Carr Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Carr Infant School Ostman Road, Acomb, York, North Yorkshire YO26 5QA

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Outcome

Carr Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school at the very heart of its community. Leaders have ensured that relationships between the staff and families are strong. This sense of partnership impacts positively on pupils. Staff model the behaviours and attitudes they want pupils to have and pupils respond enthusiastically to these high expectations. Pupils work hard in their lessons and are keen to talk about their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about how staff keep their children safe. Pupils are safe and talk about how they feel cared for by adults. They know that adults are there to help them. Staff support pupils to be independent. This includes the youngest pupils in school, who put their own cups and cutlery away after their lunch. All pupils show politeness and respect for the staff who support them. Pupils are taught how to identify bullying and whom to report it to if they see it. However, they say that bullying does not happen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave in a calm and orderly way. Adults talk to pupils with respect, kindness and a deep sense of care. Pupils speak to each other in the way in which adults speak to them. Staff work with skill and compassion to help pupils manage their behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trips, visitors and other experiences support and enrich what pupils are taught. For example, pupils had a visit from the fire service to talk about how fire spreads in order to build on their knowledge of the Great Fire of London. Subject leaders are in the early stages of developing assessment in the wider curriculum. The new phonics curriculum is still in its infancy. Leaders are aware of the need to embed their new approach quickly, so that all pupils receive precise and focused teaching.

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

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. They have made significant improvements to the curriculum in a short space of time. The curriculum is well sequenced. This helps pupils build on their existing knowledge over time. For example, in geography, pupils learn about 19 and 20 May 2022

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the different continents. They then learn about bridges in different parts of the world, revisiting the continents in which these have been built. In some lessons, teachers do not accurately check what pupils know and can remember. This means that there are some gaps in pupils’ knowledge that are not picked up and addressed as quickly as they could be.

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Leaders understand the importance of teaching pupils to read. Leaders have introduced a new phonics curriculum and this is taught from when children enter the school in Reception. The phonics curriculum is in the process of becoming fully embedded. There are occasions in lessons when teachers do not precisely model or assess some aspects of the teaching of reading. Assessment systems are in place to identify and support pupils who need extra support with their reading. Leaders are aware of the importance of all staff who deliver these support sessions being experts in early reading. They are putting in further training to ensure that all adults are able to deliver early reading effectively. A love of reading is promoted across the school. Pupils talk about books enthusiastically. Reading corners in classrooms are attractive and enticing for pupils.

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The identification of, and support for, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are a priority. Pupils with SEND are given targeted support that is well matched to their needs. Leaders and teachers make sure that the impact of this support is measured, so that they know whether it is making a difference to the pupils. Leaders have shown tenacity in making sure that external agencies are used well to support pupils who have the most extreme needs.

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Leaders develop pupils’ character well. The caring and nurturing ethos of the school contributes to this development. Pupils are taught the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe. This includes learning the correct names for body parts and how to stay safe when online. Pupils have a strong sense of how to identify, report and challenge bullying. Pupils talk with maturity and understanding about same-sex families, people with disabilities and others with protected characteristics. They understand how some people are discriminated against and can also explain why this is wrong and what to do about it.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders. They report how leaders at all levels are considerate of their workload and well-being. Governors are committed to the school and its community. They understand the strengths of their school and the areas that need further development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. All staff know what to be alert to. They know the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect. Systems are in place to identify and support pupils at risk of harm. Strong relationships between staff and families allow for an understanding of different family circumstances and any support or help these families might need. Leaders make sure that all staff have had the training they need to understand risks to pupils and families. 19 and 20 May 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some aspects of the teaching of phonics are not as well embedded as they could be. As a result, in phonics lessons, some pupils do not have precise methods of segmenting and blending modelled to them. This increases the risk of pupils developing misconceptions that may go unaddressed because teachers are not always sure which parts of words pupils are finding tricky to read. Leaders should ensure that the new approach to phonics is embedded with total consistency, so that all key elements are modelled with precision by all adults.  Assessment is not consistently and systematically used in lessons to check the understanding of pupils. It is not used well to identify and address any misconceptions or gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This means that gaps in learning for some pupils who are working below the level of their peers are not identified or closed as quickly as they could be. Leaders should ensure that there are clear assessment strategies in place for

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

teachers to use during lessons. This will help them to identify the gaps in knowledge or misconceptions and to address these quickly.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. 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 a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2017.

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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 . 19 and 20 May 2022

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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. 19 and 20 May 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

1 March 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses alternative provision for two pupils.  The school has undergone significant changes to senior leadership over the last few years.  The current headteacher has been in post since April 2021.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector spoke to senior leaders, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector carried out deep dives in mathematics, early reading and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 19 and 20 May 2022

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 The inspector also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in other subject areas, including geography.  The inspector met with the safeguarding team and spoke to pupils and staff about the safeguarding practices in the school.  The inspector met with the special educational needs coordinator to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND.  The inspector evaluated responses from parents to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Liam Colclough, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 May 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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