Alderwood School

Belle Vue Infant School Belle Vue Road, Aldershot, Hampshire GU12 4RZ

p.1

Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

p.1

Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

p.1

Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

p.1

Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

p.1

This is an outstanding school

 The executive headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher make a highly effective team. Together they consistently communicate high expectations and so have successfully created a culture where everyone, including governors, leaders, teachers and pupils strive to deliver the school’s mantra to ‘be the best they can be’.  The curriculum has been carefully tailored so that it precisely meets the specific needs of the pupils in the community it serves.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is highly effective. Teachers know their pupils exceptionally well and so plan lessons that engender their enthusiasm and a love for learning.  The teaching of reading is exceptional. Pupils love books and use them extensively to help them learn.  Pupils are kept very safe. Parents share pupils’ opinion that staff look after the children exceptionally well.  Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are delightful.

p.1

This is an outstanding school

Pupils make a significant contribution to the strong community cohesion at the school. Their attitudes to learning are excellent.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely well catered for. Pupils strive to be strong global citizens. British values are promoted through everything they do.  Pupils make exceptional progress from their starting points. By the time they reach the end of Year 2, they attain levels that are at least in line with, and frequently much higher than, national averages. All groups of pupils are given an equal opportunity to succeed. The most able pupils are consistently challenged and so achieve very well.  All groups of pupils are given an equal opportunity to succeed. The most-able pupils are consistently challenged and so achieve very well.  Provision in the early years is highly effective. Children make an excellent start to their education because the setting is exceptionally well run to

p.1

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to build on the excellent work in developing boys’ writing skills until the gap between their attainment and that of the girls has closed completely.  Accelerate leaders’ plans to improve the outside learning area of the early years so that it is even more effective.

p.2

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The senior leadership team is highly ambitious to ensure that pupils benefit from the best standard of education. Under the dynamic leadership of the executive headteacher, leaders have successfully created a culture where everyone wants to do the best they can for the pupils. Relationships are at the core of the success of the school, because staff work exceptionally well together. This, coupled with the high expectations that permeate through all staff, means the school is very effective.  Leaders know their school exceptionally well. They are detailed in their evaluations of their effectiveness and so their plans for improvement are precisely targeted to continuously develop the school. This is demonstrated in how well leaders have tackled the areas for improvement identified at the time of the previous inspection. For example, pupils’ attendance has significantly improved and is now well above the

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

national average. Leaders’ careful oversight of the school means they know how well every individual is progressing. They communicate the highest expectations for all groups of pupils. This means teachers ensure lessons meet the needs of pupils of all abilities. This, along with carefully planned enrichment opportunities, means the most-able pupils benefit from regular challenge and are very well provided for.  The management of staff performance is very effective. Staff benefit from clear targets that link to the areas identified in the school’s improvement plan. This ensures that all staff are pulling in the same direction. Staff appreciate the manner in which leaders hold them to account to meet the targets they have been given. This is because, alongside the systems of accountability, staff receive appropriate training and professional development opportunities.  The curriculum is superbly designed to cater for the specific needs of the pupils. Pupils learn through

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

carefully chosen topics that link to their interests and to the opportunities offered by the school’s locality. This means that pupils are able to learn about the world around them from first-hand experience and exploration. This is particularly important because many pupils come to the school without the language skills you would expect for their age. Teachers make very good use of the curriculum to ensure that learning in English and mathematics is purposeful and based on real-life experiences. Consequently, pupils rightly recognise for themselves that they make ‘fantastic’ progress from their starting points.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptional. For example, pupils have a strong sense of their place as local and global citizens. They are rightly proud of their support for the homeless in Aldershot and the links they have made with a school in Uganda. They understand the importance of

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

providing support for those who are less fortunate than themselves. The school enjoys an exceptionally strong sense of community. This was seen first-hand in an assembly led by one of the Year 1 classes. A very high proportion of parents came and shared the excitement with the pupils at the school. Parents report their pride in seeing their children succeed in this way, and in many others, while at the school.  Fundamental British values are consistently promoted in a number of ambitious, but carefully chosen, ways. Consequently, pupils have developed a clear understanding of ‘decision through democracy’ by learning about the role of mayor on the town council. They have applied this to their own school council to ensure that all pupils have a voice when changes are agreed with leaders.  The pupil premium grant is used extremely well. This was recognised in a national award given to the school for promoting high outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in 2015. Leaders know the pupils at the

