St Mildred's Primary Infant School

Inspection of an outstanding school: St Mildred’s Primary Infant School St Mildred’s Avenue, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 2BX

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 November 2021

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Outcome

St Mildred’s Primary Infant School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

St Mildred’s is a friendly and welcoming infant school. Leadership of the school at all levels is exceptional. Leaders and staff are ambitious for pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders make sure that there are many opportunities for pupils to flourish. Everyone works together to help pupils achieve their very best. Consequently, pupils are happy and eager to be at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values of ‘honesty, enjoyment, achievement, respect and teamwork (HEART)’ are well understood and achieved by everyone. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other as well as to adults. They understand the rules and follow these well. On the rare occasions when pupils do not follow the rules, adults are quick to help pupils understand the consequences of their behaviour. Pupils enjoy their friendships and are kind to each other. They look forward to weekly celebration assemblies where they can receive rewards such as ‘kind heart’ bear, superhero of the week or a golden ticket.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff care for and nurture pupils with commendable dedication. Parents overwhelmingly agree. Their satisfaction is exemplified by the comment of one parent: ‘St Mildred’s provides outstanding standards of academic supervision and pastoral care.’

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

Leaders are determined that pupils should receive an excellent education so that they can leave St Mildred’s as informed and well-rounded individuals. This vision is understood by staff and executed with much skill and passion.

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

The school’s curriculum, including in early years, has been carefully crafted. Pupils study a broad range of subjects. Subject leaders are knowledgeable about their areas of responsibility. They carefully check that high standards are consistently maintained throughout the school. Teachers’ planning ensures that pupils’ curiosity and independence 23 and 24 November 2021

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are encouraged and developed at every stage. This consistency means that there is an equality of opportunity for pupils across every subject, class and year group.

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In all subjects, teachers carefully plan how learning fits into a series of lessons so pupils can develop their knowledge and skills successfully. For example, in art pupils are taught the difference between hard and soft pencils. They build on this knowledge to develop their skills in shading.

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Leaders make sure that pupils learn to read as soon as they start in Reception. Staff know how to teach pupils to read because they are well trained. Pupils confidently apply their phonics knowledge when reading. They are provided with books to read that match the sounds they are learning at school. Leaders closely monitor any pupil who may be falling behind with their reading and put in place additional support to help these pupils catch up.

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The leadership of early years is very strong. Children get off to a superb start when they join the school. Learning is weaved through every activity. Nothing is left to chance. For example, during the inspection children were developing their spatial awareness in mathematics by putting different colour cubes above, below and next to each other while building a tower.

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Leaders are ambitious for pupils with SEND. The curriculum is adapted to take account of their needs so they can be successful. Staff know precisely what they need to do to help individual pupils. The school is highly inclusive and offers bespoke nurture and support.

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The school is calm and orderly. Staff apply the behaviour policy consistently, so pupils understand and rise to their high expectations. Leaders and adults explicitly model how they expect pupils to behave and treat pupils with much respect and understanding.

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Leaders are determined to equip pupils with ‘skills for life’. Pupils enjoy the leadership opportunities they are offered, for example as a member of the school council where they represent the school at open days. Pupils relish being a ‘register monitor’, a ‘line leader’ or a ‘playground buddy.’ Leaders carefully consider pupils’ well-being. The personal, social and health (PSHE) education curriculum covers a range of topics including celebrating difference and keeping healthy. Pupils are encouraged to share their feelings through daily ‘emotional check-ins’. Leaders offer extra-curricular activities such as gymnastics and choir as well as interesting excursions. Staff promote the school’s values and model the importance of kindness through discussions and assemblies.

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There is a strong feeling of camaraderie among the staff, where everyone works for the benefit of the pupils. Staff, many of whom have been at the school for a long time as well as teachers who are new to teaching, feel valued and ‘invested in’ by leaders. They appreciate leaders’ careful attention to their workload and their professional development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 23 and 24 November 2021

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There is a culture of care and vigilance at the school. Effective communication means that staff know pupils and their families well. The designated safeguarding leader is knowledgeable about safeguarding matters. Leaders are tenacious in their work and liaise closely with external agencies to ensure that pupils and their families receive the support they need. Leaders make sure that staff are appropriately trained so they can keep pupils safe. Staff understand how to report and manage any concerns they may have.

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Leaders diligently undertake the statutory checks required on all adults who work at or visit the school. These records are meticulously maintained.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. 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 outstanding in January 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.

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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. 23 and 24 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199514 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher James Williams (Executive Headteacher) Elena Hill (Co-Head of School) Hannah Crutchley (Co-Head of School) Website http://www.st-mildreds.kent.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 – 28 January 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In February 2020 the school federated with Bromstone Primary School. The two schools share the same governing body.  Following the retirement of the previous executive headteacher in December 2020, a new executive headteacher was appointed in January 2021. The executive headteacher has overarching responsibility for the two schools in the federation as well as two other schools.  The school is a member of a co-operative of schools called the Thanet Endeavour Learning 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 their evaluation. 23 and 24 November 2021

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 The inspector met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. The inspector talked to four members of the governing body including the chair and vice chair.  A telephone conversation was held between the inspector and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and art. 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. The inspector also listened to some pupils read.  Curriculum planning and pupils’ work in a range of subjects, including history and geography, were scrutinised by the inspector.  As part of the inspection of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding arrangements. The inspector looked at relevant documents and staff recruitment checks.

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 In order to gather the views of parents, the inspector considered 36 responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and 36 free-text comments. The inspector also considered 26 responses to Ofsted’s confidential staff survey and considered the views of staff during meetings.

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Inspection team

Frances Nation, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 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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