Nightingale Infant and Nursery School

Nightingale Infant and Nursery School Nightingale Drive, Taverham, Norwich, Norfolk NR8 6LA

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have not established a culture of safeguarding. Some staff are either unclear about the procedures for keeping pupils safe or do not follow school procedures rigorously.  Leaders have allowed the quality of education to significantly decline since the previous inspection. Leaders and governors are now taking appropriate action to address this decline, but the work is at an early stage and yet to be effective.  Staff do not share leaders’ clear vision for the school and some do not recognise the role they have to play in securing rapid improvements.  Parents and carers lack confidence in the school. Not enough has been done to reassure parents, particularly about their children’s safety in school.  Some staff have insufficient knowledge and understanding of the different groups of pupils who are vulnerable to underachievement. Leaders are not able to demonstrate that the additional support the school provides is having

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

a positive effect on accelerating progress.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not good enough. Teachers’ expectations in some classes and subjects are too low.  Pupils are not achieving in line with expectations for their age in mathematics because work is insufficiently demanding. In other subjects such as English, the most able pupils are not suitably challenged.  Pupils sometimes do not focus on their work sufficiently and so do not produce work of the quality that they are capable of.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils say that they enjoy school. The majority behave sensibly in school.  Leaders have welcomed support from the local authority. The newly constituted governing body has swiftly set about addressing the most important areas of concern.  Leaders have ensured that a broad and balanced curriculum is in place, enhanced by extra-curricular activities and trips.  Pupils learn about values, including British values, through a well-planned curriculum and assemblies. As a result, pupils are learning how to become good citizens.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve safeguarding procedures and practices in school by ensuring that: – all staff know, understand and follow school policies and procedures for keeping pupils safe in school – concerns about pupils are stored in an appropriately secure manner – all concerns about pupils are passed to the designated leaders and are swiftly acted upon – training in safeguarding and child protection is revisited with all staff – leaders check staff’s understanding of how safeguarding and child protection applies to their particular roles in school – new systems ensure that pupils’ health and safety are evaluated regularly to ensure that they continue to be effective.  Improve leadership and management by ensuring that: – all leaders understand their role in improving teaching and learning and are able to evaluate the impact of their actions – staff share leaders’ vision for improvement and understand the role they play in

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

securing this – leaders ensure that all staff are fully aware of the pupils in their classes who may be vulnerable to underachievement – leaders check that support provided for pupils at risk of underachieving is effective – steps are taken swiftly to restore parental confidence in the school – the new governing body holds all leaders to account for securing rapid improvements in the quality of education.  Improve teaching and learning and raise achievement by: – raising teachers’ expectations of all pupils, particularly the most able pupils – ensuring that teachers provide greater challenge for pupils in mathematics – ensuring that all teachers implement agreed improvement strategies – improving teachers’ use of assessment to provide pupils with tasks that deepen their knowledge and understanding – ensuring that, in the early years, information collected about children’s achievement is better used to stretch children’s learning

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that teachers plan learning activities that engage and enthuse pupils and improve their attitudes to learning. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Leaders have not ensured that training for staff in school procedures related to pupils’ safety is effective. As a result, some staff do not follow these school policies and procedures appropriately.  Since the previous inspection, leaders and governors have not taken effective action to maintain the high quality of education. For too long, leaders, staff and governors had an inflated view of the standard of education provided at the school.  Since his appointment in September 2016, the headteacher has begun to tackle some areas which needed improvement, for example by restructuring staffing. However, actions taken have had too little impact on securing good teaching across the school. Actions have lacked the necessary urgency in important areas such as safeguarding. While the pace of change has accelerated very recently, this has been due to the intervention of the local authority rather than being driven by school leaders.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Leaders have not established a shared vision and direction for the school with staff. Some staff do not understand recent changes and have little confidence in leaders. They do not recognise the role they play in working with leaders to secure the necessary improvements in the school.  Parents lack confidence in the school. A large proportion of those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire said that they would not recommend the school to another parent. In particular, leaders have not been able to reassure parents that necessary steps are being taken to keep pupils safe. The new governing body is now taking more effective action to address this.  Most staff with senior leadership roles are very new in post. They rely on direction from the headteacher to identify where improvements are needed. Many actions taken are very recent and it is too early to judge their effectiveness in improving teaching,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

