The Orchard Infant School

Inspection of The Orchard Infant School Bridge Road, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9HT

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding 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.

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Overall effectiveness Good

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. 22 and 23 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy at The Orchard Infant School. They know that staff care for them and listen to them, and they feel safe because of this. They identify ‘kindness’ as one of the most important aspects of their school. Pupils eagerly explain what kindness is and what being a good friend means. They are proud of being part of a community that values such behaviours.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand that some people sometimes find it harder to focus on their learning or to communicate with others. They follow the lead of staff to include everyone, making adaptations thoughtfully. Pupils know what bullying is and are confident that any bullying would be dealt with quickly and effectively by teachers. Their behaviour and attitudes are exceptional.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Running through this happy, inclusive community is a sense of a calm joy in learning. Pupils know that staff have high expectations of them. They are keen to rise to these expectations and delighted to share their work, especially their reading and writing. They love learning new words and cherish the books that are everywhere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are equally happy with the school, many saying that their children have been nurtured to develop a real love of learning.

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better?

Staff work as a united team, all dedicated to providing a high-quality education for the pupils in their care. They have exceptionally high expectations for all pupils and understand how to adapt resources to enable all, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to flourish. Governors share the passion for inclusion and ensure that resources are used well to this end.

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better?

From Reception upwards, pupils benefit from clear structures and routines. They tidy resources and move to their next task efficiently and impressively quickly, keen to have a go at their new learning.

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better?

The mathematics curriculum is a strength of the school. Staff use assessment with precision to understand what pupils know and what they need to know next. The picture is very similar with reading. In both these areas, staff move swiftly to correct misconceptions or help pupils at risk of falling behind. Leaders have ensured that all staff are experts in these areas, so their work is highly effective. Consequently, from the word go in Reception Year, pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident and successful with reading and mathematics.

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better?

Leaders have learned from this very successful approach to assessment and planning. They are helping staff to apply it across the wider curriculum. In many curriculum areas this work is already showing success. In these cases, staff 22 and 23 March 2022

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systematically identify exactly what pupils can remember and what they need to revisit or move on to. However, there are a few areas where the thinking about what pupils need to learn is not as clear. In these situations, activities lose their learning focus and can become more about the activity than the knowledge that pupils need to learn.

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Senior leaders have planned routine reviews of each curriculum area, so that they can identify how to refine and develop each area to the standard they intend. However, because this has not happened across all subjects, partly hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, some are not delivered as leaders intend. Some subject leaders have not considered how they can check that staff in other year groups fully understand what plans mean and what learning is intended. Consequently, there is variation in how well pupils learn across the school.

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Provision for pupils with SEND is a strength of the school. This is a highly inclusive school and the ethos at all times is about understanding pupils’ needs, so that they can be met. The special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo) trains staff well to identify and understand pupils’ needs.

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The school ethos of inclusion is impressively demonstrated by pupils whose behaviour and attitudes are consistently strong. They actively support each other and celebrate difference. They are excited to learn about different cultures and their own heritage. They give reasoned views for choices, especially those that affect others, such as which games to play outside.

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Leaders have high ambition for pupils’ personal development. However, there is some inconsistency in how each year group has followed the planned curriculum. This means that some pupils have not fully grasped what leaders intend. Leaders are delighted to be able to re-start extra-curricular activities. They are following due diligence as they try to engage external providers to offer a full range of clubs to cater for all.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that all staff know the importance of being alert to any indicators of worry. Staff follow the school’s processes well and leaders take prompt action when concerns are raised. This action helps to secure help that pupils need.

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Safeguarding

Staff teach pupils how to identify risks and keep themselves safe. Pupils are knowledgeable about keeping safe online. They explain when they need to tell a grown up about worries. They are confident that adults at school always take them seriously.

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Safeguarding

Safer recruitment processes are followed. Minor administrative errors in the recording of these checks were corrected during the inspection. 22 and 23 March 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few curriculum areas, some activities are more about the experience than the knowledge that pupils will learn. Consequently, in these areas, pupils do not build or secure the knowledge that they need well enough. Leaders need to ensure that all staff understand what knowledge pupils are intended to learn and how best to help pupils to learn it.  Some subject leaders are not confident about how they will ensure that all staff deliver the curriculum as planned. This means that there is variation in how well pupils learn across the school. Senior leaders need to consider how they can best support subject leaders to grow in confidence to manage other staff and recognise it as their responsibility.

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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. 22 and 23 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211776 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 8 and 9 May 2007, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection there have been many staff changes and a new chair of the governing body.  The school has a SEND resource centre for six pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans to support their speech, language and communication needs. Other pupils in the school with EHC plans access this provision as needed.  A very small number of pupils with SEND access specialist resources via an external unregistered provision for two hours a week.  The school provides breakfast and after-school clubs on the school site. Externally registered companies provide additional after-school clubs.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 22 and 23 March 2022

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, the assistant headteachers, the SENCo and the early years leader. They also met with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body. A video call was held with the school improvement advisor from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, geography and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of the safeguarding arrangements in the school by speaking with leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to examine her knowledge, records and actions. During these meetings, records were scrutinised, including those related to the

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safer recruitment of staff. Case files were sampled to explore how the school identifies and supports pupils at risk of harm.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents by talking to some at the beginning of the school day and by considering the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey and the accompanying free-text comments. They considered staff views by talking to them individually, in groups and through the online staff questionnaire. They spoke to pupils formally and informally, in groups and around the school.

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Inspection team

Lucy English, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Michelle Lower Her Majesty's Inspector 22 and 23 March 2022

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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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