Heanor Langley Infant School & Nursery

Heanor Langley Infant School Laceyfields Road, Langley, Heanor, DE75 7HJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Achievement is not yet consistently good. Standards in Year 2 are no better than average. Not enough pupils make good progress from their starting-points, especially in mathematics and writing.  Teaching in Key Stage 1 requires improvement. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations for pupils’ progress and do not consistently provide the most-able pupils with good opportunities to develop their knowledge and to extend their skills.  Planned activities in lessons do not consistently enable pupils to build quickly on what they have already learned. Not all teachers identify pupils’ misunderstandings quickly enough or question pupils well enough to deepen their learning.  Teachers do not always work effectively with teaching assistants in Key Stage 1 when planning activities.  Teachers do not focus sufficiently on improving the least-able pupils’ understanding of letter sounds or ensuring good standards of handwriting,

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

presentation and grammar.  Teachers’ marking is not always clear or accurate enough to help pupils improve their skills, particularly in writing. Teachers do not check systematically that pupils have acted on the advice they have been given.  The curriculum in Key Stage 1 does not offer sufficient breadth. Pupils do not get enough opportunities to deepen their mathematical knowledge by solving problems and carrying out investigations.  Some leadership roles and responsibilities are not fully developed across the school. Some leaders do not check teaching and learning sufficiently and this limits the contribution they make to improving the school’s effectiveness.

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The school has the following strengths

 Senior leaders, assisted by governors, have improved teaching in the early years considerably over the last year. Children in the Nursery and Reception are now making good progress because they are taught well.  Most older pupils achieve well in reading and in physical education.  The school fosters pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development successfully.  Pupils are happy at school. They behave well in lessons and in other areas of the school. Good relationships with staff and effective safeguarding arrangements ensure that pupils feel safe and are well cared for.  The new headteacher has quickly acquired the confidence of staff and has improved parents’ satisfaction with the school’s work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching through visits to classrooms to check on pupils’ learning. On two visits, they were accompanied by the headteacher.  A range of pupils in Year 2 were heard reading. Inspectors also looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors held meetings with school staff, a group of pupils, three members of the governing body, and two representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 23 questionnaires completed by staff, parents’ responses to the school’s own recent questionnaire and 40 responses made by parents to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors examined the responses of pupils, parents and staff to the school’s own recent questionnaires. An inspector spoke informally to a few parents during the inspection.  Inspectors checked a range of evidence including: monitoring records; consultants’ reports; the school improvement plan; the school’s own data on pupils’ attainment and progress; and policies, procedures and

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Information about this inspection