learning and pupils’ progress.  Leaders have not ensured that teachers are aware of those pupils in their classes who may be vulnerable to underachievement, such as disadvantaged pupils. Plans to support these pupils are in place but, at the midpoint in the school year, some support identified in plans has yet to be put in place. There is limited evidence to show whether the support currently provided is making a difference to pupils’ progress. As a result, leaders cannot demonstrate that funding provided for these pupils is used effectively.  Current leaders are much more realistic about the school’s weaknesses. They welcome the local authority’s support and respond to its direction appropriately.  Leaders have ensured that there is a broad and balanced curriculum in place. Recent changes that leaders have made to the curriculum have improved the range and quality of learning experiences in some subjects, including science.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Leaders ensure that the curriculum and assemblies enable pupils to develop positive attitudes towards people from differing backgrounds and faiths. Pupils demonstrate respect and tolerance towards others. This prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

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Governance of the school

 Until recently, governors failed to recognise that the quality of education was declining and did not take effective steps to address this. Following a review by the local authority, a new governing body has been established, with an experienced chair. The new governing body had only been established for a few weeks prior to the inspection. It includes members who have a range of skills and expertise to support the school and they have acted swiftly to begin to identify and address the most urgent areas of concern and to work towards restoring parental confidence in the school. However, this work is at an early stage.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Systems for reporting concerns introduced by current leaders to improve safeguarding procedures are not being used consistently by staff. Initial concerns are not routinely passed on to the designated leader for child protection to ensure that appropriate action is taken swiftly and effectively.  The school has introduced a new electronic system for recording concerns but leaders failed to ensure that pre-existing concerns about pupils were added to the new online files. As a consequence, no action has been taken in relation to these concerns.  Staff training for child protection is ineffective. Some staff, including senior staff, do not understand why concerns, however small, should be reported. Some newly appointed staff have completed online training but do not understand how this training relates to their role. They are not sufficiently vigilant for signs that a pupil may be at risk.

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Safeguarding

 Teachers do not understand the need to follow systems and policies intended to keep pupils safe. For example, during the inspection, appropriate checks were not completed before a trip took place.  Some staff do not understand the need to maintain sufficient supervision of pupils during the day, which has been agreed by leaders. During the inspection, the number of staff supervising pupils at play was insufficient to cover all areas of the playground effectively and to allow for adults leaving the playground to carry out first aid.  Parents are concerned about the safety of their children at school. Leaders have put in place effective health and safety systems and procedures in response to some recent incidents, but parents are unaware of these changes and so continue to be concerned about safety. Even so, pupils say that they feel safe at school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching is not consistently good. In some classes, teachers do not expect enough of pupils. They accept work which is not of sufficient quality. Pupils are capable of more. Sometimes teachers plan lessons which do not interest and engage pupils well. While pupils are mostly compliant, they lack enthusiasm and do not produce their best work.  Time in lessons is not consistently used well enough. Teachers waste time unnecessarily on activities which do not consolidate or stretch pupils’ learning.  In mathematics, teachers sometimes do not provide sufficient challenge for pupils of differing abilities. For example, work in some pupils’ books shows that they repeat calculations correctly many times when it is clear that they are ready to move on in their learning. In some instances, pupils then go on to complete similar calculations in the next lesson and the lesson after that. This is because teachers do not use

