Glenfield Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Glenfield Infant School Rossington Way, Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire SO18 4RN

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 October 2021

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Outcome

Glenfield Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff’s warmth, dedication and high expectations get pupils off to a flying start in this school. Pupils learn and play with energy and enthusiasm. They look forward to lessons and tackle their work conscientiously. Pupils respond promptly to adults’ instructions and move around the school calmly and purposefully. They follow the school rules and are rightly proud of their respectful behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils and families are welcomed into the heart of the school’s generous community. If pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), school leaders and staff make sure that the right support is in place. Pupils accept each other and enjoy being together, irrespective of different backgrounds, abilities or families.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils believe in the school’s values of resilience and kindness. They try and try again if things get difficult. Pupils deliberately set out to be kind to each other so that no one feels rejected or unhappy. Staff make sure that pupils learn the harm caused by unkind words or actions. One pupil said, ‘If we weren’t taught to be kind, it wouldn’t be a very good school.’ Parents really value the way that staff care about their children and support them, especially when family life becomes difficult.

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

The school provides an ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils well for junior school. In all subjects, staff know what pupils must learn. They make sure that pupils practise, so knowledge gets lodged in their memories. For example, in mathematics, pupils get opportunities to practise their quick recognition of numbers, right from the early years up through to Year 2. In art, teachers make sure that pupils have plenty of time to practise sophisticated sketching techniques, such as stippling and scumbling. Similarly, staff in Reception help children to try out ways of mixing paint when they are learning about primary colours. In this way, pupils remember more, become proficient and are proud of what they have achieved. 12 and 13 October 2021

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There are equally high expectations for pupils with SEND. Their needs are carefully identified through a staged approach, which ensures the right kind of support. Pupils with SEND learn similar subject content alongside their peers, with additional time to break down tasks, extra resources and one-to-one support where needed.

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The teaching of reading is a strength of the school. Adults sound out letters accurately and take account of those pupils at an early stage of speaking English or who have speech and language needs. Pupils have the right books to practise their phonics and staff work hard to help parents to read with their children. The school is in the process of changing its phonics programme to increase pupils’ progression in their reading.

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Texts in English lessons capture pupils’ imaginations. Pupils read a mixture of classic stories, new writers, non-fiction and poetry. Inviting reading materials also fill the Reception classrooms. Tempting recipe books attract children’s interest when they are in the home corner, with picture books and comics for quiet times. A real buzz during guided reading shows how much pupils enjoy reading. When asked why they liked reading, one pupil said, ‘Because I like to know about the characters and what they will do next.’

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Pupils need few reminders about their behaviour. Very little disrupts learning or the upbeat atmosphere of the school. A vibrant calendar of events, trips, clubs and activities draws pupils in, with something enriching for everyone. In their ‘safety passports’, pupils learn skills for life, including road safety, e-safety and respecting their bodies. Pupils’ charming and expressive singing in assemblies is a joy to hear.

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Since the last inspection, changes to leadership roles have helped to reduce individual leaders’ workload and strengthen the curriculum. The newly appointed deputy headteacher is carefully overseeing the changes to the early years curriculum. However, these changes are not fully embedded. Adults in Reception are getting used to the new curriculum. Some are not completely clear about when or how they should respond to children when they are in the middle of a learning activity.

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Teaching staff feel very well supported by the senior team. Subject leaders relish their responsibilities and the opportunity they have to create a strong curriculum. However, subject leaders are new to monitoring the full impact of their work across the school, including in the early years.

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Governors and the trust work effectively together to provide support, guidance and strict challenge to leaders. The school is fortunate to draw upon the expertise and partnership of other schools and leaders in the trust while they continue to refine their curriculum. 12 and 13 October 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained to recognise potential signs of harm in children. They report any concerns promptly and leaders diligently make sure that these are followed up. Leaders get to know pupils and their families well. They understand the community and whether there are any local risks. The school works effectively with other professionals to reduce harm to children and get them the help they need. Information about child protection is recorded in detail and overseen meticulously to ensure that no concerns are missed. Checks on adults appointed to work in the school are carried out thoroughly and monitored by governors and the trust.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Although staff in early years are skilled and experienced practitioners, they are taking time to adjust to the new curriculum and expectations. Leaders and staff must ensure that adults working in the Reception classes have clear direction and understand the new ways of working, particularly in their interactions with children to maximise their early development.  Subject leaders are at an early stage of their monitoring role and are not yet fully confident when evaluating the impact of their curriculum plans, including in the early years. Leaders must make sure that subject leaders are supported to understand the progression of their subject from Reception to the end of key stage 1, so that pupils learn the right content in the right order.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Glenfield Infant School, to be good in June 2012. 12 and 13 October 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 12 and 13 October 2021

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School details

Headteacher Joanne Dorricott and Elizabeth Carrie (Co- Headteachers) Website www.glenfieldschool.co.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, the co-headteachers have changed their working patterns so that each works for three days per week with Wednesday as the overlap day.  A deputy headteacher was appointed from September 2021 to lead the early years.  The school is part of the Hamwic Education Trust.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation.  The inspector met with the co-headteachers, senior leaders, members of the governing board and the deputy chief executive officer of the Hamwic Education Trust.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum 12 and 13 October 2021

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planning, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils and looked at their work. The inspector also listened to pupils reading to a familiar adult.  A meeting was held with the co-headteachers to review safeguarding arrangements in the school. The inspector also spoke to staff about their understanding of safeguarding duties. The single central record of checks made on adults working in the school was reviewed.  The inspector reviewed examples of planning for pupils with SEND.  She observed pupils playing at lunchtime and while they were having their lunch.  The inspector toured the school with a small group of pupils to discuss the school’s values, pupils’ behaviour and how the school helps pupils with their wider development.  The inspector took into account 79 responses to Ofsted Parent View and considered over 50 free-text responses. The inspector also spoke to a number of parents at the

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school gate. Responses to the staff survey were also considered.  The inspector reviewed the school’s improvement plan, its self-evaluation document and minutes of the governing board meetings.

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Inspection team

Janet Pearce, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 12 and 13 October 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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