Eagley Infant School

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

p.1

Tracy Lawton Headteacher Eagley Infant School Stonesteads Drive Bromley Cross Bolton Lancashire BL7 9LN

p.1

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 21 November 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 November 2017.

p.1

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

p.1

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

You and the deputy headteacher’s strong leadership have ensured that Eagley Infant School is a place where pupils thrive and continue to attain highly in reading, writing and mathematics. You comprehensively and thoroughly monitor the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils make, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. This ensures that you have an accurate understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas that now require further enhancement. You have correctly turned your attention to enhancing the monitoring of the progress that pupils make in key stage 1 in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics. You are appropriately focusing on further actions to ensure that pupils receive more opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding at greater depth in topic-based subjects such as design and technology and humanities. In addition, you are aware that, occasionally, some teachers in key stage 1 do

p.1

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

not make the best use of the time available to them to promote learning.

p.1

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Pupils are eager learners. They enjoy coming to school because it offers a vibrant and enticing place in which to learn in the classroom and outdoors. Those pupils who spoke with me during the inspection said that they feel safe and that teachers and other adults are helpful. Pupils relish the opportunities they have to learn in the school grounds, including looking after the school animals, such as the flock of sheep and ‘Chewbacca’, the school pony. Pupils apply their learning effectively to the development and maintenance of class allotments and demonstrate their gardening prowess through the ‘best in show awards’ that they have won in national horticultural shows.

p.1

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Parents overwhelmingly support the school. Their responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, commonly identify the high-quality leadership of the school, the help provided by teachers and other adults and the inspirational use of animals and the outdoors to promote their children’s learning. This is typified by comments such as ‘My child has flourished under the guidance of the teachers and is in her words ‘working super hard’ every day!’

p.2

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Senior leaders have taken effective action to address the areas for development identified at the last inspection. These included enhancing the quality of the teaching of mathematics and raising pupils’ attainment in writing.

p.2

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

The work seen in pupils’ books and your detailed tracking of school-based assessments confirm that your actions have successfully sustained improvements in the standards attained by pupils in writing, reading and mathematics. This improvement was again confirmed in the provisional outcomes of the assessments at the end of key stage 1 in 2017.

p.2

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Since the last inspection, the quality of the teaching of mathematics has improved. You have ensured that staff receive appropriate and effective training and the opportunities to visit other schools to see high-quality practice. As a result, teachers and teaching assistants have increased their knowledge and understanding of a range of strategies they can use to promote learning in mathematics. Appropriate amendments to policies and procedures, including a review of the school’s calculation policy, mean that pupils now receive more sharply focused teaching in mathematics that systematically develops their skills. Senior leaders frequently check the impact of actions on pupils’ learning. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, attain at least as well as other pupils nationally because of the high-quality teaching they receive.

p.2

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Leaders’ responses to raising attainment in writing have also been successful. Better-quality teaching has ensured that pupils’ attainment in writing has been sustained above the national average in the assessments at the end of key stage 1. Work in pupils’ books shows that they develop their skills systematically. Recent actions undertaken by you and the subject leader for English effectively promote the consistency of high-quality handwriting by pupils.

p.2

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Leaders and governors have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are of high quality and fit for purpose. Knowledgeable staff diligently implement the school’s policies relating to safeguarding. Statutory checks are carried out on the suitability of staff to work with children. Leaders have taken effective action to ensure that the school is a safe and secure place in which children can learn.

p.2

Short inspection of Eagley Infant School

Staff have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding, including that relating to online safety. Staff are vigilant about the potential risks pupils may face. Records are appropriate and meticulously kept. Leaders share information with parents and the appropriate authorities effectively to ensure pupils’ safety. Governors have ensured that the appropriate monitoring and filtering arrangements are in place for the school’s internet connection.

