Whiteheath Infant & Nursery School

Inspection of Whiteheath Infant & Nursery School Ladygate Lane, Ruislip, Middlesex, HA4 7RF

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 September 2021

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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 Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time. From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 15 and 16 September 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and carers, and staff all agree that Whiteheath Infant and Nursery School is, in the words of one parent, ‘just a lovely place to be’. This is because adults and pupils respect one another and make sure everyone feels safe, valued and included.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) said that they value the care and support their children receive. Pupils appreciate the interesting range of clubs that teachers run for them, such as street dance and tennis. These have restarted as soon as the circumstances of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic have allowed them to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders set out clearly the high expectations they have for pupils’ learning. Children in the early years understand what school is for right from the start. Teachers expect pupils to build on what they have learned before and to think hard in their lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtime. They learn to understand what friendship means. Teachers explain to pupils how others should treat them. Pupils feel confident to speak up if they are not treated in the way they expect. This allows adults to discover and address any early signs of bullying. Pupils said that bullying is rare.

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better?

The headteacher is new to the school and has thoroughly reviewed the curriculum. She has made wise decisions about what to make a priority for improvement. As a result, teaching makes sure that pupils learn the skills and knowledge they will need to do well when they move to the junior school. Nursery-aged children quickly learn how to use the activities and routines which teachers set up to help them learn the curriculum. Teachers adapt planning so that pupils with SEND can learn the same subject content as others.

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better?

Reading is a priority from the moment children enter the Nursery. Leaders make sure that staff are trained to teach phonics accurately. They keep this training going so new staff know exactly how reading is taught. This ensures that teachers are skilled at picking up when children fall behind and are successful at helping them catch up. In the early years, staff set up activities which help children to practise identifying and reading the letters and sounds they are learning. Teachers select the right books to help pupils become confident at reading independently. They also choose and share books to develop pupils’ love of literature.

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better?

The mathematics curriculum is well planned. In the early years, plans are informed by the revised statutory framework. Through carefully sequenced activities, children learn about numbers and measuring. Adults talk with and question children carefully 15 and 16 September 2021

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to develop their understanding. This well-organised approach continues throughout Years 1 and 2. As a result, pupils achieve well in mathematics.

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In most other subjects, such as religious education, leaders have decided exactly what they want pupils to learn. Teachers check for gaps in pupils’ learning and make sure pupils use what they have remembered in future lessons. However, this is not consistently the case across all subjects. When there is less precision in curriculum planning, sometimes teachers find it harder to make sure learning has been successful.

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In all year groups, pupils typically behave well and are motivated to learn. Incidents of low-level disruption are rare. On occasion, pupils’ attention can wane when subject planning is not adapted to meet their needs.

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Leaders have used what they learned from using remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic to retain a clear plan for its further use when necessary. Parents are positive about the response of leaders to the challenge of providing education remotely.

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Staff feel valued and supported by leaders and governors. They appreciate how leaders have helped them to streamline the way they check and record how well pupils are learning. Leaders make time to check on and support the well-being of staff.

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Pupils take part in visits and activities which help them to discover new interests. They benefit from and enjoy the well-established forest school. These experiences also encourage pupils to appreciate the diversity of cultures in their own neighbourhood and further afield. Leaders made sure these opportunities continued as best they could during the pandemic. For example, pupils took part in a virtual tour of the Tower of London.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors make sure to gain the skills and knowledge they need to keep pupils safe. They go beyond the minimum in understanding revisions to statutory safeguarding guidance. Teachers remember their training which helps them spot when pupils may be at risk. For example, they know how to recognise signs that one pupil may be being treated unkindly by another.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that concerns are recorded and organised in a way that builds up a clear picture of pupils’ welfare. They do not rest until they are sure everything possible has been done if they think a pupil is at risk. They expect the best efforts from other professionals they work with. 15 and 16 September 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders review the curriculum systematically and have made sure it is clear what pupils should learn and remember in most subjects. However, in a few subjects the knowledge and skills which pupils are expected to learn have not been identified as precisely. This means that teachers find it harder to tell how much of the intended curriculum content pupils have committed to memory and can use again. Leaders should strengthen curriculum plans, ensuring that the content and sequence of learning in all subjects are precisely defined.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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 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. 15 and 16 September 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199420 Type of school Nursery and Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.whiteheath-inf.hillingdon.sch.uk

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up her post in April 2021 after a period when the school was led by an acting headteacher.

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Information about this school

 Governors are responsible for an on-site breakfast club and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  The school has not been inspected for 14 years, which is longer than the normal interval between inspections under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Changes in school effectiveness may have happened at any point in that period. The long time between inspections is because the law changed in 2011; it made most outstanding schools exempt from routine inspection.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, geography and religious education. During these they spoke with pupils, 15 and 16 September 2021

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looked at pupils’ work, heard pupils read, visited lessons, spoke with leaders about curriculum plans and held discussions with teachers.  Meetings were also held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. Inspectors spoke with staff responsible for pupils with SEND and the designated safeguarding lead.  Inspectors looked at records related to safeguarding and behaviour. They also viewed curriculum plans and leaders’ plans for improvement.  Inspectors took into account responses to the Ofsted staff survey, written comments made by parents and responses to Ofsted Parent View, the online survey. Inspectors spoke informally with some parents at the beginning of the school day.

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Inspection team

Andrew Wright, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Matthews Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 September 2021

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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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