Setting

Mr Paul Northridge Headteacher Westwood Infant and Nursery School Palmerston Street Westwood Nottingham NG16 5JA

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 1 March 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in October 2010.

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

Pupils thoroughly enjoy life at Westwood Infant and Nursery School. They are well taught by enthusiastic teachers who plan exciting lessons based on real-life learning. You communicate a relentless determination to ensure that all pupils achieve as well as they can. This ambition is shared by all staff and is tangible throughout the school. The school’s achievement display reminds pupils that ‘it is good to be me’ and reflects the high priority that the school places on valuing each pupil as a unique individual.

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

Learning at Westwood is fun. Pupils are generally enthusiastic about their lessons because teachers work hard to plan creative activities based on their interests. Our visit to Year 2 was a good example of this where pupils were using their knowledge of Andy Goldsworthy and his art work to devise relevant questions for him. Pupils were excited as they considered what questions they might pose and used a good range of vocabulary including sculptor, sculpture, nature and urban. Although most pupils were making good progress in this lesson, you recognise that there is some unevenness in the progress of the most-able pupils across the school. Ofsted

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted You have the respect and confidence of staff, pupils and parents because you consistently set high expectations and lead by example. As a result, relationships at all levels are strong within this small, caring school community.

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

At the last inspection, inspectors commended the school for providing a happy and caring environment where pupils enjoy learning, make good progress from the start, attend regularly and behave well. The school has maintained all of these positive aspects.

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

You and your governors have been committed to improving the areas identified for improvement at the last inspection and, as a result, they have been tackled successfully. The curriculum is well planned around topics which capture pupils’ imaginations. Teachers generally use thoughtful questions to probe and deepen pupils’ understanding and move them on to the next steps in their learning. For example, in Year 1, the teacher used skilful questioning to address a pupil’s misconception when doubling numbers. As a result, the pupil was able to explain their thinking, identify the error and successfully correct their work.

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Short inspection of Westwood Infant and Nursery School

You and your team have high aspirations for pupils and are continually striving to improve the school. You have rightly identified the areas where more work is needed and leaders, governors and staff have the capacity to make improvements successfully.

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Safeguarding is effective

You place a high priority on keeping pupils safe. Parents expressed confidence in the school to follow up any concerns swiftly and diligently, and the overwhelming majority of parents agree that the school keeps pupils safe and secure. Parents welcome your presence at the school gate each morning where they can raise any early concerns with you. Leaders and governors have ensured that current safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are of high quality. Staff are kept up to date with current government guidance and the culture of safeguarding within the school is good.

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Safeguarding is effective

Pupils feel safe in the school and say that they are well cared for. They play well together, respect each other and follow the school’s rules. Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying but say that it is extremely rare at Westwood. This is confirmed by the school’s records. You actively promote good attendance for all pupils and, as a result, attendance is above the national average.

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Inspection findings

 You have created a continuous culture of success because of your clear and uncompromising expectations that all teaching must be exciting and of a good quality in order to instil a love of learning from an early age.  The relatively new Chair and vice-chair of the Governing Body are carrying out their roles effectively. They are aware of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They are ensuring that governors are beginning to visit school more regularly to see first-hand what is happening ‘on the ground’, as well as to get to know all pupils and staff. Governors are effective in holding you and your team to account.

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Inspection findings

 In 2015, the proportion of pupils achieving the higher Level 3 in reading was double the national average. The school places a high priority on providing opportunities for all pupils to read every day. Pupils develop good skills which enable them to become confident readers who develop a genuine love of reading. Year 2 pupils thoroughly enjoy their regular reading buddy times. They say that these help them to read out loud with confidence and pay good attention to the punctuation. The school has invested heavily in good-quality reading resources and pupils enjoy access to a wide variety of texts and authors.

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Inspection findings

 You and your mathematics leader identified a drop in the performance of girls in mathematics in 2015 and this has rightly been identified as a priority for school improvement. Pupils talk enthusiastically about how new practical resources and equipment are helping them to gain confidence in learning mathematical facts and solving problems. As a result, the school’s most recent information on pupils’ progress and attainment confirms that girls are making better progress.

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Inspection findings

 The early years unit provides the youngest children with a bright, exciting and well-resourced indoor environment. The curriculum gives children many opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge across all areas of learning. However, the outdoor area does not fully reflect the indoor area and, as a result, limits children’s progress, particularly boys. In 2015, just over half of the boys reached a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year compared to three quarters of the girls. The early years leader recognises that provision needs to be reviewed and reshaped to address the needs of boys more precisely, particularly outdoors.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils generally sustain good levels of concentration and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning because they are interested by the activities that are planned for them. Staff know pupils well; they model good behaviour, are calm, clear and have consistent expectations. As a result, there is a strong ethos of mutual respect.

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Inspection findings

 You have established useful links with your local cluster of primary schools and the local secondary school. This ensures effective and smooth transition for pupils and provides opportunities for staff to share good practice and discuss changes, for example in curriculum and assessment. Staff value these opportunities and say that they contribute positively to enhancing their knowledge and skills.  Despite their very small school community, pupils understand what it means to live in a diverse community in modern Britain. The school promotes British values well and there are helpful displays around the school to remind pupils of the values. For example, they demonstrate an early understanding of democracy by regularly voting in classes on various issues. Teachers act without compromise upon the outcomes of pupils’ voting and in this way, pupils’ views are heard. They have an active pupil voice.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils enjoy the responsibilities given to them such as bench buddies and reading buddies. They take these responsibilities seriously and carry them out diligently. Pupils are proud of their school. This is reflected in the way in which they take care of their property and the school environment.

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Inspection findings

 Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. This is clear from the many positive comments I received in discussions with parents at the end of the school day. Parents believe that the school is a safe and happy place for their children. All parents spoken to would recommend the school to others.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 teachers in all classes provide more challenging activities for the most-able pupils so that they make as much progress as they can

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Next steps for the school

 the outdoor area is fully resourced to improve the youngest children’s development in all areas of learning, particularly boys.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for Nottinghamshire County Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and your senior teacher, two representatives of the governing body, and a group of pupils. I held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. We visited all classes together to observe teaching and learning. I observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, at breaktimes and during lessons. I met a number of parents informally at the end of the school day. I considered a range of documents, including safeguarding records and policies.

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