Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Kelly Williams Executive Headteacher Heathfields Infant Academy Saxon Close Wilnecote Tamworth Staffordshire B77 5LU

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No formal designation inspection of Heathfields Infant Academy

Following my visit with Heather Simpson, Her Majesty’s Inspector, to your school on 26 April 2022, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and the time you took to discuss your school.

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No formal designation inspection of Heathfields Infant Academy

This inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for no formal designation (NFD) inspections. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector wished to determine the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school as concerns had been raised with Ofsted about the effectiveness of leadership and management in the school (including governance).

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No formal designation inspection of Heathfields Infant Academy

We do not give graded judgements on NFD inspections. However, if we find some evidence that overall standards may be declining, but where no serious concerns have been identified, then the next inspection will normally be a section 5 inspection and will be brought forward. If we have serious concerns, we will deem the NFD inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Evidence

During the inspection, we scrutinised the single central record and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements. We held meetings with the executive headteacher, the head of school and other leaders. We spoke to pupils, parents, governors, including the chair of the governing body, and the safeguarding representative of the multi-academy trust.

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Evidence

We scrutinised minutes of governors’ meetings and minutes of trust forum meetings. We examined school policies and other documentation related to health and safety.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

There are 238 pupils on roll. A low proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. A small minority of pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is now close to average as is the proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently no pupils with an education, health and care plan attending the school. Staffing and pupil mobility are stable.

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Main findings

Leaders and staff place a high priority on safeguarding pupils. Leaders ensure that all staff receive ongoing training covering a wide range of safeguarding issues. Staff have a good understanding of how to keep pupils safe. Staff are continually developing their knowledge of what to do in different situations through weekly discussion of scenarios. Staff are vigilant and report anything of concern to the school’s designated safeguarding leads. Leaders take appropriate actions to respond to concerns and liaise with a range of agencies when required.

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Main findings

Leaders follow appropriate safer recruitment practice when appointing new staff. They make the correct checks on all staff who work on the school site and maintain an accurate and up-to-date record of these checks.

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Main findings

Leaders have a good understanding of the needs of their pupils and families. They proactively provide staff with support and guidance to keep pupils safe and help them to flourish. This includes teaching pupils about how to stay safe both online and when out in the community. Trips to places such as the beach and Kingsbury Water Park ensure that pupils are taught about water safety. Pupils show a good understanding of road safety and know they should not share their computer and software passwords with other people.

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Main findings

Leaders, including governors, have ensured that all the appropriate policies and procedures for keeping pupils safe are in place. There is a planned schedule for reviewing the policies. Local governing body meeting minutes show that safeguarding and health and safety issues and topics are routinely discussed. A link governor for safeguarding has regular contact with the school and monitors the effectiveness of the safeguarding and child protection policy. However, some procedures, for example risk assessments of the site, are not as rigorous as they could be. During the inspection, inspectors identified some minor hazards, such as low-hanging branches and a rotting wooden bench. Although risk assessments are carried out, they do not always accurately reflect the site- specific issues and are not reviewed or adjusted when issues arise. While the risk of serious injury to pupils and staff is low, the risks could be eliminated more efficiently and

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Additional support

The multi-academy trust ensures that it has appropriate oversight of the policies and procedures for keeping pupils safe from harm. The trust carries out regular monitoring of the school’s processes and records. This is to ensure the school follows best practice. Regular multi-academy trust safeguarding and risk meetings use information and data to analyse potential safeguarding risks and issues. Trustees then work with school staff to provide support and guidance to address the identified issues and risks. However, there have been fewer on-site checks made on the school environment.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Some risk assessments for the school site are generic. They are not suitably personalised to the school site or reviewed frequently enough. As a result, not all potential hazards are minimised effectively. School and trust leaders, including governors, should take further action to ensure that all risk assessments accurately reflect the school site and address the potential hazards appropriately.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the Fierte Multi-Academy Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Staffordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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