Glenfield Infant School

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

p.1

Mrs Dorricott and Ms Carrie Headteachers Glenfield Infant School Rossington Way Bitterne Southampton SO18 4RN

p.1

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 10 November 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 June 2012.

p.1

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

Leaders have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You both want the very best for the children in your care and you show pupils how to ‘be brilliant’ in the work you do. You have successfully managed significant staffing challenges and an increase in the number of pupils on roll, while keeping a sharp focus on the achievement of pupils. Staff enjoy working at the school and feel well supported. Parents describe the school as ‘amazing’ and how you and your staff are ‘warm and welcoming’ so that pupils get a strong start in their education.

p.1

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

You both manage the co-headteacher role well because both of you consistently model high expectations and use your different areas of expertise to motivate staff and pupils. You have also developed a wider leadership team which is making a difference to standards across the year groups, especially with those pupils who need to catch up. Leaders have taken difficult decisions when necessary so that teaching across the school is now more effective than in the past. You have improved the way you work with your local junior and pre-schools so that the transition for pupils is now very effective with parents saying that their children ‘settled in really well’. Consequently, you know the children well when they arrive and when they leave you they are well prepared for key stage 2. You have adroitly managed the transformation of the school into an academy. Leaders now work well in collaboration with staff from the Hamwic multi-academy

p.1

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

trust and other trust schools. Leaders make good use of the wide range of opportunities available to develop staff training as well as check that they are assessing pupils’ work accurately. The leaders of the multi-academy trust and other headteachers from the trust challenge you and your governors during regular reviews of the school. The multi-academy trust also provides useful advice and guidance on specific issues, such as support for disadvantaged pupils.

p.2

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

Staff are proud to work in the school and report that the school has improved since the last inspection. They feel well supported because there are good systems in place to share ideas and plan together. A number of staff train to teach in the school. Many of these then join and remain at the school because they value the advice and guidance they receive. The systems to reward performance are fair and stringent. There are also good links with local universities and the local teaching school so that staff take up the many opportunities for further training and development.

p.2

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

You have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection effectively. In 2015, the proportion of most-able pupils exceeding the standards expected in mathematics was higher than the national average. You have developed an innovative way of assessing pupils’ progress. Pupils use the writing and mathematics checklists well so they know what they need to improve on and what they can now do. This is especially the case in Year 1, where the use of symbols helps pupils make rapid progress in their writing and in mathematics.

p.2

Short inspection of Glenfield Infant School

There are suitable systems in place to check on the recruitment of staff. Both the governors and representatives of the multi-academy trust regularly scrutinise school practices by regularly checking the work of leaders and the systems in use. Those staff with additional responsibilities are appropriately trained and leaders ensure that all staff receive regular updates as well as useful information. Leaders make good use of specialist multi-academy trust staff as well as local agencies to ensure that children and their families receive the best advice, care and guidance. Consequently, pupils are very well supported and parents reported that their children are safe and well cared for.

p.2

Inspection findings

 Leaders evaluate the school well and they are well supported by the leadership of the multi-academy trust, which regularly reviews aspects that require further attention. Consequently, the plans to address areas of weakness are well focused and reviewed frequently. As a result, leaders are clear that some areas, such as improving the quality of writing and developing mastery in mathematics, require additional focus.  Leaders have not been complacent. They have managed the changes to the new curriculum and tests effectively. Leaders have adapted their approach in the light of disappointing results in 2016 because they recognise that pupils need sharply targeted teaching that better matches their starting points. The inspector saw evidence of these new strategies across all year groups, but especially in Year 1 and in Reception.  Governors are committed and knowledgeable about the school. They regularly

p.2

Inspection findings

check on the work of leaders and challenge them appropriately when required. They use their expertise well to support the school and when necessary seek advice from the multi-academy trust. They have an increasingly detailed overview of the effectiveness of additional funding but need to ensure that they keep a closer eye on the progress of pupils in key stage 1 who exceed expected standards at the end of Reception.  You use your assessment system effectively. You regularly check with other schools that your approaches are rigorous so that the information to hand is accurate and useful. The recently appointed special educational needs coordinator is making especially good use of the information to plan additional intervention for pupils in key stage 1 who need support to catch up. Parents are very supportive of this work, reporting that leaders moved swiftly to provide extra help for those who needed it.

