Airedale Infant Academy

Inspection of Airedale Infant School Poplar Avenue, Townville, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 3QJ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection

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What is it like to attend this school?

Airedale Infant School is a bright and happy place to learn. Pupils feel safe and love their school. They say they wouldn’t change anything about it. Parents and carers told us that staff take very good care of pupils. Pupils behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils have no concerns about bullying in this school. If it were to happen, they know adults would deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The new headteacher has raised expectations since the last inspection. Pupils are doing better in English and mathematics. Leaders make sure that pupils study a wide range of subjects. This helps them learn about the world they are growing up in.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning because teachers plan interesting lessons. Trips, visitors and exciting activities bring learning to life. Pupils remember their prior learning and make links between subjects. Pupils could say what they had learned about recycling in geography. They explained the knowledge that they had used to make a ‘recycling monster’ in design technology.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn important lessons through assemblies and the wider curriculum. For example, they learn about road safety and online safety. Pupils care about the environment and want to help others to do the same.

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better?

Leaders, staff and governors are ambitious for all pupils at this school. They want to make sure that their pupils have the best possible education. The headteacher has provided expert leadership since taking up her post. This has ensured that all aspects of the school have improved since the last inspection.

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better?

The curriculum covers a wide range of subjects. Teachers plan lessons that are carefully sequenced. This helps children to make connections with what they already know. For example, in a history lesson about the Great Fire of London, pupils remembered what they had learned in science and geography. This helped them to understand how the fire spread. Occasionally, teachers do not follow curriculum plans closely enough. This means that pupils do not cover topics in great enough depth.

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better?

Leaders have plans in place to help teachers to better identify gaps in what pupils know and can do in each of the foundation subjects. This will support further improvement of the curriculum.

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better?

Reading is a high priority. Books are everywhere in school. Pupils love to settle down with a book in one of the inviting reading areas. They enjoy listening to the carefully chosen books that adults read to them every day. Children start learning to read from the beginning of the Reception class. Adults check that children are keeping up. This makes sure that children quickly learn letters and the sounds they 5–6 November 2019

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represent. Reading books match the letters and sounds that children have already learned. This helps them to become confident readers. Parents and carers appreciate the many workshops and resources that the school provides. These help parents to support their children to read at home.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. They get the support they need to make sure they can learn as well as their peers. Staff are well trained to meet the needs of all pupils.

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In early years, staff take every opportunity to help children learn new words. Children explore, play and learn in the stimulating areas inside and outside. The wide range of interesting resources allow children to follow their interests. In the Reception class, the mathematics curriculum does not consistently build on what children can do. Children need more opportunities to become confident with numbers.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. They listen to adults and follow instructions. Staff work hard with families to make sure that pupils attend school regularly. Attendance has improved recently, but is still below where it needs to be.

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Pupils have many opportunities to learn about the cultures and beliefs of other people. For example, they particularly enjoy learning about the lives of pupils in their partner school in Ghana. Pupils enjoy being active and responsible members of the wider community. They take part in many fund-raising activities, for example the Macmillan coffee morning and the ‘yellow day’ for mental health. Pupils are very proud of their adopted panda.

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Trust leaders and governors provide the right challenge and support for school leaders. This makes sure that the school is continuing to improve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The headteacher makes sure that everybody knows how to keep children safe. Staff are all well trained. They know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Leaders take appropriate and swift action when there are any concerns about children’s safety. Thoughtful resources, such as ‘worry monsters’, give children the confidence to ask for help if they need it. Parents appreciate the support they have from the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Attendance has improved, but remains below the national average. Leaders must ensure that the attendance of all pupils, particularly those who are vulnerable and children who have just started school in early years, increases so that it is in line 5–6 November 2019

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with the national average.  Leaders have ensured that curriculum plans carefully set out the sequence of knowledge that pupils should learn. At times, teachers do not follow the plans closely enough. Leaders should ensure that teaching consistently matches the curriculum plans for each year group so that pupils are able to study appropriate content in greater depth and consolidate their learning before moving on.  In subjects other than English and mathematics, there is more to do to address historical gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. Leaders should continue the work they have planned to tackle this issue.  In early years, some children lack a consistently secure knowledge of early number skills. Teachers should make sure that children have sufficient opportunities to revisit, practise and consolidate learning so that they are fully confident in manipulating smaller numbers before moving on to working with

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged children’ refers to those children who attract government pupil premium funding: children claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and children in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 5–6 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110634 Type of school Infant

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School details

Chair of local governing body Michael Roberts

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School details

Date of previous inspection 30 January 2018

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Information about this school

 This school became part of Northern Ambition Academies Trust in November 2014.  The school was inspected under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 in January 2018.  The headteacher took up post in September 2018.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the leader of early years and various subject leaders. We also met members of the academy council, the chief executive officer and the director of school improvement for Northern Ambition Academies Trust.  The subjects considered as part of this inspection were early reading, mathematics, science and history. We carried out deep dives into these subjects. This included meetings with senior leaders, subject leaders and teachers. We looked at curriculum plans and pupils’ work, visiting lessons and speaking to 5–6 November 2019

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pupils from those lessons about their learning. We also heard pupils reading to adults in school.  The arrangements for safeguarding were checked. This included checks on the single central record, staff training and safeguarding records. Inspectors also discussed aspects of safeguarding with adults and pupils.  We considered pupils’ behaviour by visiting classrooms and outside areas, by speaking with leaders, staff, parents and pupils, and by checking a sample of school records.  We spoke informally to parents at the reading workshop. We considered the 18 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey.  We also considered the 13 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. We met with a group of pupils to ask them about learning to read, bullying and the school’s support for their personal development.  We met with teachers and support staff to discuss their experiences of working at the school, including their workload. We considered the responses of 18 staff to

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Inspection team

Janet Keefe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Beverley Riddle Ofsted Inspector 5–6 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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