Belmont Infant School

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

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Mr Laurence Clarke Headteacher Belmont Infant School Rusper Road London N22 6RA

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 10 October 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 Belmont Infant School

Leaders have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders’ accurate evaluation of the school’s work clearly directs priorities for development and leads to improvements. This is the second time that Ofsted has judged the school to be good. Congratulations to you and your staff on this achievement.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

You are the headteacher of the neighbouring Belmont Junior School and have taken up post as the interim headteacher for Belmont Infant School since September 2017.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Leaders have effectively tackled weaknesses identified in the previous inspection. They have improved pupils’ writing outcomes and increased pupils’ motivation to write regularly. Pupils demonstrate their enthusiasm for writing in literacy and across the wider curriculum. Pupils’ high-quality writing is celebrated and put on display around the school. Pupils are proud of their good work that models high standards to the school community.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Determination for pupils to succeed is strongly established throughout the school. Your team use assessment effectively to monitor all pupils’ progress. Through regular pupils’ progress meetings and a new tracking system, senior leaders are able to identify concerns about pupils’ progress and find solutions quickly. Staff are well informed about pupils’ progress and their next steps.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

You have recently restructured roles and responsibilities for your senior leaders. Some of your leaders have new areas of responsibility. Leaders have not been in post long enough to have identified precisely what needs to happen next in order to impact on their new areas of responsibility. They will need coaching and mentoring in order to maximise impact.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Your staff team demonstrate that they share your vision and ambition for the pupils. There is a culture of trust and mutual respect. Staff are highly motivated and fully committed to the school and pupils. As a result, pupils are happy and confident.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Parents and carers speak highly of the school and are proud of its work. In the survey, all parents who responded confirmed that they would recommend the school to another parent.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

You ensure that safeguarding is a high priority across the school so that all staff understand the key role they play in keeping children safe.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Staff are highly knowledgeable regarding safeguarding issues. They know the school’s safeguarding systems and procedures thoroughly. Staff understand exactly what leaders expect them to do should any safeguarding issues arise. Senior leaders contact the local authority quickly if they need to deepen their understanding or seek advice. You make sure that staff training is regularly updated. Additional ‘Prevent’ duty training is due to take place in the upcoming weeks.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Strong and detailed record-keeping systems are in place. Should any concerns arise, staff who have specific safeguarding responsibilities take swift and effective action. You have built very effective partnerships with outside agencies in order to safeguard pupils. Governors and school leaders are trained in safer recruitment.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

Leaders offer guidance to families and provide links to relevant agencies to support families in need of support.

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Short inspection of Belmont Infant School

During informal discussions with pupils, they told me they feel safe in school and are able to talk to adults about any worries. Staff and pupils have warm professional relationships. This was observed throughout the school.

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Inspection findings

 You have been at the school since September 2017 and have wasted no time in identifying attendance as an area of concern. The school has been thorough in its analysis of attendance. You have provided tailored support for selected pupils and families, including pupils who are disadvantaged. First-day absence calling takes place and families are encouraged to bring their children to school.  The school rewards individual classes for regular attendance, with some positive outcomes. Attendance assemblies form part of whole-school achievement assemblies. The school is working hard to motivate pupils to attend school regularly.  Although attendance rates are improving, attendance remains an area for further development across the school.  We agreed that, during the inspection, I would explore how well the school ensures the development of pupils’ stamina for writing.  Pupils practise their writing skills across a range of curriculum subjects. Teachers’

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Inspection findings

expectations of pupils’ writing in literacy and the wider curriculum are typically high.  In a small number of classrooms, some writing activities are not as well selected and limit the development of pupils’ writing.  Children in the Nursery class enjoy learning to recognise letters of the alphabet. During my visit, children in the Nursery were engrossed in an activity that helped them to recognise letters. They were visibly excited to discover new letters and were highly motivated to write letters carefully on paper.  Pupils demonstrate good learning behaviours across the school. They listen intently and are confident in their responses.  Speaking and listening are strengths across the school. You ensure that children at an early stage of learning English in the early years provision build their vocabulary and speaking skills effectively from when they join the school. Through high-quality discussions and exciting activities, staff motivate pupils in Years 1 and 2 and

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Inspection findings

encourage their use and understanding of new English words.  Leaders have introduced assessment systems and keep teachers informed about pupils’ progress. Leaders and staff measure pupils’ progress closely and use the information to plan next steps in pupils’ learning.  Leaders and teachers measure pupils’ progress carefully and involve pupils fully in checking for themselves how well they achieve. Teachers use the information to identify any pupils who may need additional guidance, and provide extra support. Pupils make good progress from their starting points.  In the early years, I looked at examples of children’s writing and the progress they made in the Nursery Year. Children who had very little mark-making skill on arrival at the school made strong progress and wrote in sentences by the end of the year. Outcomes for children at the end of the Reception Year are improving steadily. More children achieve the expected standard at the end of the early years compared with

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Inspection findings

the national average year on year.  The early years classrooms are set up to encourage writing and all other areas of the curriculum. Activities are enticing and exciting and encourage curiosity. Leaders have not ensured that the outside provision in the early years supports children’s development as strongly as the inside provision.  Records of children’s learning and progress demonstrate how carefully adults plan activities for individual children. Teachers select tasks meticulously based on children’s interests. They help children to build on what they know and can already do. Staff regularly check how well children make progress. They take swift action to extend children’s learning further.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 all leaders with new areas of responsibility secure swift improvement within their areas of responsibility  attendance rates are in line with national averages.

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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 Haringey. 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 your senior leaders to discuss your school development plan and agreed key lines of enquiry.  I held meetings with the designated safeguarding leaders, assessment leads, attendance leads, staff and a representative of the local authority.  I scrutinised your single central record.  We jointly observed lessons.  I looked at pupils’ books across the school.  I met with a group of pupils.  I held meetings with the chair of the governing body.  I met with parents at the end of the school day.

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Information about the inspection

There were 43 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and no free-text comments.

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