Ashcroft Infants' School

Inspection of Ashcroft Infants' School Mildenhall, Off Wigginton Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 8RU

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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 Good 7 and 8 December 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy school. Adults go the extra mile to make sure that pupils are well looked after. Parents value this support. One parent summed up the views of many in describing the school as ‘a lovely nurturing school, with lovely caring staff’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and orderly. Pupils say that they are kind to one another. Adults teach pupils how to keep themselves safe in personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons. These lessons include learning about online safety. Bullying is rare. On the odd times pupils misbehave, pupils say that adults sort it out straight away. As a result, pupils say they feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults want all pupils to do the best they can. This means preparing pupils to be good active citizens as well as achieving well in their schoolwork. Adults do this by teaching pupils how to behave responsibly. For example, by wearing a jumper to raise money for the Save the Children charity, or by litter picking in the local area. Pupils speak with pride about the roles they can take on. This includes being a member of the school council or being a line leader.

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better?

Leaders have thought carefully about the curriculum that pupils follow. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), follow a broad and balanced curriculum. Subjects are well planned and sequenced. Leaders consider what to teach in each key stage. This means that pupils build on what they know year on year.

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better?

Children in Nursery get off to a good start. Learning focuses on teaching children through the prime areas of learning in the early years foundation stage. Clear learning routines begin in Nursery. For example, during ‘wake up and shake up’ adults show children the behaviour they expect from them. As a result, children follow instructions and listen to adults carefully.

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better?

Reading is a priority for the school. Every classroom has a reading corner. The school library is an inviting area. An effective reading programme is in place. It begins in Nursery when adults teach children to recognise letters and the sounds they make. Pupils read every day. Leaders regularly check how well pupils are learning to read. If pupils fall behind, they act quickly to give them extra help. As a result, pupils are becoming confident readers.

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better?

In early years and Year 1, adults use resources effectively to support pupils’ learning. For example, in mathematics the use of number lines helps pupils to count on or back successfully. Adults assess how well pupils are learning. This includes asking pupils questions about their work. However, at times adults miss the opportunity to check how well pupils understand the answers they give. 7 and 8 December 2021

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Pupils with SEND achieve well. Adults provide them with resources that support their learning effectively. This includes the use of visual timetables. Pupils who need extra help have individual learning programmes (ILPs). These identify learning targets for pupils. However, sometimes these targets are not precise enough. For example, some are difficult to measure. When a pupil achieves their target, it is not always recorded in their book.

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Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. For example, in religious education lessons, pupils talk about skin colour and how we are all different.

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Staff value the support that leaders give to them. Leaders are considerate of staff workload. They help staff to maintain a healthy work-life balance. A comment made by one member of staff reflects the views of many, ‘the culture here is invaluable’.

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Governors are committed to the school and its pupils. They effectively hold leaders to account for their work. For example, they challenge leaders about what support pupils are having who have fallen behind in their work because of COVID-19.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know their pupils well. They take their welfare seriously. Leaders make sure that staff know how to report a concern. Staff do this confident in the knowledge that leaders will take the appropriate action. This includes referring pupils to external agencies. As a result, pupils and their families get the right help when they need it.

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Safeguarding

All staff have up-to-date training. Child protection records are detailed and well organised. The school completes the appropriate checks on all adults who work at, or visit, the school. Consequently, parents say their child is safe in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times when adults use assessment in the classroom to check pupils’ learning, they miss opportunities to use questioning effectively to fully check pupils’ understanding. As a result, adults are not always clear how well pupils have absorbed their learning. Leaders need to ensure that adults use questioning consistently well to help pupils embed and apply their knowledge and understanding.  Not all targets in ILPs are precise enough. When a pupil achieves their target, this is not always recorded in their books. Leaders need to ensure that all pupils’ ILP targets are exact enough and once achieved are recorded consistently in their books. 7 and 8 December 2021

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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. 7 and 8 December 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10199761 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.ashcroftinfantandnursery.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 May 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school provides wraparound care.

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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 COVID-19 began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, staff, members of the governing body, including the chair and the school improvement adviser. The lead inspector also spoke on the telephone to a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their 7 and 8 December 2021

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learning and looked at samples of work. An inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspectors talked to pupils at unstructured times during the day.  An inspector talked to parents at the school gate.  Inspectors evaluated a range of school documents, including a staff survey provided by the school and looked at information on the school’s website.  The lead inspector checked the single central record and the procedures for the recruitment of staff. She also met with the school’s designated safeguarding leader.  The lead inspector considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Su Plant Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 December 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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