practice relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Derek Aitken, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Heanor Langley Infants is much smaller than most primary schools.  Children attend the Nursery on a part-time basis either in the mornings or the afternoons.  Reception children attend on a full-time basis and are taught in two classes.  Key Stage 1 pupils are taught in three classes, one of which is a mixed-age class.  Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium, which is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority, is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average.  The headteacher joined the school in September 2014. Most of the other senior and middle leaders have taken up their posts since that date.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in Key Stage 1, and thereby improve progress and standards, by ensuring that teachers:  give pupils classroom activities that consistently challenge them and enable all groups to build quickly on what they have already learned and can do  have high expectations for the progress of the most-able pupils and provide them with good opportunities to apply new learning in lessons  use questioning well to deepen learning and to identify pupils’ misconceptions quickly  work closely with teaching assistants, particularly when planning activities designed to accelerate pupils’ progress  use marking and pupils’ targets more effectively, including in the early years, to provide children and pupils with high-quality guidance that will help them improve quickly, and check that pupils act on the advice they are given.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement in writing in Key Stage 1 by ensuring that teachers:  provide pupils with good models of clear handwriting and accurate spelling  insist on high standards of handwriting, grammar and presentation in pupils’ work  always plan phonics lessons effectively and ensure new knowledge of letters and sounds is consolidated in writing lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the breadth of the curriculum in Key Stage 1 and raise pupils’ achievement in mathematics by ensuring that teachers:  provide pupils with more opportunities to use and apply their mathematical knowledge in problem- solving and investigative tasks.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:  all leaders carry out robust checks on teaching and learning within their areas of responsibility and contribute fully to the raising of pupils’ achievement and school improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 In the past, leadership has not ensured teaching has been good enough for pupils to make consistently good progress. Leaders’ recent plans for improvement are well-considered but these have not yet had sufficient impact on the school’s work. New leaders have settled into their roles and have quickly produced plans to improve teaching and pupils’ achievement in their allocated areas of responsibility. However, some initiatives to tackle identified areas of weakness, such as writing, are at an early stage of development.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 New senior and middle leaders, with the exception of the headteacher and the leader of the early years, have not carried out checks on teaching and learning in sufficient detail to enable them to assess the impact of the actions that have been taken. Consequently, some inconsistencies in aspects of teaching, such as marking, remain, and there are variations in pupils’ rates of progress between subjects, such as reading and writing. The school ensures that there is no discrimination but recognises that it must do more to ensure all groups of pupils enjoy the same good opportunities to succeed.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s curriculum is not planned well enough to ensure activities offer suitable breadth. There are too few opportunities for pupils to develop their problem-solving skills in mathematics.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The new headteacher has a very accurate view of the quality of the school’s work. She quickly identified the reasons why pupils in Key Stage 1 are not yet achieving well. She has outlined and implemented very clear actions to tackle them. However, some discontinuity in staffing has slowed the impact of a few of the changes made. The headteacher has enhanced existing strengths of the school, such as pupils’ personal and social development. She has implemented a revised rewards policy and established a mini-leader scheme, which have been well received by pupils. Her decisive leadership has raised the morale of staff and gained the confidence of parents, as shown in their responses on Parent View.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership of the early years is good. The leader has worked successfully to tackle underachievement and to improve provision. This is ensuring that children in the Nursery and Reception are now achieving well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders know where support is needed to raise the standards of disadvantaged pupils. They have allocated extra resources, including staff, to improve rates of progress. Their successful use of pupil premium funding is having an increasing impact in reducing gaps in attainment.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school fosters pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Assemblies are used purposefully to help pupils make choices and to encourage them to reflect upon and to explain any ‘tricky choices’ they have had to make. Pupils understand the differences between different faiths and cultures through, for example, exploring contrasts between mosques and churches. They are taught effectively about British values, including rights and responsibilities, in lessons, through visits from the local M.P. and deputy council leader, and through their involvement with the democratically elected school council. In this way they are well-prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school is in the early stages of working towards full implementation of its preferred approach to assessment, following the abolition of National Curriculum levels. It is following local authority guidelines and intends to implement the system which it has developed in September 2015.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority checks the school’s performance regularly. It has provided useful support since the previous inspection, but the actions it has taken are only recently having a significant impact on the school’s work.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The national school sports funding has been spent appropriately, for example, to employ a sports coach, to increase pupils’ participation in sports clubs and competitions, and to train staff. Pupils benefit considerably from skilled, specialist teaching in physical education and the strong emphasis the school places on healthy lifestyles.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders, including governors, have recently reviewed the school’s systems for safeguarding and updated relevant procedures. They ensure that current government requirements for safeguarding are fully met and that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors acknowledge that, in the past, they did not know the school well enough to influence its direction and to challenge senior leaders. They undertook the review of governance recommended at the previous inspection, implemented its recommendations and are now better informed about the school’s work.  Governors have improved their capacity to hold senior leaders to account, especially in the last two terms, and are working effectively with the headteacher to improve the school. They have clarified their roles and undertaken recent training, for example, on British values, finance, and the early years. They have completed a skills audit and are now starting to recruit additional governors to enhance the breadth of expertise on the governing body.  Governors know where weaknesses in pupils’ attainment continue to exist and have ensured that resources have been allocated to tackle them. They know how well different groups are achieving

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The leadership and management requires improvement

compared to similar groups nationally, and can identify areas where their use of extra government funding has been successful in reducing aspects of disadvantage, including gaps in attainment.  Governors have established links with subject leaders and conducted ‘learning walks’ to help them assess the quality of teaching. The Vice-chair has shared useful advice on teaching with early years staff. Governors are appropriately involved in managing staff’s performance, know what is being done to improve teaching, and take suitable steps to ensure any salary increases are merited.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Nursery and Reception children are happy and secure in their well- organised classrooms. They know the setting’s routines well, take responsibility for tidying up and comply quickly with teachers’ requests. Children know they are well cared for and establish trusting relationships with each other and staff.

