Mundesley Infant School

Mundesley Infant School Trunch Road, Mundesley, Norwich, NR11 8LE

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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

 The headteacher, senior leadership team and governing body have brought about marked improvements in teaching and achievement across the school.  The senior leadership and governing body have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.  The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils show respect and are courteous to each other and adults alike. They have a positive attitude to learning.  The senior leadership team ensures that pupils are safe. Pupils, parents and staff all agree the school is a safe environment.  Teaching is consistently good or better, which has helped pupils to achieve well. Teachers challenge all ability groups and plan teaching effectively in English and mathematics.  Pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is good. Pupils make good progress throughout the school.  Disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The Early Years Foundation Stage has been rapidly improved and gives children a positive start to their education.  The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted effectively. Pupils are taught social skills, given a good understanding of different religions and cultures and are well prepared for life in British society.  Pupils in the special resource provision make good progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not consistently apply the same level of challenge in all subjects as they do in English and mathematics. This means that progress rates are not as rapid in other subjects as they could be.  Teachers’ marking is not always sufficiently detailed and informative in subjects other than English and mathematics. This means that pupils do not always know how to improve all aspects of their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed a range of subjects across the school. In all these observations the inspector was accompanied by the headteacher.  The inspector heard a number of pupils read during their lessons.  Meetings were held with members of the senior leadership team, the lead teacher of the specialist resource provision, the Chair and another member of the Governing Body, and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector spoke to a number of pupils regarding their views about the school, during lessons and break times.  The inspector took into account the 18 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the results of a recent school survey and the 17 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation relating to the progress and attainment of pupils, the work the school does to keep pupils safe and records regarding the quality of teaching. Other

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Information about this inspection

documentation scrutinised related to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and the use of the primary physical education sport premium. Documents relating to the use of the pupil premium were also examined.

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Inspection team

Ronald Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Mundesley Infant School is much smaller than average.  The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is approximately one in four of the school population, which is broadly average. These pupils are supported through the pupil premium, which is the additional funding provided for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is approximately one in six, which is below average.  Children in The Early Years Foundation Stage attend full time.  There is a junior school and children’s centre on the same site as the infant school, which are inspected separately and did not form part of this inspection.  The governing body, on behalf of the local authority, manages specially resourced provision for disabled

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Information about this school

pupils and those who have special educational needs. These are all pupils with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. This resource provision caters for up to 10 pupils. Currently, there are five pupils who attend from Monday to Thursday, returning to their mainstream schools on Fridays. All the pupils remain on the roll of their mainstream school. As the infant school has no pupils attending this resource, the inspector only assessed the quality of its provision and made no judgement on achievement .

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the proportion of outstanding teaching and thereby improve pupils’ achievement by ensuring that, in all subjects, teachers consistently:  provide demanding work that challenges pupils appropriately  use their marking to give pupils detailed guidance on how to improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior leadership team and governors have high expectations of all staff and pupils, which is the main reason for the school’s continued improvement. Standards are rising and the quality of teaching is rapidly improving. Pupils’ behaviour is good as staff are consistent in their approach. Pupils enjoy their learning and are keen to do well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership and management of teaching are good and poor teaching has been eradicated. Staff have undertaken a wide range of training, which has improved their skills and helped raise standards. All senior leaders monitor the quality of teaching effectively, cross-referencing their observations with work scrutinies so that they can accurately determine the impact teachers are having on pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The arrangements for the management of teachers’ performance are good. The senior leadership team and governing body have a good understanding of the performance of all teachers and use this to set appropriate targets for improvement. This in turn has raised the quality of teaching and levels of achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders’ careful monitoring of all aspects of the school means that the they have a clear and accurate picture of the school, know how well the pupils are doing and plan effectively for future learning. Teachers in turn make good use of the information they get from their own assessments to adapt lessons to ensure that all pupils make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that pupils make good progress. Improvements in the way reading, writing and mathematics are taught have enabled pupils to overcome the limitations imposed by the weaker teaching some received in the past. Subject leaders systematically monitor the quality of work, pupil progress data and teachers’ planning. They act as mentors and provide good support to all staff.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has carefully reviewed the content of the subjects pupils are taught so that they fully reflect the new national primary curriculum. Good use is made of opportunities for practical work and activities are presented in a fun and engaging manner, which has resulted in pupils enjoying lessons more. As one pupil commented, ‘Lessons are more fun, I enjoy learning now.’ The school places a strong emphasis on the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding and ensures pupils learn about key British values and institutions, such as democracy, justice and respect for others. Pupils are taught about different religions and cultures and their social skills are developed well. This prepares them well for life in modern British society.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school uses the pupil premium funding effectively to provide training for staff and specialist support for pupils and to ensure that resources are adequate and used appropriately. This has ensured that these pupils make at least good progress and any gaps in their knowledge and skills are quickly closed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary sports funding is used effectively to provide specialist teaching, training for staff and new resources for lunch time activities. This has led to many more pupils engaging in physical activities. Pupils were observed happily taking part in several different activities at lunch time. As several pupils commented, ‘We love PE, it’s great fun.’ Many commented that learning in school had encouraged them to do more physical activity outside school.

