Bagshot Infant School

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

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Miss Katie Aldred Headteacher Bagshot Infant School School Lane Bagshot Surrey GU19 5BP

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 10 July 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 October 2014.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

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

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Together with senior leaders and governors, you are ambitious for the school and for the pupils to achieve the best they possibly can. The school community has changed in recent years and greater numbers of pupils who are vulnerable and disadvantaged now attend the school. Through this period of change, you have ensured that the school has remained a warmly inclusive community. All staff offer a friendly welcome to pupils and families from a wide range of different backgrounds and circumstances.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Parents and carers are very positive about all aspects of the school. They reserve special praise for the headteacher. One commented: ‘Miss Aldred is an amazing headteacher and brings heart and warmth into the school environment without losing the academic rigour.’ They also value the excellent communication systems that the school has with parents because they feel informed and involved in all aspects of school life. Staff ensure that all concerns that parents raise are swiftly and decisively dealt with. This addressed one of the issues that inspectors asked the school to improve at the previous inspection.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Pupils love coming to school. They enjoy lessons and say that teachers make learning interesting and challenging. They enjoy the wide and varied curriculum on offer, which includes working in the school’s garden and trips to such places as Winchester Science Centre and Brockett Farm. However, you accept that more needs to be done to ensure that levels of attendance increase so that all pupils can benefit from regular attendance at school.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 1 improved sharply in 2017, although they were still below those seen nationally. Pupils currently in Year 2 are on track to achieve similar results to those seen last year but there is clear evidence that pupils in Year 1 are making stronger progress, including in writing. In recent years, too few pupils have achieved well in the phonics screening check but, this year, a much greater proportion of pupils have achieved the expected standard. In the past, some pupils did not make the progress that they were capable of because of inconsistent teaching. Senior leaders have set high standards and have not shrunk from tackling these weaknesses. Their actions have secured consistently good teaching across the school. However, recent improvements need to be fully established so that outcomes in phonics and writing are at least in line with national figures.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Teachers use assessment information well to reach a strong understanding of how well pupils are achieving. Staff understand what pupils need to do to take the next step in their learning and to be on track to achieve the expected standards at the end of each academic year. Teachers ensure that pupils are suitably challenged in their work. This successfully tackled another of the areas for improvement in the previous inspection report. Pupils in the small, specially resourced provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are fully integrated into the life of the school and achieve well. A parent of one pupil said: ‘My son has made such massive progress due to the right support he gets at this school.’

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Governors know the school well because they draw their evidence from a range of sources, including their own visits to the school. The governing body contains a good mix of people with different skills and expertise. The chair of governors has considerable experience in governance.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Senior leaders ensure that all staff have the right training. All staff are very clear about how to recognise signs that a child might be at risk and know how to report any concerns promptly. Training is underpinned by rigorous policies, protocols and procedures covering all aspects of child protection, and ensures that all pupils are safe in school. Governors fulfil their responsibilities effectively and carry out important checks, such as those undertaken on people who apply to work in the school.

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Short inspection of Bagshot Infant School

Pupils feel safe in school. They trust the staff to look after them, confident that they can approach adults with any concerns, knowing that they will be listened to. Pupils are taught to keep safe in a range of situations, including on the road and online. As a result, they have an age-appropriate understanding of how to avoid the dangers of being on the internet.

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Inspection findings

 At our initial meeting, we agreed to follow four lines of enquiry. The first of these explored the effectiveness of senior leaders’ actions to improve outcomes in phonics. The second looked at how well pupils – especially girls – are currently achieving in writing. Senior leaders have worked tirelessly to ensure that the quality of teaching in the school is at least good. They have tackled weaknesses in teaching and, as a result, there has been some movement of staff. While this caused temporary disruption to pupils’ learning, the quality of teaching has improved and is now good.  Outcomes in phonics have been well below the national average for the past three years. Leaders’ actions have resulted in improvements in the quality of teaching of phonics. Consequently, a much higher proportion of pupils achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2018, although this was still below the national figures of recent years. At the end of Year 2 in

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Inspection findings

2018, the proportion of pupils who achieved this standard also improved sharply, to be close to the national average seen in recent years.  Transition arrangements between the early years and Year 1 in previous years have not allowed for all pupils to make the most of the strong start they receive in Reception. Senior leaders have taken steps to ensure that there is a seamless transition between the early years and Year 1. An experienced Reception teacher will be joining the Year 1 team to ensure that pupils make the most of the strong start that they receive in the early years.  Outcomes in writing increased sharply in 2017, although they were below the national average. Girls achieved much less well than boys. The improvement seen in 2017 has been sustained in 2018, although more needs to be done to ensure that a greater proportion of pupils achieve the expected standard by the end of key stage 1. Outcomes in writing for girls improved markedly in 2018.

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Inspection findings

 Next, we looked at how well children achieve in the early years. Staff in the early years are clearly focused on enabling children to acquire the early skills of communication, literacy and numeracy. Children are eager, well-informed, confident learners who readily put forward their own ideas and suggestions. For example, in one mathematics lesson, we saw children offering a wide range of ideas for creating repeating patterns. Children behave very well and follow well- established routines to ensure that no time is wasted.  The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development has been at the national average in the past few years. In 2018, this figure improved sharply as a result of strong teaching and leadership.  The final area we investigated was pupils’ attendance. In recent years, levels of persistent absence have been above those seen nationally and, in two of the last three years, overall absence was above the national average. In particular, pupils

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Inspection findings

from disadvantaged backgrounds and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities have not attended school regularly enough.  As a result of leaders’ efforts, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities now attend much more regularly. However, this academic year, there has been no improvement in overall attendance. In particular, senior leaders have identified a group of disadvantaged pupils who attend less regularly than others. Leaders need to redouble their efforts to ensure that levels of attendance rise to be at least in line with the national average so that all pupils can benefit from regular attendance at school.

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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

 recent improvements in the teaching of writing and phonics are fully embedded so that a greater proportion of pupils achieve the expected standards in these subjects  levels of attendance increase so that they are at least in line with national figures, including for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, the special educational needs coordinator and the leaders of the early years and of phonics. I held a meeting with the chair and vice-chair of governors. The chair took part in the meeting by telephone. I also met with a representative of the local authority. Together with senior leaders, I visited classes in all year groups to observe teaching and learning and to look at pupils’ work. I observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, during a singing assembly and at breaktime, and spoke to many pupils during the day. I also met with the school council. I considered 24 responses to the staff survey, 10 responses to the pupil survey and 65 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I spoke to several parents at the beginning of the day. I considered several documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plans. I examined the school’s safeguarding policies, procedures and checks.

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