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

school, and what they need, exceptionally well. They ensure that every opportunity is used and the impact analysed so that pupils make as much progress as they possibly can. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils can often make almost a year’s progress in less than a term.  The sports grant is also used very effectively. Pupils now have increased opportunities to access school sport. For example, they now do swimming lessons in Year 2 and there are more sporting clubs on offer. Staff have also received useful training to help them improve their own practice when teaching physical education. For example, leaders have bought into professional training opportunities established collaboratively with other schools in the Rushmoor locality group.  Middle leadership is very effective. The school has worked hard to develop strong processes through which staff can develop and build on their skills across the federation. This means that leaders often

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

identify staff who have leadership potential early in their careers. They give them opportunities to develop their skills in readiness to take over positions across the federation when they arise. Middle leaders regularly scrutinise work and lead training in their areas of responsibility. Opportunities across the federation are used to create specific subject teams. For example, the leaders for physical education and sport in each school regularly work together.  The governance of the school – Governors provide robust support and challenge to leaders. They also know the strengths and the few areas of improvement needed at the school because leaders provide regular and detailed information. Governors use this information exceptionally well to ask searching questions of leaders and insist on the highest standards. – Governors undertake a range of activities to ensure they can check what they are told by leaders for

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

themselves. For example, they regularly visit the school to review the progress being made against the areas for improvement from the school’s development plan. The Chair has brought about effective improvements to how the governing body carries out its functions. For example, all governors are expected to attend curriculum and standards meetings so that all governors are aware of how well pupils are doing and where further improvement is needed and why.  The arrangements for safeguarding are extremely effective and managed very well. There are clear lines of responsibility at the school so all staff know who to go to if they are concerned about the welfare of a pupil. There are appropriate arrangements to ensure that there is always a senior leader available to staff who has completed the designated safeguarding lead training, because all senior leaders have done the training. All staff are carefully checked for their suitability to work at the school and records are kept in a

p.4

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

way that meets statutory requirements.  Leaders, and in particular the assistant headteacher who is also the inclusion manager, work very effectively with other agencies. When necessary, they are willing to take tough decisions and tenaciously follow up with colleagues from other agencies if they have concerns. There are particularly strong relationships between school staff and parents. This helps ensure that the need to involve other agencies is much rarer than might be expected. Parents rightly trust the school to do all they can to promote the welfare of their families and children.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is highly effective. Teachers consistently convey the highest expectations for all pupils. They deliver the vision from leaders to provide inclusive, effective lessons that ensure all groups of pupils make rapid and sustained progress.  Strong relationships between staff and pupils make a significant contribution to provision. Staff know their pupils exceptionally well because their use of assessment is very well developed. Consequently, lessons are very well planned to ensure that pupils are given the opportunities they need to take the next steps in their learning. Teachers give pupils timely and useful advice about how they can improve their work. Pupils use this very well because they are really keen to please their teachers.  Pupils show excellent attitudes to their learning. Their level of engagement is exceptionally and consistently high because teachers make lessons engaging and fun. Pupils are encouraged to take as

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

much responsibility for themselves as they can. Consequently, they often develop excellent skills of independence which they use in their learning and in their play.  The quality of questioning is highly effective and precise. All staff, including support staff, help pupils to deepen their learning through careful, targeted questioning in lessons and in groups.  Reading is taught very well. Pupils benefit from a very comprehensive approach to the teaching of reading. This is reflected in the teaching of phonics (the link between letters and sounds) where teachers’ high expectations mean pupils often make very good progress in these lessons. The most-able pupils often have focused support from a teacher to extend and deepen their learning. This helps to ensure that they are enabled to deepen their inference and deduction skills and benefit from the challenge of other more-able pupils. Pupils enjoy what they are doing because reading activities are presented in a number

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

of ways. Every opportunity is taken to give pupils experiences that are rich in language. There is an expectation that pupils will only encounter texts of the highest quality to support this.  The teaching of writing is very well developed. Teachers ensure that the high-quality texts that pupils have studied for reading and in their topics are also used to model effective writing strategies for the pupils. Through the first-hand experiences that are given in the curriculum, pupils are given opportunities to write for a purpose and, whenever possible, to a real audience. Technical writing skills are also taught precisely.  The teaching of mathematics is highly effective. Teachers make excellent use of resources to help pupils develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. Pupils are given regular opportunities to explore mathematical ideas and explain their understanding which helps them to develop very good reasoning