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Behaviour

 These positive features are built on successfully in Key Stage 1. Pupils show respect for each other in lessons and in the dining hall through their recognition of the importance of taking turns. They listen to, and acknowledge their classmates’ contributions. They obey teachers’ requests swiftly and cooperate readily with each other in paired-partner talk routines. Most pupils apply themselves well to their work, without needing undue guidance from staff. On a few occasions, when their learning is not checked regularly, their enthusiasm flags.

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Behaviour

 Pupils relate well to each other both in class and in the playground at breaks and lunch-times. They exercise actively and sensibly, taking care not to encroach on areas where other pupils are playing. They show initiative in organising informal games to entertain themselves, so that supervising adults very rarely need to intervene to assist them. Playground ‘spies’ look out for pupils at the ‘friendship stop’ to ensure that they are included in play activities.

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Behaviour

 Rates of attendance rose considerably last year, and this rise is largely being maintained this year despite the occurrence of three bouts of serious illness which caused a drop in attendance during the winter months.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are carefully supervised in all areas of the school and any incidents or minor injuries are properly recorded. Secure fencing and key-coded access doors enhance the security of the school site and staff and visitors are suitably vetted.

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Safety

 Staff, parents and pupils are equally positive about pupils’ well-being in school. There have been no exclusions in the last three years. Incidents of bullying or name-calling are extremely rare. The school’s good links with outside agencies ensure that at-risk pupils are well-looked-after.

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Safety

 Pupils are kept completely safe in school. They are well informed about ‘stranger danger’, e-safety, and road safety: the latter is a feature of the school’s current work with pupils, as part of the forthcoming ‘Road Safety Week’, as well as its communications with parents. Pupils can explain the purpose of the actions the school has taken to ensure their safety on the school site, such as the carpeting of the playground. Pupils feel that they are treated equally and fairly. They know that their ideas, for example, for increasing the range of playground equipment, are taken seriously by staff and acted upon.

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Safety

 Pupils who are socially and emotionally troubled are supported well in the nurture group. Records on their progress show clear gains over time in their self-esteem and resilience.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Over time, teaching has not ensured that pupils have achieved consistently well. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations for pupils’ progress. While there have been considerable improvements in teaching in the early years, lesson activities in Key Stage 1 are not always precisely focused on the skills that groups need to acquire or practise next. Consequently, pupils, including the most able, are not always moved on quickly enough to more challenging work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Lessons often get off to a brisk start and pupils respond quickly to the teachers’ instructions so that little time is lost between activities. However, planned activities do not consistently enable pupils to build quickly on what they have already learned. Staff do not always identify misconceptions and weaknesses in pupils’ knowledge and skills quickly enough, which slows pupils’ progress. When teachers choose to use strategies such as questioning, they do not always do so with sufficient skill to check what pupils know and understand, to re-direct their learning and to extend their thinking.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers in Key Stage 1 do not always plan activities closely enough with their teaching assistants to ensure that these additional staff are used effectively in all lessons to support pupils’ learning. However, disabled pupils and those who have complex special educational needs benefit from sensitive one-to-one support both inside and outside the classroom, and this encourages them to do their best in lessons.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although many older pupils generally read confidently, teachers do not teach phonics or develop the early reading skills of the least-able pupils well enough. Phonics work is not planned tightly enough to ensure all groups of pupils make good progress in phonics lessons. New learning in phonics is not fully consolidated in subsequent writing lessons. However, pupils benefit from good opportunities to develop their understanding and enjoyment of reading in guided reading lessons, and in their topic work, for example, on China.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of writing requires improvement. Teachers’ own handwriting and spelling do not always provide pupils with clear and accurate models to follow. Teachers do not insist consistently on high levels of presentation to ensure, for example, that pupils start lines within paragraphs close to the margin or form their letters correctly and neatly. Insufficient use is made of pupils’ writing targets. Teachers do not check systematically that pupils make use of the helpful tips they are given by teachers’ marking in their next pieces of writing.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The basic skills of mathematics are taught adequately. This enables most pupils to develop their number and calculations skills securely. Staff are using new practical resources to help the least-able pupils grasp ideas and processes more quickly. They have used specific events, such as a ‘problem-solving day,’ to provide pupils with opportunities to practise relevant techniques. However, Key Stage 1 pupils are not routinely encouraged to use and to apply their mathematical understanding in problem-solving and investigative tasks, and this limits their achievement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ attainment on entry to Year 1 has varied considerably in the last three years. Overall, attainment at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics has been in line with the national averages over the same period of time. However, attainment in reading is consistently higher than in mathematics and in writing. Standards in mathematics improved in 2014, but declined in writing.  Most pupils make the progress expected of them in mathematics and writing but too few pupils achieve the higher levels in these subjects, especially in writing. Pupils reported to inspectors that they enjoyed reading, mathematics and physical education but had mixed views about the progress they were making in writing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Results in the Year 1 screening test for phonics, (the sounds that letters make), improved last year, but remained slightly below average. While most middle- and higher- attaining pupils in Year 2 read well, some lower-attaining pupils are slow to master the pronunciation of some of the more difficult high- frequency words.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although the progress of current Year 2 pupils is improving, they underachieved when they were in the early years. Consequently, their standards are currently lower than they should be, and there is some work to do to recover the ground lost in writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ writing skills require improvement. The quality of pupils’ work is sometimes hampered by untidy presentation, incorrect letter formation and faulty use of spelling and grammar. Pupils do not always remember to include all the information they need to, in order to carry out written tasks properly.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most pupils have secure calculation skills, which are occasionally reinforced in other lessons, such as English and in physical education. They demonstrate some understanding of problem-solving processes but do not have enough opportunities to develop their mathematical skills in investigative tasks.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Some of the most-able pupils are not given good opportunities to develop their skills over a sustained period of time. Both teachers’ and their own expectations of their progress are not high enough and, occasionally, they spend too much time working on tasks which do not stretch them to do their best. Too few of them demonstrate mastery of grammar, spelling, punctuation and neat handwriting.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disadvantaged pupils, usually from lower starting-points, make similar progress to other groups of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. Gaps between their attainment and that of their classmates remain, but reduced last year, and this improving trend is currently being maintained.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have complex special educational needs are well supported and fully included in all aspects of school life, including at lunch-times. Pupils with less complex special educational needs mostly make progress similar to other groups of pupils. However, in their case, progress is better in Year 2 than in Year 1, and faster in reading than in mathematics and writing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils achieve well in physical education. They demonstrate above-average levels of fitness and agility in physical education lessons and during activities at breaks and lunch-times. They are well aware of the important contribution of vegetables and fruit to a balanced diet.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s knowledge and skills when they join the Nursery are broadly typical for their age, but sometimes there are weaknesses in their speaking, writing and reading skills. The percentage of children who achieved a good level of development by the time they left Reception rose considerably in 2014 and was above the national average. Children make good progress and are well-prepared for their learning in Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Children settle well in the early years. There is a happy atmosphere in the setting and staff’s strong expectations for children’s manners, courtesy and sense of responsibility encourage children to learn and to play together well. This was shown on the first morning of the inspection, when children entered from the playground, chose a book readily and sat engrossed in their reading during registration.

