Westfields Infant School

Westfields Infant School School Lane, Yateley, Hampshire GU46 6NN

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher and other leaders have addressed ‘head on’ the issues identified at the previous inspection. The school has made rapid improvements and outcomes at the end of Year 2 are significantly above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.  Throughout the school pupils make good progress. Above-average proportions of pupils achieve well in the Year 1 phonics reading check.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Teachers use assessment information carefully to plan interesting and exciting work.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. In lessons and at play they conduct themselves in an exemplary way. Attendance is above the national average.  Pupils say they are safe and happy at school. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive. They say their children are confident and secure. Parents like the frequent opportunities they have to speak to staff.  The early years provision is good. Children are

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This is a good school

eager to learn as soon as they start school. A higher proportion than the national average reach a good level of development.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Pupils have a good understanding of British values.  Governors rigorously hold the school to account regarding the quality of teaching and the outcomes of pupils.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not ensure that the most-able pupils are stretched consistently to make the best possible progress.  In the early years, checks on children’s progress are not regular enough. As a result teachers do not have sufficient information to make sure they consistently set challenging work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning to outstanding by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

ensuring the most-able pupils are consistently stretched to make the best possible progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further strengthen leadership and management in the early years by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

making sure there are regular checks on children’s progress which will enable teachers to have the right information to consistently set challenging work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher has brought the senior leadership team together in a cohesive way. Issues identified at the previous inspection have been addressed ‘head on’ by her. As a result the school has made the rapid improvements needed to be good. Governors praise the headteacher’s leadership and appreciate the detailed and accurate information the school provides. This information enables governors to fulfil their functions effectively.  Leaders and governors clearly understand the school’s many strengths and also the issues that still need to be addressed in order to become outstanding. All staff who responded to the questionnaire considered that the school has improved a lot since the time of the last inspection.  Parents are very enthusiastic about the school’s leadership and 97% would recommend the school to another parent. They particularly like being able to have discussions with staff, including the headteacher,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

at the beginning and end of the day. However, a few parents did express concerns about whether the most-able children were being challenged enough.  Leaders and teachers have invested a lot of time in developing a curriculum that provides a broad range of interesting opportunities that enable pupils to make good progress. Extra-curricular activities, visits and visitors all add to the large range of experiences pupils enjoy. Pupils develop a good understanding of artistic styles. They practise drawing and painting using the same techniques as classical artists. Pupils are given a good awareness of music. They talk excitedly about their experiences of playing different instruments as well as the visits by string quartets. The whole-school history days are greatly enjoyed by all. Pupils wrote moving accounts of life in Victorian Britain after teachers and pupils dressed up and enacted the experiences pupils would have had in those times. Pupils said that ‘Our teachers really

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

brought the subject to life.’  Pupils develop a good understanding of spiritual and moral issues. They are often encouraged to think about right and wrong actions. Social skills are carefully developed through events such as MAGS. This is when mothers, aunts and grandmothers visit and work with the pupils to create craft work. Pupils develop a good cultural awareness and British values are woven through the curriculum. All pupils display tolerance and respect for people of different faiths. They are knowledgeable about world religions, foods and customs. During the inspection an assembly gave pupils a good understanding of what it was like to live in some of the poorest parts of Bangladesh.  The additional funding the school receives for disadvantaged pupils is well used. It supports both personal and academic needs, allowing pupils to make accelerated progress from their starting points.  Teaching staff are well motivated. All are keen to continue to improve their teaching skills so that they

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

develop outstanding provision. Staff benefit from extensive training opportunities which they put to good use in the classroom. Those who have responsibility for English and mathematics demonstrate a clear awareness of the standards and progress of pupils within their areas of responsibility.  The primary physical education and sport premium is used effectively. Staff have benefited from additional training and as a result have become more confident in teaching physical education. Initiatives such as the athletics programme and intra-sports competitions have had a good impact on pupils’ well- being and physical development. During the inspection pupils were seen to be enjoying the judo club, which helped to improve both balance and coordination skills.  The local authority has provided effective support to leaders and governors during the school’s journey to good. Regular visits have enabled leaders to continually focus on the right priorities for school