p.3

Inspection findings

 The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics was in line with the national average in 2016. Pupils make especially good progress in reading because leaders have established successful school-wide systems to raise standards. Pupils read every day and there is good support for parents to ensure that pupils read regularly at home. Pupils enjoy reading and are enthusiastic about the approaches the school uses, such as ‘Fern the fairy’ to promote reading.  Fewer than you expected of the most able pupils exceeded standards in mathematics in 2016, following significant success in 2015. You have ensured that staff have the right training and made this a priority area for all teachers to work on. As a result, teachers are using new approaches like ‘captain conjecture’ to develop pupils’ reasoning, problem solving and practical application of mathematics. Consequently, the most able pupils are making better progress

p.3

Inspection findings

than previously although you recognise that some most able pupils in Year 2 are currently not on track to exceed the expected standards.  In 2016, pupils’ attainment in writing was broadly in line with the national average. However, disadvantaged pupils performed well below what you were expecting. Evidence from books shows that this is no longer the case, with the majority of disadvantaged pupils writing at a similar standard to others. This is especially the case in Year 1 and Reception, where there is very effective teaching such as ‘Jedi writing’ that meets disadvantaged pupils’ needs well. However, the most able disadvantaged pupils require further support, especially in Year 2, to ensure that they can exceed the expected standards and make the same progress as other pupils with the same starting points.  The teaching of phonics is well developed because staff are well trained, the resources are used appropriately and there are good links between the school’s

p.3

Inspection findings

approach to phonics and wider reading. As a result in 2016, more pupils achieved the expected standard in phonics, well above the national average. This was also true for disadvantaged pupils and boys, many more of whom met the expected standard than in the past.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. There are good systems in place to support them, including a nurture group where adults work well together to help these pupils learn. Leaders have aptly adapted the assessment system so that planning is more effective and as a result these pupils are making steady progress from their starting points.  The provision for children in the early years is very strong. Leaders have developed a rich and varied environment which teachers use well to support children’s learning. The teaching is exciting, develops children’s interests and there are many opportunities for children to develop reading and writing skills

p.4

Inspection findings

such as ‘dough gym’. Teachers regularly check children’s progress against the key skills and use assessment meticulously to identify those children who need extra help to catch up. Consequently, children in the Reception make strong progress from their lower starting points and achieve in line with the national average. However, leaders recognise that the outdoor spaces need updating so that these areas engage and encourage children, especially boys, to develop their language skills more effectively.  Pupils enjoy learning across the school, they listen attentively and are keen to try new activities out. They reported that they particularly enjoy learning outside when they take part in ‘welly walks’.  In the past, disadvantaged pupils did not attend as well as other pupils. This is no longer the case as the attendance of disadvantaged pupils has improved and is currently close to the national average. Leaders have worked particularly well

p.4

Inspection findings

with the trust-wide family support worker to ensure that pupils are well prepared for school.  Pupils work well together and try their best. They are knowledgeable about risks in the wider world and can describe how to keep safe crossing the road or on Bonfire Night.

p.4

Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that they:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 further develop the proportion of pupils, especially the most able disadvantaged, exceeding the expected standards in writing  refine teachers’ approaches to planning in mathematics so that teachers use the most effective approaches consistently so that more pupils exceed the expected standard by the end of Year 2. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner, the chief executive of the Hamwic Trust and the director of children’s services for Southampton City Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.4

Information about the inspection

For this inspection of a previously good school, I focused on the quality of safeguarding, actions taken since the previous inspection, the progress of disadvantaged pupils, the quality of teaching of reading, mathematics and writing, the progress of the most able and the impact of leadership in the school. I visited the school for one day. I met with you, your leaders, staff and governors as well as with a representative of the multi-academy trust. Policies around safeguarding, your own evaluation of the school’s work and other documents were scrutinised. I visited all year groups to see teaching and learning. There were informal meetings with pupils, as well as listening to Year 2 pupils read. I also looked at pupils’ work in lessons with leaders, as well as a selection of disadvantaged pupils’ writing books from Year 2. The 52 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, the 25 responses from staff and the 21 responses from pupils to the online Ofsted survey,

p.5

Information about the inspection

were also analysed. I also took into account the views of parents whom I spoke to informally at the end of the school day.

p.5