Sprowston Infant School

Sprowston Infant School Recreation Ground Road, Sprowston, Norwich, NR7 8EW

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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 new headteacher, leaders and governors have effectively raised achievement and improved teaching so it is now good. The school is continuing to improve.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including their understanding of British values, is good.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and they feel safe in school. They are well-behaved in lessons and around the school. Their good attitudes to learning are reflected in improved attendance and punctuality.  Teachers make good use of well-chosen resources to plan interesting activities to stimulate pupils’ learning.  Teaching assistants provide good support for learning and behaviour in lessons.  Nearly all pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school.  Attainment is rising and pupils’ achievement is good. In 2014, pupils’ attainment was broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics and they made good progress from their starting points.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school’s accurate data shows that standards are rising and the teaching of phonics (letters and the sound they represent) has improved significantly.  Disadvantaged pupils are now making good progress and the gap in their attainment compared to other pupils nationally and their classmates is narrowing.  The school provides well for children in the early years. Children are making good progress in most areas of learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 A few of the most able pupils are not always challenged enough in reading and mathematics.  Teachers’ marking does not always ensure that pupils know how to improve their punctuation in their writing and their reasoning skills in mathematics.  A few children in the Reception Year are working below expectations for their age in reading and writing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited nine lessons, jointly with senior leaders, to look at the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. They observed the work of all teachers.  The inspectors listened to pupils read. They looked at examples of pupils’ work in each year group, including that in the early years and in the specially resourced base for pupils with autism.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders, the early years leader, the head of the specially resourced base for pupils with autism, two members of the governing body, a group of eight pupils, and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the views of parents. They examined the 45 responses to Parent View (the online questionnaire for parents), they read a few letters received from parents and they talked informally to parents who accompanied their children to school. The inspectors also looked at the 25 completed

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Information about this inspection

questionnaires returned by staff.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation, including; safeguarding policies, risk assessments and records of training; minutes of governing body meetings and records of governors’ visits; the summary self-evaluation and the school development plan; information about pupils’ progress across the school, including in the early years.

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Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average primary school.  Most pupils are White British and a small number speak English as an additional language.  A similar proportion of pupils as found in most schools are eligible for the pupil premium. This is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is high.  Children in the two Reception classes attend full-time.  The school has specially resourced provision for 10 pupils aged 5 to 7 with disabilities and special educational needs related to autism. This is known as Turtles class, most of the current pupils are of Reception age.  Since the last inspection, there have been a number of changes. A new headteacher was appointed in 2014, a new chair of governors is in post and 50% of the governing body are new.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Eliminate the few remaining weaknesses in teaching and move it to outstanding so that pupils achieve exceptionally well by:  extending the thinking of all of the most able pupils in reading and mathematics  making sure that pupils know how to improve their punctuation in their writing and their reasoning skills in mathematics  ensuring that all children in the Reception Year reach at least expected levels of attainment in reading and writing so that all are prepared well for entry into Year 1.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is providing strong leadership and direction in improving the school and receives good support from school leaders and governors. As a result teaching has improved and is now good and pupils are making good progress. The headteacher has developed a clear culture for good teaching, learning and behaviour across the school, which is seen, for example, in the vibrant display of pupils’ work in classrooms and around the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The new deputy headteacher is providing effective support to the headteacher and has contributed significantly to recent improvements in the school

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The leadership and management are good

 Questionnaires returned by staff, discussions with parents and an examination of Parent View responses show that staff morale is high and most parents would recommend the school to others.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership of teaching is good. The headteacher and senior leaders observe teachers at least once a term, they look at samples of pupil work and hold meetings every half term to discuss the progress each pupil is making. They use this information to form a precise view of the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and progress over time, to set clear targets for improvement and establish strategies to further improve pupils’ learning. Leaders recognise that teaching can be strengthened further, particularly by making sure that the most able pupils are fully challenged and that teachers’ marking makes clear to pupils how to improve their work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The arrangements to manage the performance of staff have been strengthened and are now good. Targets to improve staff performance are linked to raising pupils’ achievement and improving the quality of teaching, together with a target linked to professional development. All teachers have targets set to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. The headteacher is making sure that staff are well supported through an effective programme of training, as seen for example in the use of the new systems for teaching phonics, which has led to good improvement since 2014.

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The leadership and management are good

 The early years leader is providing good leadership in improving the quality of teaching and learning so that it is now good and children are now making good progress with more than twice as many working in line with national expectations than in 2014.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership of the provision for pupils with autism in Turtles class is good and is enabling pupils to make good progress and successfully transfer to appropriate schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders are promoting teaching and learning well. They have carried out joint observations of teaching with senior leaders. They regularly look at pupils’ work and review the progress pupils are making each half term. They are using this information well to raise achievement and improve teaching within their subjects. They have implemented new systems and provided training for the teaching of phonics and have developed a sharp focus on using and applying mathematics in problem solving.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have developed the new curriculum effectively which is based on a different topic each term. They have also ensured that the new curriculum has a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ reading writing and mathematics skills. They are also developing the new systems of assessment alongside the local cluster of schools and will be implementing those for reading, writing and mathematics during the autumn term. They have already implemented the new system for the early years and will be developing the system for other subjects next term.

