William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

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

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Mrs Sally Beardsley William Lilley Infant and Nursery School Halls Road Stapleford Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG9 7FS

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 23 March 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 May 2013.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

You and the leadership team, including governors, have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have built a committed team that works together effectively to support pupils’ well-being and learning. The friendly, caring ethos ensures that pupils enjoy coming to school. The curriculum is based on lively themes that interest pupils and make learning fun. You also provide a range of opportunities for parents to find out more about their children’s learning, so they can get involved in school or help at home. For example, the open morning for mathematics that took place during the inspection was well attended and some parents told me they find this type of presentation helpful in finding out more about how their children learn.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

There is a clear focus on ensuring that pupils make good progress during their time at the school. You have made sure that there are good training and professional development opportunities for teachers and other staff. As a result, there is now a more consistent approach to teaching and this is leading to improved outcomes for pupils.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Pupils’ behaviour is good, both in lessons and at other times of the school day. As a result, there are very few recorded incidents of poor or unacceptable behaviour. There are clear and consistent expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils enjoy earning ‘proud points’ as a reward for good attitudes.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Attendance is slightly below the national average. There are a number of pupils who do not attend as regularly as they should. You make sure all absences are followed up thoroughly and provide support to families where pupils need to improve their attendance. This is leading to a steady reduction in persistent absence.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

At the last inspection, an area for improvement was to develop the roles of subject leaders. You have made sure that all leaders have been involved in developing the school improvement plan and have specific areas they are responsible for. Middle leaders now carry out monitoring activities and report their findings to colleagues and governors. They also work with senior leaders to develop plans to improve the school’s performance.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Since the last inspection, there have been some significant staffing changes relating to the leadership of the school. Consequently, there has been a period of time where the momentum for improvement has faltered. This resulted in a dip in the end of year assessments in 2016. Since becoming the substantive headteacher, you have identified where improvements are needed and have set about implementing plans to bring about changes and secure better rates of progress for pupils.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Although recent improvement is evident in the progress being made by pupils, you recognise that new strategies need to be embedded, and you are monitoring both teaching and learning closely to ensure that improvements are sustained and built upon. For example, the recent focus on the teaching of phonics has led to rapid improvement in pupils’ knowledge, but there is still work to do to ensure that pupils use these skills and knowledge effectively in their reading and writing.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

The safety and well-being of pupils and their families is a high priority for all staff and governors at the school. There are clear procedures for raising concerns and these are followed up thoroughly. Staff have attended training and receive regular updates from the headteacher to ensure that they know about the most recent guidance. Staff know the children very well and are vigilant in monitoring any minor incidents or concerns so they do not escalate.

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Short inspection of William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and your records are detailed and of a high quality. You and the governors carry out regular monitoring to ensure that your arrangements meet requirements.

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Inspection findings

 Since becoming the substantive headteacher, you have strengthened the leadership capacity within the school. You and your senior leaders have set high expectations for the quality of work and outcomes in the school. This is demonstrated by the way pupil progress data is gathered, evaluated and shared between all staff and is then compared to the targets you have set. Strategies to improve progress are continually reviewed and, where appropriate, revised.  You have ensured that all leaders have the training they need to carry out their responsibilities and you hold them to account for their work. You monitor the quality of teaching and learning regularly and challenge all staff to improve and hone their skills further. Middle leaders now play a greater part in driving improvement. They have good knowledge of their area of responsibility and regularly carry out monitoring activities and report on findings. They feed back to

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Inspection findings

colleagues and provide support where needed.  The governing body has a wide range of experience and valuable skills that the school can draw on. They provide both challenge and support for you and your team. The governors’ monitoring group reviews the work of the school regularly and works with different leaders as it does so. For example, governors have worked with the literacy subject leader recently to monitor the progress being made by pupils in phonics and writing.  The school has entered into a formal collaboration with Banks Road Infants School. This has provided new opportunities for staff to work with colleagues from another school, so that they can reflect on their own work, moderate pupils’ work and share different ideas and strategies.  The school’s work to promote engagement with parents is effective. Parents are very supportive of the school and say it is a safe and happy place their children

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Inspection findings

enjoy attending. They appreciate the opportunities provided to enable them to be involved in their children’s learning, such as coming into the classroom and reading with their children at the beginning of the school day. I spoke to a number of parents during the inspection and they were keen to praise the staff. For example, one parent was ‘hugely impressed with the level of care and attention’ provided by the school.  Support for vulnerable pupils is closely focused on the individual needs of the pupils and their families. Additional funding is spent effectively on a wide range of strategies, including family learning, to ensure that there is ‘wrap-around’ support where needed. Pupils eligible for support from the pupil premium funding sometimes have low starting points, but make good progress as a result of the targeted support they receive, and achieve as well as their peers. However, attainment is often low for those who also have special educational needs and/or

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Inspection findings

disabilities.  Although the proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average, there are a number of pupils with complex needs who are taught in the specialised learning unit within the school. These pupils are not able to access the national curriculum, but are making good progress towards their individual learning targets.  Over time, standards at the end of key stage 1 have been improving, so in 2015 they were broadly in line with national averages. After a dip in 2016, current assessment information shows an improvement in the proportion of pupils working at the standards expected for their age. Good teaching is maintaining brisk rates of progress. The interesting curriculum ensures that all pupils are engaged and motivated; boys, in particular, told me they enjoyed the space and pirate themes and one was looking forward to the day when they will all dress up

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Inspection findings

as pirates ‘in stripy tee-shirts and everything!’  Children often start school with skills and knowledge below what is expected for their age. They make good progress in the early years and achieve well in many areas of the curriculum. However, achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is lower, and this means some children do not achieve a good level of development at this stage. They continue to make good progress in key stage 1 and pupils’ books show they make good progress over time from their individual starting points. Current assessment data reflects the drive to accelerate progress further, but it remains a priority to improve attainment at the end of key stage 1.  A key priority for the school this year has been to improve outcomes in phonics. The proportion of pupils achieving the required standard in the phonics screening check has been below average for some time. Current assessment information

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Inspection findings

shows that this has improved and most pupils who are able to access the national curriculum are on track to achieve the standard. The teaching of phonics is consistent throughout the school as a result of recent training and a review of teaching approaches. Pupils respond to the greater challenge in lessons, for example Year 2 pupils could explain spelling rules when adding a range of suffixes to their words, and children in the Nursery class enjoyed sorting objects according to their initial sounds. However you recognise there is still a need to embed these recent improvements and ensure that pupils use these skills routinely in their written work.

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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

 progress improves further, raising attainment at the end of key stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics so it is in line with national averages  recent improvements in phonics teaching are embedded so that the outcomes of the phonics screening check improve and are in line with the national average  pupils routinely use and apply their phonics skills and knowledge to improve the quality of their reading and writing tasks.

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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 Nottinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held a number of meetings with you and the deputy headteacher and also met with some members of staff to discuss the school’s work. I met with members of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.

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Information about the inspection

I carried out a learning walk with you, visiting all classes, and I reviewed pupils’ books to consider the standard of work and the progress being made. I listened to some pupils read and talked to pupils informally at different times of the day.

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Information about the inspection

I reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including your school improvement plan and your evaluation of the school’s performance. I took into account 43 responses to Parent View, the online parent questionnaire, and spoke to a number of parents informally during the inspection. I also took into account the views of nine members of staff and 43 pupils who also responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaires.

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