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

skills. Teachers ensure that learning links to other parts of the curriculum exceptionally well and so pupils understand the relevance of what they are learning. There is very well-planned support and scaffolding for pupils who have special educational needs or disability. Most-able pupils are regularly given further challenge through additional opportunities provided on top of their normal mathematics lessons. All pupils, regardless of ability, have free access to mathematical resources, which means they master concepts and are very well prepared for the mathematics they will encounter in Key Stage 2.

p.4

Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils develop exceptionally positive attitudes to their learning. They are keen to do well and want to make a contribution to the school, the local community and as global citizens whenever the opportunity arises. Consequently, they feel they are valued members of their community and that they have the potential to make a difference.  The promotion of healthy lifestyles is very strong. The school benefits from a stimulating and varied outdoor environment where pupils play happily and well together. Leaders ensure that pupils are given extra opportunities to develop gross and fine motor control through physical development by using the range of resources they have to offer. Achievement in sport has been promoted through the ‘be the best you can be’ legacy developed by leaders following the London Olympics. This is best demonstrated in

p.5

Personal development and welfare

the annual sports day shared with the junior school of the federation at Aldershot’s military sports stadium.  Attendance has significantly improved and is well above the national average overall. All groups of pupils attend equally well.  Pupils speak very positively about the school. They believe it is a place where the teachers really care about them. They rightly believe they are kept safe. This view is also shared by their parents.  Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Leaders have established an open culture where people feel easily able to share concerns if they have them. This helps to ensure that everyone looks out for and after each other.

p.5

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils consistently demonstrate exceptionally positive attitudes to their learning.  Relationships are at the core of the community at the school. There are very strong relationships between staff and pupils, between staff, and, consequently, between the pupils themselves. Pupils rightly report that the teachers really help them with their learning and ensure that, on the rare occasions when pupils fall out, they are helped to sort things out effectively.  Leaders passionately promote inclusion. Through the skilled and dedicated work of the inclusion manager, pupils’ needs are met very well. There is clear evidence that the work of leaders with staff and families leads to the very few pupils who struggle to self-regulate improving their behaviour over time.  Pupils make an exceptional contribution to the school. They are delightful. They behave impeccably in

p.5

Behaviour

and around the school, including in their transitions, playtimes and lunchtimes.  Exclusions are exceptionally rare.

p.5

Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 Pupils make exceptional progress from their different starting points. Large proportions of pupils enter the school with skills that are much lower than you would typically expect for their age. Nevertheless, cohorts have consistently left the school attaining results that are at least in line with, or higher than, the national average. Results have continued on an upward trajectory for the last five years. Consequently, pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Pupils consistently leave the school having attained outcomes in reading that are significantly above the national average. They make extraordinary gains in their reading skills from the moment they join the school. They quickly learn their phonics skills and apply them to their reading in lessons and for pleasure. Many have made very strong progress by the time they do the Year 1 phonics screening test, but because

p.5

Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

some have progressed from very low starting points, they have not caught up to where they need to be in Year 1. This means results in the Year 1 screening test, although improving, have remained just below the national average. However, the effective delivery of phonics continues in Year 2 so that nearly all pupils have met the standard by the time they get to the end of Key Stage 1.  Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils often make rapid gains in their learning, including in writing. Pupils take great pride in their work and so their presentation is of a very high standard, particularly by the time they reach Year 2. The challenge that is given for the most-able pupils means that they often learn to write to a very high standard.  All groups of pupils make the same progress from their starting points. Boys do not attain as well as other groups in writing because they often enter the school with very poor language development and gross

p.5

Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

motor skills, which limits their fine motor skill development and the language they can draw on to write sentences. However, boys make rapid and sustained progress from the moment they start the school and current assessment information indicates that this year the gap will be considerably lessened if not closed.  The most-able pupils are consistently challenged in lessons across the school. They make very strong progress from their starting points and so they produce work of a very high standard by the time they leave the school. They also benefit from the rich language experiences they are given and use ambitious and lively words to make their writing exciting and interesting. They learn to love reading and can skilfully read between the lines of more complex texts. They apply what they have learned in a number of ways across the curriculum. For example, they apply their reasoning skills from mathematics when learning

p.6

Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

about the world around them in science and history.  Disadvantaged pupils make exceptional progress and rapidly close the gaps with their peers. In 2014, disadvantaged pupils at the school attained levels that were broadly in line with other pupils nationally. Their results were approximately a term behind their peers from the school. This gap widened in 2015 in writing and in mathematics, with disadvantaged pupils at the school attaining results that were approximately a term and a half behind others nationally. However, this group had a number of pupils who also had particular special educational needs. The school’s own analysis demonstrates that all these pupils made significant progress from their specific starting points. This is because there are a number of excellent initiatives to support disadvantaged pupils that have a marked impact on disadvantaged pupils’ progress.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability make equally strong progress from their starting

p.6

Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

points. Leaders set the standard by expecting pupils who have special educational needs or disability to make at least the same progress as their peers. Assessment information shows that this was achieved in 2015 and is likely to be achieved again this year.

