Cavendish Close Infant School

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

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Mrs Jane Brandon Headteacher Cavendish Close Infant School Wood Road Chaddesden Derby Derbyshire DE21 4LY

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 23 February 2017, 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 December 2012.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You, together with governors, have identified areas for improvement and strengthened the quality of teaching. You recognise the experience and expertise within the staff and include all in the school’s aims.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

Pupils enjoy learning in an inviting school environment. You and other staff know pupils well. You provide effective pastoral care to those who need it, including pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. During my visit, I saw examples of individuals and small groups of pupils receiving extra support to promote their social development and to build basic skills, including in speech and language. In the lessons that we visited, pupils were very keen to talk about their work and I saw examples of writing and mathematics in pupils’ books that showed pupils make good progress.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

You and other staff have raised the profile of reading and established a consistent approach to teaching. Comfortable and well-stocked areas in all classes promote the enjoyment of reading. Pupils like the incentives to read regularly, including the ‘Reading Rainbow’. When I listened to pupils read, they told me that they like the stories and books on offer. Lower-ability pupils use what they learn in phonics well to tackle new words. They talk about the characters in their reading books. The most able pupils know about popular authors. They read with expression and understand plots and storylines well. The school’s information shows that standards in the current Year 2 are higher than previously. A much bigger proportion of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are on track to reach the expected standards than in 2016.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

You, senior leaders and staff ensure that early years provision continues to improve. Stronger achievement year on year means that children are much better prepared for their learning in key stage 1 than they were previously. This is having a positive effect on raising standards throughout the school.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

Standards in phonics are rising because there is a whole-school approach to the teaching of phonics. Disadvantaged and lower-ability pupils make good progress because of the tasks they receive. For example, during my visit, pupils explained how they identify ‘real’ words and nonsense words. They sounded out simple basic words and put them into sentences.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

Your perseverance is improving attendance overall and reducing the number of pupils who stay away frequently. Pupils are keen to gain the school’s rewards for coming to school regularly. You convey a clear message to parents about your expectation of good attendance. This is particularly effective when children start in the early years, where attendance is now above average. However, not all parents have yet understood the link between good attendance and good achievement.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

As a result of an in-school review of the effectiveness of the pupil premium funding, you have an increased focus on accelerating the progress made by disadvantaged pupils. You now clearly identify these pupils and have put in place a programme of regular extra support, which is having a positive effect on raising attainment. Leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching are not yet fully effective, however, in helping teachers to improve their practice when teaching this particular group of pupils.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

Since the previous inspection, you have tackled the areas for development well. You have strengthened middle and subject leadership. Leaders have various ways to check the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning. You organise classes carefully to take account of pupils’ ages and abilities, which aids their personal and academic development because work is well matched to their needs, including lower-ability pupils and the most able.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

You and other senior leaders have established effective systems to check pupils’ progress. You ensure that the information is used well to help teachers to recognise what targets pupils should work towards. Your tracking of pupils’ progress leads to quick identification of those who need extra support. From this information, you have identified that mathematics remains an area for further development. Older pupils are beginning to apply their skills in a range of ways but there is some way to go to ensure that pupils deepen their mathematical understanding.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

You and the designated leaders make the safety of pupils the responsibility of all adults in the school. Staff receive relevant training so that they know how to keep pupils safe. You check their understanding of the school’s policies and procedures. You expect staff to update leaders frequently on children’s welfare. Systems to vet adults who work with children are thorough and well maintained. You work well with external agencies should any child protection concerns arise and you keep detailed records. You understand any circumstances which might make pupils more vulnerable and you maintain good links with families.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

You make sure that parents understand the school’s arrangements, for example when collecting children at the end of the school day. Staff who run the after-school provision work in partnership with parents so that arrangements for keeping children safe are clear. All of the parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, agree that children feel safe. This is consistent with the findings of the school’s most recent questionnaire to parents.

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Short inspection of Cavendish Close Infant School

You make good use of visitors, such as the local police force, to teach pupils about staying safe, including when using technology and the internet. In this way, pupils receive suitable guidance on how to recognise potential risks. Pupils behave safely around school and conform to the school’s ethos of ‘kind hands, kind feet.’ Strategies to prevent bullying are promoted through assemblies and in lessons. Incidents of bullying are rare but any that do occur are logged and followed up. Teachers and staff maintain detailed records of any incidents of inappropriate behaviour that may arise.

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Inspection findings

 Attendance is improving. Senior leaders and other staff check pupils’ attendance regularly and identify any patterns in the absence of particular groups of pupils. They work well with external services and parents to promote good attendance. There is marked improvement over time for individuals and groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils. However, not all parents are yet fully supportive of the school’s efforts.  In 2016, by the end of Year 2, the percentage of pupils, including the most able and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who reached greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics was close to or above national figures. This represents good progress from their starting points.  Lower-ability pupils, however, including some who are disadvantaged, did not make good progress in these subjects. This was due to some variation in the quality of teaching which meant that these pupils did not receive the extra help

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Inspection findings

they needed to catch up.  This is now being tackled well. Improvements in the achievement of children in the early years are built upon effectively. Early identification of pupils’ needs leads to effective extra support. As a result, pupils who need to catch up as they move through key stage 1 are now receiving more help than previously. Consequently, these pupils are reaching higher standards in phonics, reading and writing.  In mathematics, lower-ability pupils receive tasks and resources to help them to build their skills in number and calculation. Standards in mathematics are rising but standards are not yet as high as in reading and writing because tasks do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to use what they know in a variety of contexts.  Pupils who need to catch up make the best progress when they work in small groups to boost their basic skills. Leaders evaluate the effect of this learning on

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Inspection findings

pupils’ achievement and note that pupils make better progress. Leaders are not yet at the stage of assessing how well teachers build upon what pupils have learned in these groups when they return to their lessons.  The provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. They are supported well. They make small steps in their learning and good progress in line with their capabilities. The school has strong links with their parents and external services. Pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties make good progress in language development as they move through the school as the result of well-placed extra help.

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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

 they extend the school’s work to promote good attendance so that all parents are helped to see how it aids their children’s learning  teachers build on what disadvantaged pupils have already learned so that they can diminish differences in performance between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates  teachers provide more opportunities in mathematics for pupils to use their skills in a variety of contexts so that they deepen their understanding.

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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 Derby. 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 other senior leaders, including the leader responsible for the provision of special educational needs. I also met the chair of the governing body along with two other governors. I visited some classes with either you or the deputy headteacher to observe the teaching of phonics, English and mathematics. I spoke with pupils during lessons about their work and looked at their books. I listened to some pupils read. I scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and its improvement plan. I discussed the school’s information about pupils’ attainment, progress and attendance with leaders. I took into account the 25 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the results of a questionnaire for parents carried out by the school. I scrutinised a range of documentation relating to safeguarding.

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