Kiveton Park Infant School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Andrew Krabbendam Executive headteacher Kiveton Park Infant School Station Road Kiveton Park Sheffield South Yorkshire S26 6QP

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 28 June 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 November 2010.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

The leadership team has maintained and built on the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Parents surveyed during the inspection were overwhelmingly positive about their children’s school experiences. They praised leaders and teachers, the friendly atmosphere and effective communication.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

Since your appointment in 2012, you have introduced rigorous systems for checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. You have prioritised the development of senior and middle leaders. These actions enable you to fulfil a strategic role as the executive headteacher of two schools, while maintaining standards and securing further improvement at Kiveton Park.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

The last inspection identified three areas for improvement. The first was to ensure that all teaching is consistently good. The quality of teaching across the school is indeed consistently strong because teachers understand what pupils already know and can do, so set work that moves pupils on in their learning. However, teachers could challenge the most able pupils even further. Inspectors identified the need to develop the role of middle leaders in checking on the quality of teaching. Middle leaders, under your direction and with the assistance of the head of school, are keeping a sharp eye on aspects of teaching that can be further improved.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

The second area for improvement identified at the last inspection was to develop the curriculum to enrich the pupils’ experience. The curriculum has improved greatly in its breadth and balance. Pupils enjoy learning across the full range of national curriculum subjects. In addition, pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities, including regular visits to places of interest to broaden their experience. The breadth of the curriculum and the good work pupils produce are evident in the stimulating, well cared for environment.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

The final area inspectors identified for improvement was to develop the role of the governing body. Governance is strong. Collectively, governors have a broad range of appropriate skills and experience that helps them to fulfil their duties. They ask challenging questions to hold leaders to account.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

Leadership and governance could be further improved by ensuring that you include more precise milestone measures of success in the strategic plan, to help governors concentrate more sharply on the impact of leaders’ actions.

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Short inspection of Kiveton Park Infant School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed and of high quality. Leaders carry out checks prior to adults working or volunteering in school, to make sure that the adults are suitable to work with children. Staff know what to do when they have concerns that a child is, or may be, at risk of harm. They are diligent in reporting their concerns. Leaders make referrals to appropriate agencies where necessary and follow them up to make sure that timely action is taken. You have worked with contractors to ensure that pupils are safe from harm while the current building work takes place on the school site.

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Inspection findings

 You have trained and coached senior and middle leaders, involving them in checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. You and other leaders have a complete picture of the strengths and areas for development in each teacher’s practice, based on the checks leaders carry out. This has enabled you to provide the right training for teachers and to set challenging targets for them to reach. Middle leaders are becoming more independent in their responsibilities, allowing you to concentrate on leading both of the schools for which you are responsible.

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Inspection findings

 All pupils make at least expected progress. Last year, about a quarter of pupils by the end of Year 2 made greater than expected progress in their learning from their starting points at the end of the early years. This represents good progress. Pupils currently in the school also continue to make at least good progress. Most pupils, by the time they leave the school, reach at least the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, preparing them well for junior school.

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Inspection findings

 The percentage of pupils reaching above expected standards in 2015 was a little above the national average in reading and mathematics and more significantly so in writing. There is scope for challenging the most able pupils further, so even more of them reach the highest standards.

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Inspection findings

 It is the good and better teaching that brings about the strong progress of pupils. Teachers make effective use of assessment information to pitch learning appropriately to the needs of pupils. Teachers and teaching assistants know what sorts of questions to ask to probe pupils’ learning and help them to explain their thinking.

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Inspection findings

 The new assessment system you have devised with other leaders allows leaders to monitor the progress of every pupil, and groups of pupils, and to identify those at risk of underachievement. Middle leaders ensure that these pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the teaching they need, helping them to make good progress.

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Inspection findings

 Provision for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is very effective. A particularly successful strategy provides identified pupils with additional teaching sessions to address small gaps in learning that become evident in a particular lesson or sequence of lessons. Because of this responsive work and other strategies, there is no gap in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and others by the end of Year 2.

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Inspection findings

 The teaching of early reading is effective, so that the proportion of pupils meeting the required standard by the end of Year 1 is above average. Pupils confidently have a go at reading and spelling words they do not know. A strong focus on basic handwriting, spelling and making sentences helps pupils to write accurately and to develop fluency in their writing from an early stage. The systematic teaching of reading, writing and mathematics in the early years helps most pupils to reach a good level of development by the time they move to Year 1.

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Inspection findings

 In the early years, most children make good progress from starting points that range from typical to below those that are usual for their age. The percentage of children reaching a good level of development by the time they enter Year 1 is broadly average, and about a quarter of children exceed their early learning goals in reading, writing and numeracy. The gap in achievement between children in the early years known to be eligible for free school meals and other children remains, but has narrowed this year.

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Inspection findings

 Teachers enhance pupils’ learning about the world in which they live through regular visits to places of interest, for example to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Withernsea lighthouse. Visitors to school also broaden pupils’ horizons, for example by introducing pupils to samba dancing and African drumming. Pupils also benefit from a variety of after-school clubs such as cricket, street dance, martial arts, zumba, cheerleading, and a glee club.

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Inspection findings

 The curriculum is preparing pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils have a good age-appropriate understanding about individual liberty, and respect and tolerance for diversity. One pupil astutely said, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Pupils’ cultural development is enhanced through such activities as the recent cultural week.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They play energetically but safely in the playground and on the school field. They cooperate well with each other.

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Inspection findings

 Attendance dipped in 2015 but has risen again to near the national average. The number of pupils who are persistently absent is very low.

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Inspection findings

 The local authority has provided helpful support by facilitating peer review work with local schools, and a local authority adviser works to ensure that this work provides challenge. The local authority has wisely engaged your expertise to support other schools.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:  the most able pupils are challenged even further so more of them make greater than expected progress to achieve above average standards

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Next steps for the school

 strategic plans are sharpened so that governors and leaders are clearer about whether actions are having the required impact.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the director of children’s services for Rotherham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I discussed aspects of the school’s work with you, the head of school and a group of middle leaders. I also held meetings with several members of the governing body and a local authority representative. I briefly visited each class with the head of school to observe pupils’ learning, and we looked at a sample of pupils’ workbooks together. I informally met with parents and considered a few responses of parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I listened to what pupils had to say about what it is like to be a child in the school, and briefly observed them during break and lunch times. I scrutinised a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation document, the school development plan and minutes of governing body meetings. I also examined information about pupils’ achievement.

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