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

assessment information well enough to identify when tasks should be modified to deepen and extend pupils’ thinking.  The teaching of phonics is inconsistently effective. In some classes, all pupils are taught the same content without sufficient support for those who struggle or extension for those who already have better reading skills. As a result, while some pupils acquire a sound grasp of sounds and use this in their reading, others do not. Some teachers do not check that the books pupils take home to read are at the correct level to help them progress further in reading.  Changes to the use of assessment in writing have helped teachers to have a more accurate view of whether pupils are working at the level expected for their age. However, teachers often do not use this information well enough to plan tasks which provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils. As a result, these pupils do not

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

produce the high-quality writing of which they are capable.  In some classes, teaching is more effective so that most pupils are making good progress in their writing and develop a rich vocabulary and fluency in their writing.  Additional adults often provide valuable support for pupils. They ask appropriate questions and support pupils who have individual learning or behaviour needs. Sometimes, additional adults disturb the learning of others because they are talking when the rest of the class are being encouraged to be quiet and concentrate. In some classes, pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are not given enough opportunity to develop their independence because adults unnecessarily support them too closely.  The majority of pupils enjoy positive relationships with adults in the school. They listen and respond to the directions of staff.  In science, pupils are increasingly being given appropriate opportunities to develop

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

their investigation skills. Pupils make hypotheses and know how to plan and carry out fair tests.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils say they enjoy their lessons, and inspection evidence confirms that pupils are keen to talk about their learning. However, some pupils do not have positive attitudes to learning. Some pupils are quick to give up when they find work difficult or when improvements are suggested to them by adults. Leaders recognise this and are responding in order to bring about improvements through their personal, social, health and citizenship education programme.  Pupils in some classes work too slowly and so do not achieve as much as they could because teachers do not encourage them to work at a faster pace and with greater concentration. Pupils sometimes chat when they should be working and talk when adults are explaining tasks.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through the

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Personal development and welfare

curriculum and through assemblies. Pupils learn about different values introduced each week. Pupils demonstrating these values are rewarded in assemblies. Pupils learn how to care for the environment and how to keep themselves healthy. Pupils spoken to at lunchtime were able to talk about which foods are healthy and those that are not. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures and, as a result, they know to treat people with respect.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that there is an adult to talk to if they have any concerns. They know how to keep themselves safe, including when online, because this is reinforced during lessons. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is rare and is dealt with effectively by an adult.  Following two incidents at the school, parents are concerned about pupils’ safety at school. Leaders have put in place strategies to improve health and safety procedures.

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Personal development and welfare

These were seen to be effective during the inspection. However, some staff do not rigorously follow school procedures designed to ensure that there is no risk of harm to pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  The majority of pupils behave well at school. They play together sensibly and do as they are asked by adults. However, the school’s behaviour records show that there have been a high number of behaviour incidents over the past few months. Leaders acknowledge that some pupils have challenging behaviour. During the inspection, inspectors saw evidence that these pupils are now managed well in school.  Steps have been taken to ensure that all adults have a consistent approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. However, some parents and some staff remain concerned that behaviour is not good enough at the school. Not all staff recognise the role they need to play in ensuring that pupils behave consistently well.  The use of ‘the hive’ at playtimes and lunchtimes has had a positive effect on improving behaviour. Pupils who have difficulties are supported by adults during

