Beighton Nursery Infant School

Inspection of Beighton Nursery Infant School School Road, Beighton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S20 1EG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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 Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempt 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. 8 and 9 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

The majority of pupils feel safe in school. A few pupils find playtime very busy and are worried they might get hurt. Leaders have reviewed their approach to managing behaviour. This is helping pupils to settle back into school routines, following the period of remote learning. Staff follow this consistently. Pupils know the school’s ‘Bee Rules’, like ‘be kind’ and ‘be honest’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know what bullying is. They are confident that if it happened a teacher would speak to the bully and ‘tell them off’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive high-quality pastoral support. The pastoral lead uses the ‘sunshine circle time’ to provide nurturing activities that support the emotional well-being of pupils. Staff have received training on ‘Mighty Minds’, ‘Healthy Minds’, anxiety and attachment to ensure they understand how to support pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has been affected by high levels of staff absence related to COVID-19. Leaders have not been able to complete the planned monitoring of the curriculum. They have not been able to release curriculum leaders to effectively assess their subject. Leaders know this has directly impacted on the consistent delivery of the curriculum.

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better?

Leaders know that the school’s curriculum needs refining. The curriculum structure does not clearly outline how knowledge will develop from Nursery through to the end of key stage 1. Some curriculum leaders have not clearly identified the core knowledge, understanding and skills that pupils must learn and not forget. As a result, pupils could not recall things they had previously learned in subjects like mathematics and physical education (PE). Teachers do not use a consistent approach to assessment. This means that gaps in learning are not identified quickly enough. High levels of staff absence since September 2021, linked to COVID-19, have had an impact on these developments.

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better?

Curriculum leaders are enthusiastic about their subjects. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are experiencing a broad range of learning activities. However, curriculum leaders have had limited opportunities to develop their leadership skills and to monitor the development of their subjects across the school. This means that they do not know how effectively their subjects are being embedded.

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better?

A sequenced and progressive phonics scheme has been in place for several years. Daily catch-up sessions are in place for children in Reception and Year 1 to consolidate learning. Leaders have identified handwriting and presentation as an area for improvement following remote learning. However, during phonics sessions, opportunities to model the correct letter formation were missed. Leaders have ensured that pupils read books closely matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils 8 and 9 March 2022

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read regularly to adults, who support them well. Pupils enjoy using the school library to take home a ‘love of reading book’.

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The curriculum lacks ambition for some pupils. Procedures for providing challenge in lessons are linked to one, two and three-star tasks. Time constraints in lessons mean that some pupils do not reach the three-star tasks. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have support plans that include targets to meet their identified need. However, work in pupils’ books shows that the tasks do not align with the targets. This means the work is not positively impacting on their progress. Pupils with the greatest SEND are well supported. The collaborative work with an unregistered alternative provision is strong, ensuring pupils receive a bespoke therapeutic curriculum.

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The curriculum for the early years is well sequenced. Leaders have identified the core subject vocabulary that children need to be ready for the next stage in their learning. They use this in the learning activities. For example, children were investigating a sheep fleece in the nursery outdoor environment, practising vocabulary that they will use again in their learning on textiles in key stage 1. The learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, supports opportunities for adult- directed and child-initiated learning. A range of open-ended learning resources enable children to extend their play and develop their imaginations. There are strong relationships between adults and children.

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Governors hold leaders to account through their meetings with them. Visits to the school have been limited during COVID-19. This has reduced their ability to quality assure the school’s performance. Governors are aware of the high turnover of staff and analyse exit interviews to gather information about the employee’s experience.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and receive regular training and updates. They understand how to spot and raise a concern about a child. Leaders follow the local authority threshold guidance to decide when to involve external agencies.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have identified online safety as a specific challenge for their school. They have ensured that online safety is part of the relationship, sex and health education and computing curriculum. Leaders inform parents about media and online gaming risks. They signpost them to courses about online safety. Pupils know how to stay safe online and know to speak to a trusted adult if they have a concern. 8 and 9 March 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Curriculum leaders do not have a strong understanding of how their subject builds on what children learn in the early years. Leaders have not identified the essential knowledge for each key stage 1 unit of work. This means children are not adequately prepared for the next stage of learning. Leaders should ensure that the key stage 1 curriculum makes connections and builds on the prior knowledge established in the early years.  COVID-19 has limited leadership and training opportunities. While curriculum leaders have accessed some subject-specific training, it has not had the necessary impact on their curriculum thinking and subject monitoring. As a result, curriculum leaders do not know if the curriculum is being delivered in the way they intended. Leaders should ensure curriculum leaders have the training and expertise to lead and monitor so they can make judgements about the quality of the education they are providing.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The system for assessing pupils’ progress and understanding across the curriculum is not well developed. This means teachers do not use information to address the gaps in pupils’ learning. Leaders should ensure the assessment procedures are fit for purpose, systematic and consistently applied.  The support plans for pupils with SEND vary in quality. Some pupils do not access activities that match their target. Leaders should check that the targets on the support plans are being implemented, ensuring pupils are making swift progress.

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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. 8 and 9 March 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 March 2007

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average nursery and infant school.  The school has been significantly impacted by staff absences linked to COVID-19 throughout this academic year. During the inspection, the deputy headteacher was absent, and the headteacher was absent on 8 March. They remotely joined some of the inspection activities.  There have been significant staff changes since the last inspection.  There is high teaching staff turnover.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.

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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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, curriculum leaders and pupils. Meetings were also held with representatives of the governing body and Learn Sheffield. 8 and 9 March 2022

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, geography and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors met with curriculum leaders, spoke to pupils and teachers, looked at pupils’ work and visited a sample of lessons. Inspectors heard pupils read.  Inspectors examined safeguarding records, attendance figures, curriculum plans and policies.  The views of parents were considered from their response to Ofsted’s parent survey.  The views of staff were considered from meeting with staff, from individual correspondence and from the responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.  The views of pupils were considered from the responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire and from meeting with them.

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Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Michele Costello Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alex Thorp Her Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 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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