p.2

Inspection findings

 You and other leaders, including governors, have a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and priority areas for improvement because of detailed monitoring and accurate evaluation. You and your deputy frequently observe teachers at work and check their impact on learning by examining pupils’ work in books. You make effective use of the information gleaned from the school’s tracking data about pupils’ attainment and progress to inform your development planning. As a result, the school’s development plans identify the correct priorities for improvement and appropriate actions to secure them. You are aware of the need to accelerate further the progress that pupils make in English and mathematics in key stage 1 so that greater proportions attain the highest standards in national assessments. You are taking the correct actions to achieve this. Additionally, you are also taking the right actions to promote pupils’ skills and

p.3

Inspection findings

understanding at greater depth in subjects other than English and mathematics. The impact of these actions on the progress pupils make in topic work has not yet been fully realised.  Subject leaders, many of whom are new to their leadership roles, demonstrate a secure knowledge of the subjects for which they are responsible. They share your commitment and drive for excellence and have eagerly embraced the opportunities to contribute to improvement planning. Subject leaders are well trained because you prioritise their development and see it as an investment in the future of the school. As a result, they make a positive contribution to the continued improvement of the quality of teaching, including that of subjects in the wider curriculum.  You ensure that parents are well informed about what is going on in school through regular newsletters and an informative website. The website contains the information

p.3

Inspection findings

you are required to publish as an academy, and you are currently improving the information about the content of the school curriculum to reflect the detail that is available to parents in school.  The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection. As a result, the attainment of pupils has remained high and well above the national average. This is particularly the case in the early years, where committed and highly skilled teachers and teaching assistants promote learning strongly. They seize every opportunity to develop children’s skills and understanding and make excellent use of the outdoors to engage the children in enticing activities that help them develop their skills and understanding. As a result, children make strong progress from their starting points and achieve well. The proportion of children who attain a good level of development at the end of the early years has remained well above the national average for some time and the proportion

p.3

Inspection findings

who exceed the levels of development that are typical is high.  In key stage 1, teachers demonstrate secure knowledge of the subjects they teach. They typically make good use of questions and encourage pupils to learn by explaining their answers. This is particularly so in mathematics and English. On occasions, there is some inconsistency in the challenge and pace of learning between different subjects and classes. Sometimes, teachers do not make the best use of the time available to them to continue pupils’ learning and, as a result, the pace of progress is more limited. Occasionally, particularly in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics, teachers do not make effective use of their knowledge of pupils’ abilities. They sometimes do not ensure that activities provide enough challenge for some pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding at greater depth.  Attendance has remained consistently better than the national average for a

p.3

Inspection findings

considerable time. During the school year 2015/16, however, the proportion of some groups of pupils who were absent rose above the national average. Current and more up-to-date information shows that attendance is back to where is has been historically. Your detailed monitoring shows that the vast majority of absences are for good reasons, often linked to medical needs or genuine illness. Well-established systems ensure that any concerns about the attendance of pupils is swiftly followed up and checked. Leaders share any concerns that they may have with the right authorities and encourage parents to ensure that their children attend well. Despite this, a small number of pupils do miss out on some learning at times because their parents choose to take unauthorised holidays.

p.4

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.4

Next steps for the school

 pupils in key stage 1 further accelerate their progress and depth of knowledge and understanding in subjects other than English and mathematics  teachers consider how they will ensure that pupils will achieve to the best of their ability in subjects other than English and mathematics and make the best use of the time available in lessons to promote learning.

p.4

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

p.4

Information about the inspection

I met with you, the deputy headteacher, some subject leaders in the school and the chair of the governing body. I spoke with pupils during lessons and around the school. I took account of the information contained within the responses to the online questionnaire for parents, Parent View. There were no responses to the staff online questionnaire or the pupils’ online questionnaire.

p.4

Information about the inspection

I visited classrooms with you to observe pupils’ learning and looked at their work in books and their records of achievement. I reviewed information about pupils’ progress, attainment and attendance. I scrutinised the school’s self-evaluation documentation, action plans and other policies. I looked at safeguarding, including evaluating the impact of the school’s procedures and policies to keep children safe, including while they are online. I also scrutinised your recruitment checks and record-keeping.

p.4