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The leadership and management are good

 They are promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well, including their awareness of British values so that pupils are well-prepared for life in modern Britain. Class assemblies and whole school assemblies are focused on Christian themes and also celebrate world religious festivals. Pupils learn to appreciate other religions such as Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. They said a Muslim prayer and held a Hinduism day. The school values of respect, honesty and awareness of personal identity are central to its promotion of British values. They celebrate Remembrance Day and learn about democracy and the rule of law.  Leaders are promoting equality of opportunity well and promoting positive relationships between pupils and with adults. Different pupils are making equally good progress and there are no recorded incidents of racial discrimination or homophobia. Pupils respect and are courteous and polite towards others.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders are making good use of pupil premium funds mainly to provide additional support in literacy and numeracy. This is helping pupils to catch up to their classmates and is successfully narrowing the gap between their attainment and the attainment of other pupils nationally. It is also used to pay for trips and events to enable disadvantaged pupils to enjoy the same opportunities as their classmates.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders are using primary sports funding well to fund staff training in the national award for physical education leaders, and to network with other physical education leaders. This has led to increased confidence and skills in teaching. It has also been used to provide resources, such as bikes for children in Reception classes, additional coaching and more clubs in dance, multi-skills and dodge ball, all of which are over-subscribed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority knows the school well and is providing good support and challenge to help the school to improve, through for example, providing robust reviews of its work and access to further training and support.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders are making sure that the legal requirements for safeguarding are met. They rigorously check the suitability of staff and visitors to work with children and ensure all training and policies to promote safeguarding are up-to-date. All potential risks to pupils are carefully assessed including those with autism in Turtles class. Governors and staff are fully briefed about their responsibilities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well and are providing good support and challenge to enable it to continue to improve. They have checked their own strengths and identified areas for development for governors, using this information well to strengthen their work. For example, they conduct regular focused visits to school including visits to classrooms and report back to the full governing body. As a result they have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and how it affects pupils’ learning.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s information about pupils’ achievement over time. They examine this carefully, especially in relation to the impact of the schools’ additional spending for the pupil premium, where they are rigorously holding the school to account in order to achieve value for money.  Governors have effectively implemented robust procedures for managing the performance of the

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The leadership and management are good

headteacher and staff. Targets for improving performance are sharply focused on raising achievement, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and improving the quality of teaching. Governors ensure good teaching is rewarded and any weaknesses are tackled effectively.  They promote safeguarding well and make sure all legal requirements are met by their timely review of policies and ensuring training in safeguarding is up-to-date. Governors check that the school is promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values, well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Staff provide good role models for behaviour and manage behaviour effectively. As a result pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Most parents, staff and governors agree with pupils that behaviour is usually good.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ good attitudes to learning are reflected in their improved attendance and good punctuality to lessons. Their attendance is broadly average and has risen steadily in recent years. Pupils take a pride in their work and most are eager to learn.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have good relationships with one another. In a birthday celebration assembly, pupils enthusiastically sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and spontaneously applauded the blowing out of candles on the birthday cake and the success of other pupils’ achievements. Pupils listen carefully to staff and follow instructions. They show respect and courtesy to visitors. Their good attitudes to learning and their good behaviour are having a positive effect on their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have good opportunities to develop their social skills for example, by working in pairs and small groups in lessons taking turns and sharing. They learn right from wrong through, for example, the system of awards and sanctions and how to follow rules in team games.

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Behaviour

 Children in the early years behave well and have good attitudes to learning.

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Behaviour

 Pupils with autism in Turtles class make rapid progress in their behaviour, learning to share and take turns.

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Behaviour

 Behaviour is not outstanding because occasionally pupils are distracted from learning and there were too few instances where pupils demonstrate a thirst for knowledge.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Potential risks to pupils in school or during out of school activities are carefully checked. Health and safety checks are regularly carried out on the school grounds and premises to ensure they are safe and secure, which they are. The school thoroughly checks the suitability of staff and visitors to work with children. It provides up to date training in safeguarding for staff and governors.

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Safety

 Pupils say they feel safe in school and can go to any member of staff if they felt worried about anything. Staff, governors and most parents agree that pupils are safe in school. Pupils are aware of how to keep safe. They move from one area of the school to another safely and play safely in the playground. They use resources, including computers safely and are developing their awareness of how to use the internet safely. They learn about ‘Stranger danger’ and how to travel safely on the pavement.

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Safety

 Pupils say bullying is rare and should it occur it would always be dealt with quickly. They are developing awareness of different types of bullying. Staff, governors and most parents agreed that there is no bullying and the school deals with bullying effectively.

