Pine Ridge Infant School & Nursery

Inspection of a good school: Pine Ridge Infant School Esher Road, Old Dean Estate, Camberley, Surrey GU15 4AW

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Outcome

Pine Ridge Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pine Ridge Infant School is a warm and friendly school. Pupils told us that they enjoy coming to school because they learn a lot and feel safe and cared for. They get on well with their teachers and each other. Pupils find learning interesting and say that everyone is kind. Pupils are enthusiastic about reading and they work hard in lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The trust, school leaders and staff have high expectations for all pupils. These expectations extend across pupils’ academic and personal development. Pupils are encouraged to celebrate all their successes, be proud of what they achieve and be ambitious for their futures.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They play together sensibly during playtimes and lunchtimes. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and are very keen to get involved in the activities planned for them. Pupils said that bullying is rare but, if it happens, they trust adults to sort it out quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide good opportunities to help parents and carers understand the way that things are taught. Most parents appreciate the work of the school. One parent said, ‘My son absolutely loves it and he’s learned so much.’

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

Leaders have planned an ambitious and exciting curriculum. Pupils say they enjoy a wide range of subjects, including science, writing and geography. Leaders have thought carefully about the knowledge they want pupils to learn. This is because they are determined that pupils will have the best possible education. The curriculum is not always planned systematically but this is being addressed methodically by leaders.

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

Teachers accurately assess pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding. Teachers provide pupils with demanding work. If they get stuck, teachers change their plans so that they can help them. Staff work well to help pupils remember what they have been taught by 10 December 2019

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going over work they have done in the past. Teachers know precisely when pupils can most effectively learn new knowledge.

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Pupils achieve well. Teachers check on pupils’ learning across the curriculum. They use this information to identify gaps in pupils’ understanding, to challenge errors and to plan the further learning. This builds pupils’ learning securely over time. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do well. They get the right support at the right time to make sure that they learn as well as their classmates. Staff are well trained to meet the needs of SEND pupils.

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Leaders have made sure that reading is a high priority. The acting head of school has provided expert leadership and support in developing teachers’ understanding of phonics. Pupils say that they enjoy reading and regularly read books from the library and from classrooms that match their knowledge of phonics. Staff are well trained and deliver lessons skilfully. Staff reinforce phonics knowledge during lessons in other subjects well, especially when pupils are writing. This means that most pupils quickly develop the knowledge that they need to become fluent readers.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. Staff manage any challenging behaviour effectively. The ‘Thrive’ approach ensures that there is a wide range of specialist support for pupils who find managing their own behaviour difficult.

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Children settle happily into the Nursery and Reception classes. Staff link learning well and ensure that tasks are meaningful. For example, children enjoyed learning about shape while making a stable with wooden blocks. Staff develop children’s communication and language skills well. The classrooms are vibrant, safe and exciting places to learn. As a result, children achieve well.

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Pupils develop a wide range of skills and knowledge. They take on responsibilities that help them to learn about leadership and teamwork. Pupils enjoy a wide range of activities that take place during and after the school day. They talked enthusiastically about the clubs they take part in, for example football, yoga and dance. Pupils benefit from a wide range of visits to places of interest. For example, pupils learned about historic buildings when visiting the castles at Windsor and Farnham.

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Leaders, trustees and governors know the strengths of the school and the things that need to be improved. Staff speak positively about the senior leaders’ approach to supporting them with their workload. Leaders help staff maintain a healthy work-life balance and remove any unnecessary tasks.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that there is a strong culture of keeping children safe. Staff know pupils well and are extremely vigilant about their safety and well-being. Staff understand what to do if they have any concerns about pupils. There is an effective system in place to record and communicate concerns raised. Leaders take appropriate and swift action 10 December 2019

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when there are any worries about a child’s welfare. They work closely with outside agencies to ensure that vulnerable children and their families get the help and support they need. All staff and governors have completed training in safeguarding relevant to their roles.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have generally planned the curriculum carefully in most subjects. There is more thought required in the sequencing of learning in some subjects. Leaders need to ensure that the key skills and knowledge that pupils learn are built upon more systematically.

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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 predecessor school, also called Pine Ridge Infant School, to be good on 12 January 2012.

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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. 10 December 2019

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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. 10 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111237 Type of school Infant

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School details

Headteacher Claire-Louise West (executive headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school converted to an academy and became part of the GLF Schools multi- academy trust in February 2017.  The acting head of school is the substantive head of school in a nearby infant school from within the same trust. He took up his post in September 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, we spoke with pupils, both formally and informally, about their learning and what it is like to be a pupil at the school.  We met with the headteacher, special educational needs coordinator, middle leaders and a range of staff in the school.  We met with the chair of the local governing body, two education professionals from the trust and the chief executive officer of the trust.  The four responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, were considered, as well as the parents’ comments received via the free-text facility. An inspector also spoke with parents in the playground at the end of the day. The 21 responses to Ofsted’s 10 December 2019

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confidential online staff survey were taken into account.  We reviewed a range of documentation and scrutinised the checks undertaken on staff and other safeguarding information.  We did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. We met with subject leaders, visited lessons, met with teaching staff, spoke with pupils and looked at their work. We also visited the early years and heard children read.

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Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Nigel Cook Ofsted Inspector 10 December 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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