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The leadership and management are good

 All safeguarding requirements are fully met and the headteacher has ensured that all staff and governors have read and acted on the latest guidance on keeping children safe. All staff have been trained in safeguarding requirements and procedures, and additional staff employed to ensure pupils are safe and well cared for.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governing body and the senior leadership team have ensured that all pupils are treated equally and there is no discrimination within the school. All pupils have the same opportunities to do well. Everyone in the school treats each other with respect and courtesy. Parents are kept fully informed about school initiatives and their children’s achievement, and feel part of the school. Parent View highlighted some concerns regarding bullying and progress rates, but the recent school survey demonstrated that the majority of parents were very happy with the school. Evidence scrutinised during the inspection supports a positive view of progress and shows that bullying is very rare.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has excellent links with the local authority, which it has used very effectively to bring about marked improvement. Officers from the local authority have provided training, monitored the quality of teaching and moderated the school’s information on pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. The impact of poor teaching in the past has been overcome and the consistently good teaching children now receive means they make at least good progress. Well-established routines help ensure that safeguarding meets requirements. The children’s good personal and social development helps prepare them well for their further education.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership and management of the specialist resource provision are good. Safeguarding elements meet requirements. All tracking and monitoring systems are effective, enabling staff to plan carefully and create effective programmes of learning. This in turn means the pupils are able to make good progress academically as well as in the management of their behaviour.

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The governance of the school:

 Governors have a positive and accurate view of the school. They work closely with all leaders and managers. This means they have all the information they need to ensure they know how well the pupils are doing compared to pupils nationally. Together with leaders, they monitor the quality of teaching closely and use performance management information effectively to reward good performance and ensure that any underperformance is tackled. Governance is much improved since the last inspection, due to the extensive training governors have undergone, which has meant they support and challenge the senior leadership team appropriately. Governors manage the school’s finances well, and ensure that all safeguarding procedures are fully complied with and that all their statutory and safeguarding requirements are fully met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have a positive attitude to learning and their behaviour around the school is good. All school logs and those in the specialist resource unit are completed in appropriate detail and show that behaviour over time is good and improving.

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Behaviour

 Behaviour in the specialist resource provision is good. Staff are experienced and have good levels of expertise, and this means they are skilled in helping pupils to learn how to manage their behaviour; consequently, most are able to return to their mainstream school within two terms.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have a good understanding of the various types of bullying. Pupils spoken to were clear that this is a very rare event. Although a small number of parents had concerns regarding bullying, inspection evidence indicates that the school manages the very few incidents well.

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Behaviour

 Parents and staff feel that behaviour across the school is good. Pupils enjoy school, as shown by their above average attendance. As several pupils commented, ‘We enjoy coming to school because teachers make lessons interesting.’

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils, staff and parents all rightly feel the school is a safe environment. All staff work hard to make sure safe practices are understood and carried out consistently well across the whole school.

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Safety

 Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and have a basic understanding of e-safety. As one pupil stated, ‘We know we don’t go on any programme other than what an adult tells us.’  All leaders and managers work very closely to make sure that all pupils are safe at all times.

