively provide opportunities for reflection on beliefs and the stories involved create a sense of awe and wonder. Pupils are considerate of each other, clearly understand right and wrong and learn about their own and other cultures through music, visits and work in history. This promotes British values well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  The school provides a safe environment for pupils that ensures they feel safe and well cared for.  Good relationships across the school enable pupils to be confident that adults will support them if they have any worries or concerns.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to use the internet safely because the school uses assemblies and discussion times to reinforce its importance. A good example of this was when a member of staff dressed up as a troll to teach pupils that people using the internet may not be what they seem.  Staff promote pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe through visits from the police and fire services and regular fire drills.  The school takes good care of its disadvantaged pupils ensuring they and their families get effective support and guidance. Support groups for pupils form an important part of this.

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Safety

 Parents are happy with the school’s attention to ensuring good behaviour and their children’s safety.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Effective teaching enables pupils to make good progress. In spite of significant staffing disruption, teaching has improved well since the previous inspection due to the strong emphasis placed on its development by senior staff.  There are clear expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour that all staff reinforce well. This enables pupils to learn well.  Teachers assess pupils’ learning regularly to ensure work matches their needs well. This enables them to move pupils’ learning forward quickly.  A sharp focus on teaching specific vocabulary helps pupils to use it effectively when explaining what they know.  Good use of questioning that extends pupils’ knowledge and understanding, as well as the effective use of discussion to clarify pupils’ ideas, helps them to make good progress.  Teaching assistants effectively support small groups of pupils, particularly disabled pupils and those with

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The quality of teaching is good

special educational needs, ensuring they learn well. For example, in the group work seen during the inspection, they questioned pupils successfully, encouraged independence and made good use of resources to consolidate learning. However, there are times when they provide limited input and support for pupils’ learning, during whole-class introductory sessions, for example.  Careful planning and good organisation of lessons enable pupils to learn well. However, staff do not always efficiently manage changeover times between activities or lessons. Consequently, there are occasions when valuable learning time is lost, hindering pupils’ rate of progress.  Teachers clearly share what they expect pupils to learn at the start of lessons. They provide regular and detailed feedback to pupils on their work. However, feedback is not always specific enough to help pupils improve. Teachers do not always follow up to check pupils have acted upon their advice and made the

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The quality of teaching is good

necessary improvements to their work. This limits its impact.  Teachers plan reading sessions well to ensure pupils develop their comprehension skills effectively. Additionally, a good focus on using their phonics’ skills (letters and sounds) supports pupils in working out unknown words.  Teachers have worked hard to improve pupils’ writing skills. They have responded well to support and guidance. This has ensured pupils now enjoy writing at length, develop their skills in punctuation and grammar and make good progress.  Teaching of mathematics has not always been as effective as teaching of reading and writing. A recent strong focus by the subject leader as well as specialist support have rapidly improved pupils’ engagement and learning. However, in Year 1 progress is not yet improving rapidly because there is still a limited emphasis on developing pupils’ practical problem-solving skills.  Teachers make good use of homework, particularly reading and topic work. Pupils spoken to in Year 1 say

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The quality of teaching is good

that they enjoy their homework and it helps with their learning.

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is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics given their starting points in Year 1. Attainment at the end of Year 2 is typically above average in reading and at the national average in writing and mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well due to regular checks on their progress. They receive tailored support set up by the special educational needs leader and good use of teaching assistants provides specific, well-targeted support that is clearly effective.  Most-able pupils get additional small-group support and extension activities for literacy and numeracy within whole-class lessons. This helps them to achieve well.  The attainment of disadvantaged pupils in Year 2 in 2014 was just over one term behind other pupils nationally and others in the school in reading, writing and mathematics. The school provides well for these pupils enabling them to make good progress. The school is gradually closing the gaps between them and

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is good

other pupils in the school.  In the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2014, the proportion of pupils who succeeded was in line with the national level. The school has hugely improved how it teaches phonics in order to accelerate pupils’ learning. Evidence in both phonic and reading sessions indicates that pupils make good progress and use these skills well when reading.  Pupils achieve well in reading due to regular, well-planned teacher-led reading sessions, books set at the right level for them and regular reading at home. Staff ensure there is a good focus on engagement and enjoyment.  Progress in mathematics overall is good due to effective teaching and good subject leadership that identifies and deals with issues to improve staff confidence and skills. However, although pupils have good opportunities for practical problem solving in Year 2, they are not as regular in Year 1. The subject leader

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is good

is aware of this and has plans in place to rectify it.

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is good

 Children in the early years achieve well due to effective, well-planned and organised provision that meets their needs. They make good progress so that a good number exceed the nationally expected levels by the end of the year. This prepares them well for entry to Year 1.  Good support for disabled children and those with special educational needs helps them to do well. For example, during the inspection, the teaching assistant made good use of storytelling to teach phonics, rhyming words and prediction. This ensured these children made good progress.  Staff teach phonics well ensuring all groups receive the appropriate challenge. They provide a good range of interesting activities that promote children’s learning and engagement effectively.  Staff provide an exciting area that engages the children in their learning both indoors and outdoors. However, occasionally, changeovers between activities take longer and become noisy, reducing the time

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is good

for learning.  Children are active and inquisitive learners who behave well, co-operate with each other and enjoy all that is on offer. For example, role play that involves them in being fire fighters stimulates their imagination.  Regular robust checks on children’s learning ensure staff pick up quickly on any child not doing well enough. Additional provision then helps them to catch up. They also help staff to provide work at the right level for the children.  Effective teacher-led reading sessions ensure the good development of key reading skills and stimulate enthusiasm for reading. Children engage fully and enjoy their success in reading simple texts.  Relationships are a strength of the early years. Children know they are valued and respond well to the high levels of care and support they receive. Their behaviour is consistently good or better.  The school provides a safe environment for the children with all relevant policies and procedures fully in

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is good

place.  There are good links with parents that support children’s learning well. From the outset home visits, workshops and parent consultations foster good partnerships.  Effective leadership along with the commitment of all staff have ensured the early years is an effective and stimulating place to learn.

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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 115937 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 453665

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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 256 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Merefield Headteacher Lucinda Clements Date of previous school inspection 29−30 January 2013 Telephone number 02392610761 Fax number 02392611880 Email address l.clements@purbrook-inf.hants.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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