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Behaviour

breaktime and can play in a quiet environment. Some pupils choose to go into this facility in order to take a break from the busy playground.  Attendance for the majority of pupils is good. Overall attendance is in line with the national average. Leaders address pupils’ absence appropriately. They meet with parents to identify the reasons and provide support when needed so that attendance improves.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The proportion of Year 2 pupils who reached the expected standard in 2017 was in line with the national average in writing and mathematics and above average in reading.  The proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was slightly lower than average in 2017, which was a decline from the previous year. Current school assessment information indicates that the proportion of pupils on track to meet the expected standard in 2018 will fall further this year and will be below the current national average. This is because teaching in phonics is inconsistently effective.  Work in pupils’ books and the school’s assessment information demonstrate that pupils’ progress is inconsistent across classes and subjects. While most pupils are generally making the progress expected of them in writing, this is not the case in mathematics. This is because teaching in mathematics fails to extend and challenge pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The most able pupils do not make as much progress as they should. This is because teachers do not use assessment information well enough to plan work which challenges pupils and deepens and extends their learning.  Pupils who are disadvantaged make progress which is similarly variable in relation to the quality of teaching in their class. Where teaching is effective, disadvantaged pupils make good progress, but where teaching is weaker, progress slows. This is also the case for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. There is little evidence that additional support for disadvantaged pupils is having a significant impact on the progress that they make.  Pupils’ progress in science is showing improvement since the beginning of the year. Leaders have amended the curriculum so that pupils have greater opportunities to engage in scientific investigations.  In other subjects, pupils make variable progress because some teachers do not have

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

high enough expectations of the quality of pupils’ work. However, where expectations in subjects such as history and geography are higher, pupils make better progress.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 The proportion of children in the early years who reached a good level of development in 2017 was above average. However, inspection evidence indicates that there is inconsistency in the quality of teaching and learning in the early years. Some children are developing their writing well because they are given plentiful opportunities to develop their skills, but others have more limited opportunities and so their progress slows.  The quality of teaching is too variable. Some adults do not promote learning sufficiently well. They take too general a role in watching children play rather than actively intervening to promote greater learning. By contrast, others provide good support for children, particularly when working with them indoors. They ask questions to extend learning and encourage children to use the skills they have learned in different contexts. For example, during the inspection, a child made a robot and the adult took a

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Early years provision Requires improvement

photograph, using this as an opportunity to develop the child’s speaking and listening skills.  Some adults are not as vigilant as they should be and do not ensure that children are properly supervised at all times.  Adults carefully record children’s achievements but do not use this information sufficiently well to plan activities to help children progress. They do not consider whether what they have recorded demonstrates that the child is working within the expected range for their age or what might be needed to move their learning on. Some adults do not fully understand how to use the school’s online learning journals to best effect.  Both indoor and outdoor learning environments are attractive spaces. However, the outside areas are not used sufficiently well to extend learning.  The leader for the early years is new to the role and so has a very limited understanding of the quality of teaching and learning. However, she is keen to ensure

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Early years provision Requires improvement

that improvements take place and has identified, for example, that mathematical development is an area for improvement.  Children behave well in the early years. They are helped to understand what is expected of them because adults reinforce this throughout the day.  In the nursery, adults ensure that early interventions are put in place to address children’s specific needs, such as speech and language development. As a result, children are supported in overcoming these difficulties.  Parents are happy with the start their children make in school. Adults take time to speak with parents and keep them informed about the progress their children are making.

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School details

Inspection number 10048936 Type of school Infant and nursery school

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing board

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School details

Email address office@nightingale.norfolk.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13–15 June 2008

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller school than is found on average nationally.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is lower than average.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities or who are supported by an education, health and care plan or a statement of special educational needs is higher than that found nationally.  There is a governor-led nursery on-site.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out following a number of complaints made to Ofsted which raised serious concerns about aspects of safeguarding and leadership and management. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector decided that a Section 5 inspection of the school should take place to follow up the whole-school issues that were raised around safeguarding, leadership and management and the quality of education being provided.  The inspectors observed teaching in all classes. Some observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders.  The inspectors looked at pupils’ books, assessment information, leaders’ evaluation of teaching and learning and a range of school documents.  The inspectors spoke with a number of parents, took account of 108 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire and met with some pupils from Reception and Years 1 and 2.  The inspectors met with senior leaders and with two members of the governing body

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Information about this inspection

to discuss aspects of leadership and management.  Policies and procedures for the safeguarding of pupils were examined, including mandatory checks made during the recruitment of new staff.

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Inspection team

Maria Curry, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jane Dooley Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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