South Harringay Infant School

Inspection of a good school: South Harringay Infant School Pemberton Road, Haringey, London N4 1BA

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 November 2021

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Outcome

South Harringay Infant School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are friendly and welcoming to everyone who comes to their school. They love to express their views about their learning and the world around them. Staff provide an exceptionally nurturing environment that ensures each pupil’s individual interests and talents are known and celebrated.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s vision of ‘Our school is a thriving village’ is considered daily. Pupils are encouraged to try their very best. Staff know their pupils extremely well. These strong relationships mean that the school is often described as ‘more like a family’ by parents, pupils and staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and playtimes is exemplary. They play with each other harmoniously. At playtimes, pupils have fun with their friends, playing with the different equipment and games on offer. Children in early years soon learn the school’s routines and staff’s expectations of them. Everyone feels included and part of a caring community. Pupils and parents say that there is no bullying in the school and that any unkindness is quickly dealt with.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents know that staff combine the highest expectations for every pupil with real care. Pupils are taught about the school’s values and the importance of respect for one another. Pupils feel safe in school.

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

Leaders are ambitious for every pupil. Pupils receive a high-quality curriculum for all subjects of the national curriculum. Plans for each subject are sequenced carefully so that key knowledge, skills and vocabulary are revisited over time. This allows pupils to learn more and remember more from an early age. 16 and 17 November 2021

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Early reading is a strength. Pupils start to learn about letter shapes and sounds as soon as they start in the Nursery. Children in Reception Year begin to recognise and repeat letter sounds in their phonics lessons. All staff are trained in delivering the carefully planned phonics programme. This ensures that pupils quickly secure their knowledge of letters and sounds. Pupils enjoy and actively take part in their phonics lessons and achieve well in reading. Teachers regularly assess what pupils can do and provide extra support if they need it.

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Adults continue teaching pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 to read well. Pupils read regularly and have access to high-quality books in class and in the school library. As a result, they develop a love of reading and become fluent readers.

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Mathematics is planned and taught to a high standard. Teachers are confident in their subject knowledge and enjoy teaching the subject. Pupils achieve highly in mathematics. For example, children in the Reception year practise their counting skills and match digits up to twenty to the correct number of objects. In Year 1, pupils are able to apply their prior learning to identify the names of shapes and number of vertices in geometry.

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In art and design, early years children practise mixing colours. This helps them to select and mix their own colours when creating pieces of art further up the school. Leaders have chosen a diverse range of artists for pupils to learn about. This helps pupils see themselves as artists. Pupils’ artwork is displayed and celebrated around the school. An ambitious geography curriculum is being implemented. Pupils learn and revise essential vocabulary in geography at the beginning of each lesson. This helps pupils to remember the names of cities and the local area. Maps and atlases are used well and are linked to other areas of learning, such as computing. In music, pupils love singing in assemblies.

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Staff work together to support pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. Staff know their pupils well and match their needs with the support they need, so that they achieve as well as others.

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Behaviour is exceptional. Pupils behave consistently well, even when adults are not present. There is no disruption in lessons, which means that pupils can learn at all times. They move around the school calmly. In the early years foundation stage children walk around the school sensibly almost as soon as they join. They all behave well and follow adult instructions.

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Leaders and governors place high importance on the ways in which the school supports pupils’ wider personal development. Pupils have lots of opportunities to visit places of interest, such as the local wildlife reserve.

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Staff say they are proud to work in the school. They say that leaders promote their well- being. Staff say they feel part of a community, where everyone supports one another. Leaders manage staff workload well and new teachers feel valued.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 and 17 November 2021

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The safeguarding culture is strong in this school. The experienced leadership team deals with any concerns immediately. Leaders know pupils’ families well. They engage with outside agencies and insist on the best outcomes for families. Leaders build close relationships with parents and carers and discuss concerns with them immediately. Staff are well trained in safeguarding and know what procedures to follow in keeping children safe from harm.

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Pupils all have at least one trusted adult they can talk to if they have any worries. They learn what precautions to take to stay safe, including age-appropriate online safety.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have introduced an ambitious new humanities curriculum. This is helping pupils understand and remember the names of the local area and the roads they live in. They are also developing skills in map work and planning routes. However, with so much new vocabulary for pupils to learn, this sometimes leads to confusion in recalling, for example, the cities and countries of the United Kingdom. Leaders need to refine in even greater detail the key vocabulary and skills they expect pupils to understand and remember.

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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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2016.

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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. 16 and 17 November 2021

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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. 16 and 17 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200332 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 South Harringay Infants school is an average size two-form entry community school in the London Borough of Haringey.  The Infant and Junior schools federated in September 2016.  The headteacher became executive headteacher of the two schools in September 2016.  The school does not 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 the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher, the head of the infant school, middle leaders and subject leaders. The inspector met with some governors, including the chair of the governing body and a representative from the local education partnership. 16 and 17 November 2021

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. He heard pupils read and observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects, such as art, physical education and music.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at playtimes and listened to what pupils had to say about their school.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding. The inspector scrutinised the records the school keeps in relation to safeguarding and welfare. The inspector looked at the single central record and at records of staff training. He spoke with staff and pupils to understand the school’s culture of safeguarding.

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 The inspector reviewed the responses submitted by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire. The inspector also reviewed responses to the survey for staff, and spoke with parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Sean Flood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 November 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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