Wimborne Infant School

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

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Mrs Julie Cragg Headteacher Wimborne Infant School Wimborne Road Southsea Hampshire PO4 8DE

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 28 February 2018, 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 2013.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Ably supported by your senior leaders, you have successfully created a school team that shares your ambition for all pupils to achieve well. You reflect carefully on pupils’ learning. You identify what works well and where improvements are needed. You then work together effectively as a leadership team to make learning even better. As a result, standards are rising.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

You have successfully steered the school through a period of staff turbulence. You have strengthened your staff team, ensuring that all members are well trained and supported. Staffing is now on a secure footing. Staff who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire all said that they are proud to work at the school.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

Pupils are keen and happy learners. They say that teachers give them helpful information about how to improve their learning. Pupils get started on their work quickly because they are motivated to learn.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

The majority of parents and carers who responded to Ofsted’s online survey say that Wimborne Infant School is a happy and friendly school. Many parents praised staff for the way that pupils are known personally. A parent summed this up, saying: ‘My child is very happy and enjoys school. I feel their teachers have time for them and every child’s individual needs.’ However, some parents have concerns about the quality of communication between school and home and feel this can be improved. You have rightly pinpointed this as an area to develop, and have helpful improvement plans in place. Lessons are calm and purposeful. Pupils listen attentively to each other and their teacher. Pupils’ books show that they take pride in their work. Pupils behave sensibly in lessons and when moving around the school. They talk courteously to each other and to adults. Throughout the school, there is a keen focus on learning.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

This can be seen consistently, from the happy buzz of activity in the Reception class through to the accomplished work produced by older pupils.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

You and your leadership team are taking effective action to deal with the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. These were to encourage pupils to be more actively involved in their learning, to encourage pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills, and to make school improvement planning clearer.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

The positive school values of challenge, enjoyment, creativity, empathy and independence are at the heart of your developments. Teachers give pupils many relevant opportunities to talk about their learning, share their thoughts and test out their ideas. Pupils enjoy this active involvement in their learning.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

In mathematics, pupils are clearly enjoying their learning. Pupils are achieving greater success as a result of the action you are taking to develop mathematics teaching, but you are right to recognise that more remains to be done. In particular, in writing as well as in mathematics, although more of the most able pupils are achieving the higher standards, this is not yet consistent.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

In your school improvement plan, your priorities for action are now set out clearly. However, you rightly acknowledge that the criteria for the success you aim to achieve, including for disadvantaged pupils, should be set out more precisely.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Pupils say they feel safe. Pupils in the school are knowledgeable about keeping themselves safe online. They know that they should not share their personal information on the internet, and said they would talk to an adult straight away if they saw something that worried them.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

Staff are well trained and know how to keep pupils safe. They are aware of the key risks to pupils. Staff are vigilant and know what signs to look out for. An effective system is in place for staff to report any concerns. You work proactively with external agencies, and challenge them when needed, to ensure that pupils receive timely support. However, there are some gaps in the school’s administrative processes linked to safeguarding which had not been successfully identified through governors’ checks.

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Short inspection of Wimborne Infant School

You are taking appropriate action to strengthen the leadership of safeguarding. The enhanced training you have arranged for your capable senior leaders will equip them well to work with you in leading safeguarding, and to take responsibility when you are not present at school.

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Inspection findings

 During the inspection, we looked closely at specific aspects of the school’s provision, including the effectiveness of leaders’ work to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well. We also considered how effectively teaching supports the most able pupils to achieve the higher standards in writing and in mathematics.  All staff share your aspiration for disadvantaged pupils to achieve well. Teaching approaches are thoughtfully adapted and successfully meet the individual needs of these pupils. All your staff ensure that these pupils are well cared for. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make good progress.  Across the school, teachers provide increasingly motivating experiences to inspire pupils’ writing. This includes in the early years. Older pupils are successfully encouraged to improve the quality of their writing steadily. As a result, pupils write confidently, often at length and for different purposes, with many beginning

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Inspection findings

to achieve higher standards. However, the most able pupils are not achieving these high standards consistently.  Helpful training has enabled teachers to provide pupils with greater challenge in mathematics. The concerted effort of all staff to raise standards is starting to reap rewards. As a result, pupils regularly tackle mathematics tasks that really make them think. This includes applying their mathematical skills to solve tricky number problems and carefully explain their reasoning. You are ambitious for pupils to achieve consistently well in mathematics. However, you rightly recognise that more can be done to build on the current success, particularly in helping the most able pupils to reach consistently high standards.

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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

 leaders’ and governors’ oversight of safeguarding administration is consistently rigorous and efficient  the most able pupils, in all year groups, consistently achieve the higher standards in mathematics and writing  precision in leaders’ improvement planning continues to develop, particularly when setting out the success leaders are aiming for, including in the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.

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

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Information about the inspection

I met with you, your senior leadership team and governors. I also spoke to a representative from Portsmouth City Council. Together, you and I visited classes in all year groups. I considered 21 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 15 free-text comments. There were 39 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils, which were also taken into account, together with 22 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. I met with a small group of pupils and scrutinised work in pupils’ books. I also analysed a range of the school’s documentation, including information about safeguarding. We discussed your evaluation of the school’s effectiveness.

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