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Safety

 Pupils in the specialist resource provision are kept safe and secure. Staff follow agreed policies and procedures consistently and systems to ensure pupils’ safety are rigorously implemented.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching in reading, writing and mathematics is good, resulting in pupils making good, and at times rapid progress. Teachers make learning fun and relevant to the lives of the pupils. For example, in a mathematics lesson, pupils were learning about standard measurements. They clearly enjoyed the challenge of exploring mass and estimating how heavy various items were compared to each other.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good quality planning ensures that the needs of all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, are generally well catered for, particularly in English and mathematics. Teaching here is very good due to the concerted efforts staff have made to improve their practice in these subjects, and all staff have high expectations of their pupils. This has resulted in rapid rates of progress in these areas. However, the same level of challenge is not always evident in other subjects, and pupils’ progress, although good in reading, writing and mathematics, is not rising as rapidly as it might over the curriculum as a whole.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching of reading has ensured that pupils can build words effectively and understand what they are reading well. Pupils took a pride in demonstrating their reading skills to the inspector and showed they understood the text effectively.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers provide valuable oral feedback to their pupils to make sure they can improve their work. In English and mathematics written feedback for pupils is also of a high quality. However, this kind of detailed feedback is not as consistently evident in other subjects and this means progress rates are not as rapid here as they could be.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ensure that pupils supported through pupil premium are provided with extra help and make sure that resources are well matched to their needs. These pupils make at least good progress. The good use teachers make of the other adults who support learning also enables these and all pupils in their classes to do well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The vast majority of parents agree that teaching in the school is good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children typically enter the school with weakness in their language and communication skills and in their mathematical understanding. They make good progress from these starting points and by the end of Year 2, gain results that are broadly in line with the national average in reading, writing, and mathematics. The group of pupils who completed Year 2 in 2014 had suffered from poor teaching in the past which had affected their achievement. The headteacher has taken swift and effective action to address this, resulting in these pupils making more rapid progress, and they are now well prepared for the next stage of their education when they leave.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils develop their skills in reading well. The standards achieved in the 2014 national phonics check in Year 1 were below the national average due to the poor teaching they had previously received. However, school information on the pupils’ phonic skills clearly shows that this was nonetheless a marked improvement on the previous year. School information also confirms that current Year 1 pupils are on track to exceed expected standards by the time they complete Key Stage 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in reading, writing and mathematics is good for all groups of pupils. School information confirms that, across the school, the proportion of pupils making outstanding progress is rising. It also indicates that pupils are on track to exceed the national average by the end of Year 2.  Pupils in the special resource provision make good progress in improving their behaviour. This results in the vast majority of these pupils being able to return to their mainstream school within two terms. A small number move onto other special school provision.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the past, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have not always make as much progress as they should have done, again because of poor provision for these pupils over a period of time. This weakness has been addressed following the appointment of the present headteacher, and the school now meets these pupils’ needs well. Current pupils in this group are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged pupils make good progress from their starting points and school information indicates that they are steadily closing any gaps in their knowledge and skills in reading, writing and mathematics. The effective use of the pupil premium funding has resulted in much more effective teaching and rapidly rising progress rates for these pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The achievement of the most able pupils is rapidly improving. Whilst the 2014 national data shows they did not achieve the higher levels in any subject, inspection evidence and the work in pupils’ books clearly shows that current pupils are making good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. This is due to the higher expectations of staff, who more consistently and effectively challenge these pupils to aim high in these subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The inspector’s discussions with pupils clearly indicated that they felt they were now doing much better in their learning and the majority of parents feel their children make good progress. However, there is not always enough challenge in the work set outside English and mathematics. This results in pupils’ progress not being as rapid as it could be across the curriculum as a whole.

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The early years provision is good

 The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and managed. Children’s progress is good and they learn to socialise and develop personal skills effectively. Poor teaching has been eradicated; teaching is now consistently good or better leading to higher levels of achievement for all children.

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The early years provision is good

 The bright and inviting environment supports children’s learning very well. They settle in quickly due to the school’s excellent routines. They feel safe and behaviour is good. All staff implement the school’s policies and procedures effectively and ensure that safeguarding meets requirements. As one child stated, ‘The teacher looks after us, we feel safe because they are good.’

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The early years provision is good

 Information contained in the children’s ‘learning journeys’ show they make good progress and that they enjoy learning. This was observed during a language and communication session. Well-designed activities were used to stimulate the children’s communication skills and to allow them to make links with their mathematical skills, resulting in good learning. Excellent interaction between the adults and the children enhanced this learning further, leading to rapid progress being made by all the children.

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The early years provision is good

 The children work and play together in a caring, considerate and calm manner. This enables them to develop their inter-personal skills and prepares them well for their future learning.

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The early years provision is good

 Early reading skills are taught well. Staff are well trained and have excellent subject knowledge. The children quickly learn to enjoy books and are presented with very good opportunities to explore text and picture books.

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The early years provision is good

 Both the indoor and outdoor areas are well resourced and maintained. This results in children happily moving to and from indoor and outdoor activities. In both environments, the adults support the children’s learning very effectively and encourage their use of subject-specific language well.

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The early years provision is good

 Parents are highly positive about the provision due to the excellent links the leadership team has forged with them.

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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 120835 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 442043

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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 89 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michaela Betts Headteacher Barbara Sudlow Date of previous school inspection 19 March 2013 Telephone number 01263 720401 Fax number 01263 722906 Email address office@mundesley-infant.norfolk.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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