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Safety

 Children in the early years are happy safe and secure in school. This was confirmed in discussion with parents.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is good. As a result pupils learn effectively and make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils are encouraged to use phonics when reading and writing and pupils’ books showed they were using this effectively in spelling. In mathematics teachers ensure that pupils are systematically building up their number skills and using these in problem solving activities. Good teaching of reading is reflected in pupils’ good achievement in the phonics screening check in 2015.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers generally have high expectations of pupils learning in these areas. However, the school’s data and pupils’ work shows that very occasionally they miss the opportunity to extend the thinking of a few of the most able pupils in reading and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ good use of well-chosen resources was reflected in pupils work and seen in lessons visited. For example, in mathematics pupils used bead strings, solid shapes and surveys of the use of public transport to securely build on their learning. In the Turtles class, pupils with autism made buns, preparing the dough, and carefully measuring and weighing the ingredients.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants support the learning of those who need extra helps such as disadvantaged pupils, those with disabilities and special educational needs well by breaking tasks down into smaller steps and using well-chosen resources to support pupils’ learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils books show that teachers provide good feedback on how well they are doing and how to improve their spelling, use of grammar and their mathematical skills. However teaches do not always provide clear guidance on how pupils can improve their use of punctuation in writing and their reasoning skills in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the early years has improved significantly and is usually good, enabling children to learn well and make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Reception Year with knowledge, skills and understanding which is usually broadly typical for their age, but lower in most aspects of personal and emotional development and much lower in communication, language and literacy. They are currently making good progress in all areas of learning. The school’s accurate data shows that the majority of children are likely to now reach a good level of development, except in reading and writing which is slightly lower than other areas of learning. However, just over twice as many children are likely to reach a good level of development this year than those in 2014 and these children are well prepared for entry into Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 An average proportion of pupils in Year 1 are working in line with nationally expected standards in phonics. This is a significant rise in the school’s results in the phonics check since 2014 when the proportion who reached the expected standard was below average. This was mainly due to significant weaknesses in the teaching of phonics but these have been securely and robustly addressed through training in a new system for teaching phonics. A high proportion of Year 2 pupils who re-sat the test this year have reached the expected standard. This reflects good achievement over time.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The attainment of pupils at the end of Year 2 was below average overall in 2014 and broadly average in each of reading, writing and mathematics. They made good progress from their lower prior attainment on entry into Year 1. Pupils currently in Year 2 are working in line with national expectations and doing marginally better than they did last year. The school’s data show that by the end of Year 2, pupils have made good progress from their low starting points on entry to Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s data show that pupils in all year groups make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics; although there are a few remaining weaknesses in teaching which occasionally slow their progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Almost all of the most-able pupils make the same good progress as their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics and achieve well over time because their thinking is usually extended. Although all are meeting the nationally expected levels of progress in all subject areas, a very small number are not exceeding the nationally expected levels in reading and in mathematics. Pupils’ work in their books, show that they are using a variety of sentences with powerful vocabulary in their writing and are tackling word problems with increasing confidence in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able disadvantaged pupils make at least expected progress in mathematics, reading writing and above expected progress in writing. This is good improvement in the progress they are making from 2014.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The gap in the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of their classmates has narrowed from two terms in reading, writing and mathematics in 2014 to one term in each of these subjects for pupils currently in Year 2. In 2014, the gap in their attainment compared to other pupils nationally was three terms in reading and writing and one term in mathematics and in 2015, the gap in attainment has narrowed further to approximately one term in each of these subjects. They made equally good progress as to other pupils nationally and to their classmates in 2015.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The few pupils who speak English as an additional language are making the same good progress as their classmates.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make the same good progress as their classmates because good support is provided for their learning. Pupils with autism in Turtles class make at least good progress in reading, writing and mathematics enabling them to transfer successfully to appropriate schools by the end of Year 2.

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The early years provision is good

 Good leadership and management of the early years provision have led to good improvements in the quality of teaching and learning in the past year.

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The early years provision is good

 More than twice as many children are currently working at a good level of development than in 2014 and the majority are being well prepared for entry onto Year 1 by the end of the Reception Year. Parents praised the quality of education and care provided for their children in the Reception Year and an increasing number come in to work with their children.

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The early years provision is good

 Nearly all children make good progress in all areas of learning because teaching is good. This is because staff make good use of well-chosen resources to stimulate children’s learning. For example, children made sandwiches for Percy the park keeper and staff encouraged them to wash their hands before making these sandwiches, which promoted their personal development well. Other children showed good hand eye co-ordination and control in using tweezers to place seeds in plant pots.

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The early years provision is good

 Although a few children do not reach the same good level of development in reading and writing, their starting points are much lower in these areas and they make good progress because teachers make good use of language through questioning to support their reading and writing skills. For example, some children are not always using initial sounds of letters to read simple unfamiliar words and are still not forming simple words correctly in their writing by the end of the Reception Year. Nevertheless the majority of children are well prepared for entry into Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Staff promote children’s safety and well-being effectively. They maintain good levels of supervision and promote learning well in children’s activities. Children settle in quickly and enjoy learning. Their behaviour is good and they feel safe and secure.

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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 120853 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 448523

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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 176 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Griffin Headteacher Robert Edwards Date of previous school inspection 27 April 2010 Telephone number 01603 429001 Fax number 01603 485461 Email address office@sprowstoninfant.norfolk.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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