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

improvement.  The governance of the school Governors have a good awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have high aspirations for the future and want pupils at this school to receive the very best education. Governors have an accurate and realistic view of the school’s performance. They are well trained. They follow rigorous procedures for managing the performance of staff and hold senior leaders to account for the quality of teaching and progress of all pupils. Financial resources are well managed. Pupil premium funding is used effectively to make sure that there are good outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Record-keeping is thorough and effective. Training in safer recruitment and child protection is up to date. The school has robust procedures in place to ensure that vulnerable pupils are protected. Risk assessments for trips and visits are thorough. All parents who

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

responded to the questionnaire Parent View considered that their children felt safe at the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection and is now good. Reading, writing and mathematical skills are taught effectively by dedicated teachers who plan interesting learning experiences.  Teaching is not outstanding because the most-able pupils are not consistently stretched in lessons to make the best possible progress.  Skills in reading are carefully developed. Pupils are given effective strategies to sound out any words that they find difficult to read. The school is determined to provide pupils with every chance to read. For example, the outside environment has covered areas and comfortable seats where pupils can quietly settle down with a book. Good use is made of volunteers, including parents and grandparents, who listen to pupils reading on a regular basis. Exciting visits from a range of authors, and even a listening dog, help pupils develop a real love of reading.  Pupils make good progress in handwriting because teachers give children from the youngest age lots of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

opportunities for mark-making. As pupils move through the school they write extensively across all subjects of the curriculum. Pupils are eager to please their teachers, who constantly encourage them to try their best in writing. By Year 2, pupils are creating lengthy poems containing similes such as ‘the sky is as dark as soot’.  Teachers’ subject knowledge in mathematics is good. Pupils are provided with a good range of resources which help them to really understand concepts such as addition and subtraction. Pupils’ books clearly show that they have plenty of opportunities to deepen their understanding through problem solving.  The school’s marking and assessment policies are consistently applied and have a positive impact on pupils’ learning. As a result pupils know what they have done well and what they could improve on. When talking with inspectors, pupils showed many examples of work that they were proud of in their books.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Learning support assistants provide effective help to those with special educational needs or disability. Good use is made of a range of external agencies to ensure that every need is carefully met.  Parents play a helpful role in enabling pupils to make good progress. They receive useful advice from teachers about how they can support their child’s learning at home. Parents regularly test their children’s knowledge of multiplication and skills in spelling. Reading diaries show that the majority of parents regularly read with their children at home.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are confident and self-assured. Almost all pupils who responded to the pupil questionnaire felt that the school encouraged them to be independent and take on responsibilities.  As they move through the school pupils become more aware of the consequences of their own actions. In assemblies, they frequently consider the school’s ‘Golden Rules’, which include values such as kindness, honesty and helpfulness.  At lunchtimes pupils show a good understanding of healthy eating. They know that eating foods that contain too much sugar is bad for them. The school encourages pupils to eat more vegetables, including giving each pupil a broad bean seed to plant and tend. Pupils are therefore aware of the time and effort needed to grow a plant successfully. Every class has a small dedicated allotment and staff and pupils alike

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Personal development and welfare

are keen to decide which vegetables they want to grow and eat later this year.  Pupils say that there are hardly ever any incidents of bullying and they know that their teachers would quickly sort out any problems.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Staff have the highest expectations regarding behaviour and pupils rapidly understand exactly what is expected of them.  Around the school, pupils conduct themselves in an exemplary way; they display admirable self-discipline. In the cloakrooms pupils pick up coats that have fallen on the floor. This is because they are keen to gain the weekly class prize for the tidiest cloakroom. In the playground all pupils were seen to be playing happily together.  In classrooms lessons proceed smoothly. Pupils are industrious, and they work well with each other. There is no squabbling over sharing resources; pupils simply wait for their turn. Books are very well presented and pupils take pride in the quality of their work.  Relationships in the school are nurturing and support pupils’ academic success. Teachers encourage pupils to be effective learners and pupils work hard because they are very keen to please their teachers.