p.6

Early years provision is outstanding

 Children make an excellent start and make exceptional progress in the early years. This is because the conditions for learning that have been established are highly effective. Children have access to the whole range of resources available at the setting. This is because, under the visionary leadership of the early years leader, all staff meticulously plan how every part of the environment will contribute to children’s learning to ensure that each classroom complements the others.  The leadership and management of the early years are excellent. The early years leader exudes great confidence and authority and leads the provision with vision and care. She has diligently ensured that the environment, both inside and outside, is very well designed to capture the imagination and interest of children. She has also rightly identified that some aspects of the outdoor environment could be even better. Staff are clear about the processes in the setting to keep pupils safe. The early years leader also

p.6

Early years provision is outstanding

ensures that every adult is seen equally by the children as a teacher. This means that every opportunity to support learning is utilised. Staff plan the learning for each week together. At these meetings, children’s progress is reviewed carefully and activities changed to ensure that pupils receive the right level of challenge to help them make even more progress.  Teaching in the early years is of an equally high standard as in the rest of the school. Teachers have very high expectations of the children. They encourage children to take calculated risks in their learning. This, along with the exceptional use of questioning and the degree to which language is promoted at every opportunity, ensures that children make significant gains in their skills and abilities. In 2015, the proportion of children who left the school with a good level of development was well above average, despite the low starting points of many of the children. This year the proportion is on target to be higher

p.6

Early years provision is outstanding

again and is likely to be significantly above the national average.  Children quickly learn the routines and expectations of the setting. They quickly show excellent attitudes to learning because of the skilled way in which they are supported by adults who work there. Exciting learning, based around stories and themes, means that children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted exceptionally well. These themes run seamlessly through all parts of the setting to ensure that when children choose their own activities, their learning remains relevant and purposeful. For example, children are currently learning about the traditional story of Three Billy Goats Gruff. Staff were seen using the story exceptionally well to help pupils develop language and broaden their vocabularies. For example, in one central area of the setting, children were guided by a teacher through their play about characterisation so that they could improve their own storytelling and writing. Other

p.6

Early years provision is outstanding

areas allowed children to explore the story further through their play, for example with small puppets, or by building bridges through construction.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 116234 Local authority Hampshire County Council Inspection number 10001345 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

p.8

School details

Type of school Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 4–8 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 264 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Collings Executive headteacher Clare de Sausmarez Telephone number 01252 323494 Website www.bellevue.hants.sch.uk Email address adminoffice@bellevue.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 September 2010

p.8

Information about this school

 Belle Vue Infant School is a larger-than-average-sized infant school with three classes in each year group from Reception to Year 2.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, which is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after, is below average.  The majority of pupils are White British. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language are much lower than the national averages.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is much higher than the national average.  All pupils in the early years attend full time.  The school is part of a ‘hard federation’ with Newport Junior School, which serves the same area of Aldershot. This means that both schools share the executive headteacher and a single governing body.

p.8

Information about this school

This arrangement was also in place at the time of the last inspection.

p.8

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 25 lessons across the school, five of which were seen jointly with a member of the senior leadership team. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and during lessons. They analysed records of pupils’ achievement, talked with a group of pupils from Year 2 and scrutinised information about their attendance.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body. Inspectors also met with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors looked closely at school documentation, including minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, the school improvement plan and assessment information about pupils’ achievement.  Inspectors took account of the 40 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and discussions with a range of parents at the beginning of the second day of the inspection. They also

p.9

Information about this inspection

reviewed the 19 responses to the staff questionnaire.

p.9

Inspection team

Matthew Barnes, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Rosemary Addison Ofsted Inspector Sue Child Ofsted Inspector Christopher Crouch Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-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 .

p.9

Inspection team

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.

p.10

Inspection team

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 .

p.10

Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.10

Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10