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The early years provision is good

 Teachers develop children’s skills at every opportunity, for example, making use of children’s presence or absence at registration time to probe and to extend children’s understanding of differences between numbers. This mathematical concept was explored further in the follow-up indoor activity, which ensured children could explain their thinking well when comparing the heights of different children in the group.

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The early years provision is good

 Teachers plan carefully to ensure that outdoor activities engage children’s interest, sustain their concentration and enable them to apply new learning. This was shown in a lesson when children explored the concept of ‘road safety’ by investigating the distances between cars travelling down a slide. They practised their emergent writing and assessed the outcomes of collisions in role-play activities, such as ‘being police-officers’ and phoning for an ambulance. Adults’ skilled use of questioning enables them to support children’s learning well.

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The early years provision is good

 Teachers make expert use of resources, including computer technology to enhance children’s speaking skills, to check their understanding and to speed up their progress. They keep regular notes in lessons on children’s achievements to plan what they need to learn next.

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The early years provision is good

 The setting ensures children are completely safe. Staff fulfil welfare and safeguarding requirements and ensure that health and safety guidelines are observed. Staff have the appropriate paediatric first aid training and carry out risk assessments and other checks regularly.

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The early years provision is good

 The leader of the early years is very effective. The accuracy and frequency of assessments is much improved. The leader analyses data on children’s achievements carefully and uses this information purposefully to adapt teaching for groups or individual children. Staff ensure that parents are involved in their children’s learning and provide them with suitable guidance to help them support their children at home.

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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 112557 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 462013

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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 3–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 157 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Claire Keyte Headteacher Carol Daly Date of previous school inspection 23 April 2013 Telephone number 01773 712823 Fax number 01773 712823 Email address info@heanorlangley.derbyshire.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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