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Behaviour

 Levels of attendance are above national averages and continue to improve. Rates of persistent absence are very low.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 has improved since the last inspection. For the last two years standards have been significantly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils leave Westfields Infant School well equipped to enter the next stage of their education.  Observations of learning and school assessment information show that current pupils are also making good progress and are on track to maintain the high standards of previous years.  In 2015, a higher proportion of pupils than the national average reached the expected standard in the phonics reading check in Year 1. In the Year 2 re-check last year all pupils made the expected standard.  The proportions of pupils who reached the higher Level 3 in 2015 were above national averages in reading and mathematics and in line with national averages in writing. However, the school recognises that it could challenge the most-able pupils even further to ensure that they make the best possible progress.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils who have special educational needs or disability make good progress from their starting points. Parents are very pleased with the support their children receive from learning support assistants both in class and during dedicated sessions out of class.  Those pupils who are eligible for support through the pupil premium funding make good progress, because of the effective support that is targeted to meet their needs. Last year disadvantaged pupils performed better than the national average for all pupils in reading and mathematics in Key Stage 1. Within the school, gaps are very small when compared to their classmates. In some subjects, particularly reading, they make better progress than their classmates.  Pupils who are lower attaining are quickly identified and are given additional support. This enables them to make the same good progress as their peers.

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Early years provision is good

 Parents are very positive about the early years. There are frequent opportunities for children to experience the Reception classes before starting school and welcome packs provide parents with detailed and useful information. As a result, when children formally start school they settle quickly and get off to a flying start. Parents are fully involved in their child’s learning. There are numerous opportunities for them to share aspects of their child’s development.  Children enter the Reception classes with skills and abilities that are above those typical for their age. They make good progress and a higher proportion than found nationally reach a good level of development. As a consequence they are very well prepared for their learning in Year 1.  Additional funding is used effectively to close any gaps for those children who are disadvantaged. They receive effective help which enables them to make similar progress to their classmates.

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Early years provision is good

 Teachers ensure that children experience a range of enjoyable activities, which enable them to make good progress in all areas of learning.  The large, well-designed outdoor area has been greatly improved since the previous inspection. Children have the opportunity to experience a range of practical activities such as going on welly walks or mixing soil and water in the mud kitchen. Children were seen to be developing their writing skills effectively in the ‘fairy-tale workshop’.  Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is carefully planned for. At the time of the inspection children were fascinated with the hatching chicks in an incubator. Experiences such as these give children a deeper insight into the natural world. One child echoed the views of many when they asked, ‘when do the chicks actually come alive, because if they were alive in the egg they wouldn’t be able to breathe?’

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Early years provision is good

 Children behave well in the early years. They take turns when playing and listen carefully to the teacher when she is speaking. Parents say that their children are well cared for and safe. Effective links have been developed with a range of outside agencies to help any child who needs additional support.  The early years leader ensures that all staff in the early years work well together. The early years action plan is detailed and accurate. Leaders have already identified that in order for children to do their best, checks on progress need to be more regular. This would then ensure that staff had sufficient information to always set challenging work. This is why the early years is not outstanding.

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School details

Unique reference number 115994 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10002375

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School details

This inspection 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 256 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jeff Jackson Headteacher Janette Teague Telephone number 01252 873603 Website westfields-inf.co.uk Email address admin@westfields-inf.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 27−28 November 2013

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Information about this school

 Westfield Infant School is a little smaller than the average for a primary school.  Children in the early years are taught in three full-time Reception classes.  A very large majority of the pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is much lower than that found in most schools. The pupil premium is additional funding provided by the government for those pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years, pupils who have been looked after continuously for one day or more and those pupils who have been adopted from care.  The proportion of pupils with disability and those who have special educational needs is lower than the national average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. There were 19 lessons and part lessons visited, many of which were observed jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils and inspectors looked at work in books and listened to some pupils reading in Years 1 and 2. Inspectors considered the 34 responses to the online pupil questionnaire. There were also informal discussions with pupils at breaktime regarding what it was like to be a pupil at this school.  Inspectors took account of 62 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire and also spoke to parents at the end of the school day.  The views expressed by members of staff in both the 10 paper and 18 online questionnaires were considered.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation and policies including the school improvement plan. Information about the performance of the school in comparison with other schools nationally was

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Information about this inspection

considered, along with documents about pupils’ current attainment and progress. Documents checking the quality of teaching and learning and records relating to behaviour, attendance, child protection and safeguarding were also examined.

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Inspection team

Liz Bowes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Hilary Goddard Ofsted Inspector Darren Aisthorpe 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 .

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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.

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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

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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,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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