Baddow Hall Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Baddow Hall Infant School New Road, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 7QZ

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Outcome

Baddow Hall Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They enjoy learning because they ‘learn a lot’ at school. Teachers help them when they are stuck. They told the inspector how they use what they already know to help them with new learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

They also enjoy all the clubs the school offers, such as those for music and drama. Leaders make sure they include all pupils in school activities. Parents and carers confirmed this in the online survey. For example, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) attend many of the clubs on offer. Pupils who attend the breakfast club say that they like the activities adults provide. They especially like making models and playing games such as skittles.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave very well because staff expectations are high. Staff manage pupils’ behaviour calmly and sensitively. This makes the school a safe, orderly place of learning. Pupils play well together. They work well together in lessons in their groups. Pupils say that bullying hardly ever happens. They say that adults keep them safe. They know they can speak to any adult if they have a problem. They attend school regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

By the end of their time in school, pupils are well prepared for the move to junior school.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders, including governors, know exactly what they want the curriculum to look like. They are ambitious for all pupils. Adults live the vision of the school: ‘Every child to make the best possible progress.’

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The leaders for English and mathematics have carefully planned the order in which content will be taught. They check regularly how well pupils are learning. In other subjects, leaders have plans in place to make sure that pupils learn and remember more. These leaders are in the process of writing more detailed plans. 13–14 November 2019

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The headteacher makes sure that adults are well trained to teach phonics. In most cases, adults use their checks to adapt learning. Most pupils learn phonics well.

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Leaders have recently changed the way reading is taught. Pupils enjoy reading the lovely new books the school has bought. They like it when adults read to them in class, especially when the adults make it funny. Pupils understand their topic reading books because adults read them with them. Most pupils read from books that match what they are learning in phonics. A few are given books that are too difficult for them because teachers do not match books well enough to the sounds that pupils know.

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Mathematics is taught well because teachers have been well trained. Teachers have clear guidance about what to teach when. This ensures that pupils remember what they have learned. Adults check most pupils’ learning well. Pupils use equipment and displays to help explain their thinking. Teachers do not match work well enough to what pupils with lower prior attainment can do. This means that some pupils could do more difficult work sooner.

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In Year 2, teachers plan history lessons to make sure pupils build on what they have already learned. Leaders use what they know of the context of the school to plan what they want pupils to learn. For example, pupils in Year 1 study old and new toys to help them settle into their new year group.

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Kind adults support pupils with SEND well. They provide picture clues and extra time to help these pupils. Adults support disadvantaged pupils well, moving between groups in lessons to make sure pupils understand what they have to do. They support pupils to correct things they have got wrong.

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Children are safe and happy in early years. They play happily together. Staff provide stimulating things for them to do. They skilfully encourage children to explain their thinking and to learn new words. The children love being active. They are curious to find things out. Staff make sure children have the confidence they need to move successfully into Year 1.

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Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities such as singing carols in the community. Pupils spoke confidently with the inspector about the Armistice display. They said they had made the display because soldiers saved our country. Pupils learn about right and wrong when, for example, they study the story of Guy Fawkes.

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Parents are very positive about the school. They said things such as, ‘This is a comfortable, caring school.’ Parents spoke passionately about how well their children had settled into the school. The headteacher is always available to them and they like this.

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Staff are very positive about the school. They are very proud to work here. Staff and governors appreciate what the headteacher has done to make sure staff are not over- loaded with work. 13–14 November 2019

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff and governors keep safeguarding at the centre of everything they do in school. Leaders make sure that training is up to date. Staff know how to recognise signs that might raise concerns about a pupil’s welfare. They record these concerns carefully. Leaders act quickly on any information they are given. The headteacher is quick to chase up external agencies to make sure pupils get the help they need.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including governors, make sure they carry out the appropriate checks for people working at the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some teachers do not move pupils along quickly enough in mathematics. Pupils, especially those pupils with lower prior attainment, could do better. Leaders need to make sure these pupils’ learning is more closely matched to their needs.  Pupils are not given enough opportunities to develop their pre-reading skills. This includes adults sharing books with pupils on an individual basis. Some pupils do not have the skills they need to read the books they are given. Teachers need to match books more precisely to the sounds pupils know, so pupils become confident readers.  Leaders have made a start on identifying the key vocabulary that pupils will learn in foundation subjects. Some pupils’ vocabulary is not as wide as it needs to be. Curriculum leaders need to make sure they sequence the most important knowledge more carefully to help pupils in the future.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2016. 13–14 November 2019

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How can I feed back my views?

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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 13–14 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110306 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Sue Kavanagh-O’Brien

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 March 2016

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Information about this school

 Baddow Hall Infant School is smaller than the average-sized school. There are two classes in each year group. The school does not have a nursery.  Since the previous inspection, there have been some staffing changes. The deputy headteacher took up post in September 2018 and the early years leader in September 2019.  The chair of the governing body took up post in October 2019.  The school has a breakfast club.

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Information about this inspection

 I held meetings with: the headteacher to discuss the curriculum, behaviour, attendance, staff workload and pupils’ personal development; the special educational needs coordinator to discuss the progress of pupils with SEND; a newly qualified teacher to discuss the impact of the support she receives from leaders; and a group of non-teaching staff to check their understanding of safeguarding. I met with members of the governing body to consider the impact of their work and a representative of the local authority to gain her views of the school. 13–14 November 2019

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 I looked in detail at three subjects. These were reading, mathematics and history. I spoke with curriculum leaders, visited lessons in each subject with the curriculum leaders, looked at a range of pupils’ work with leaders, and met with teachers and pupils. I also heard some pupils read and talked to them about their reading habits.  I spoke informally with pupils in lessons and at breaktime and lunchtime to seek their views of the school.  I scrutinised the single central register of staff who work at the school, a sample of child protection files and the child protection policy. I met with the designated safeguarding leader. I checked staff and governors’ knowledge of how to keep pupils safe from harm.  I checked that the school’s website complies with requirements. I considered a range of documentation provided by the school, including the school development plan, the school’s summary of its effectiveness and minutes of governing body meetings.

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 I took account of 31 responses to the staff survey, 55 responses to the pupil survey and 73 responses (including free-text responses) to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Helen Jones, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 13–14 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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