Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery

Inspection of Lightwater Village School Catena Rise, Lightwater, Surrey GU18 5RD

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 September 2022

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

Ofsted has not previously inspected Lightwater Village School as an academy school under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 as, until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections.

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Overall effectiveness Good

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 of the predecessor school. 28 and 29 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

School is a happy place for pupils. They are known, nurtured and cared for. Relationships across the school are warm. Kindness is valued and evident throughout.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Right from the start in early years, expectations are high. Children settle in quickly and get on with the important business of playing and learning. These high expectations continue throughout the school and pupils rise to them. Pupils appreciate their teachers and value their learning. They like how lessons are clearly explained and additional support is provided if it is needed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are getting to grips with the new behaviour policy. They are beginning to use the associated language to explain their feelings and actions. The school is an orderly environment and pupils generally behave well. Pupils feel safe at school. They do not worry about bullying because any hint of a problem is quickly resolved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities. Roles such as those as play leaders, buddies, librarians and house captains are popular. These allow pupils to demonstrate the school’s values of positivity, perseverance and pride. They enjoy opportunities to vote for their preferences, such as a favourite story or the name of the school bear.

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better?

A period of leadership and curriculum change has been navigated carefully and successfully by the trust and school leaders. This has provided continuity and stability throughout for staff and pupils. Leaders at all levels demonstrate ambition for the school and its pupils. Staff have a high degree of confidence in the leadership of the school. They are positive about the developments in the curriculum. They have had the training and support they need to implement changes fully and successfully. Their workload has been considered well. An air of positivity abounds.

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better?

Leaders have made clear decisions about what pupils should learn and in what order, across the whole curriculum. In some subjects, recent changes have been made to the way in which pupils learn new information. Teachers check carefully that pupils have not missed any of the building blocks they need before teaching new knowledge.

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better?

Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics. There are some positive signs that the school’s new approach to teaching the rest of the curriculum is helping pupils to know more and remember more. However, this is not yet consistent across all subjects. Subject leaders know that they will not be able to assess the effectiveness of sequences completely until these have been fully delivered.

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better?

Teaching pupils to read is prioritised. Phonics is taught systematically and consistently right from the start of early years. Children learn to read quickly and 28 and 29 September 2022

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well. Support for pupils who need additional help is well targeted and swiftly provided. This helps pupils to catch up and gain confidence. The library is undergoing an exciting development phase. Leaders are carefully considering book choices to support learning across the curriculum and to help enhance pupils’ understanding of the wider world.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) thrive at this inclusive school. They have their needs quickly and fully assessed. Pupils are given the support they need to access the curriculum and to be fully involved in all aspects of school life.

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Pupils behave well in lessons. They listen to their teachers and follow instructions. Occasionally, some pupils lose concentration, but they are quickly brought back on track by staff. There is no disruption to learning. Right from the start in Reception, children experience lots of opportunities for talk and language development. This helps them take part in discussions and explain their thinking as they move through the school.

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Pupils are taught about themselves and others. They have opportunities to learn about what is going on in the world. Pupils knew, for instance, that the prime minister has recently changed, that there is a new king and that there will soon be a coronation.

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The school strategy board (SSB), which provides governance for the school, discharges its responsibilities in keeping a watchful eye on the English and mathematics curriculum, SEND provision and safeguarding well. However, its work to evaluate the effectiveness of the other subjects is not well established.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that everyone has the training they need to identify safeguarding concerns. There are regular updates and quizzes for staff to refresh their knowledge so that keeping children safe is always a top priority. Help for pupils, when it is needed, is bespoke and well considered.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that the curriculum helps pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Leaders make sure that pupils know they should tell an adult if they have any worries or concerns. Pupils were unanimous in explaining this, and confident that the adults would help keep them safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not checked how well pupils are learning in some subjects where the content has recently been reorganised. They have not fully evaluated its 28 and 29 September 2022

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impact in helping pupils to know more and remember more over time. Senior leaders should ensure that subject leaders continue to get the support they need to evaluate and refine the curriculum as it is embedded across the school.  There is no systematic approach to ensuring that the SSB has sufficient strategic oversight of the quality of subjects other than English and mathematics. This means that the SSB does not know enough about the impact those aspects are having on the quality of education for pupils. The trust should provide support for the SSB to enable it to assure itself that the quality of the curriculum is strong.

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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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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. 28 and 29 September 2022

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school federated with Hammond Junior School to form the Federation of Lightwater Schools in 2013. The schools then joined the GLF Schools multi- academy trust in 2015. The schools share an executive headteacher, currently Mrs Lee Parsons.  The head of school role was expanded to be full time in January 2022. The current head of school joined in September 2022.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 28 and 29 September 2022

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 During the inspection, the lead inspector met regularly with school leaders. The lead inspector met with representatives from the SSB and the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, geography, and art and design. For each deep dive, the 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. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read.  Records associated with safeguarding were reviewed, including the single central record and appointment procedures. Inspectors spoke to staff about safeguarding and spoke to pupils about the support they receive in understanding how to keep safe.  The inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s parent, pupil and staff questionnaires.  The inspectors met with groups of staff to discuss their views about the school,

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including on workload and well-being. The inspectors met with several groups of pupils, as well as speaking to pupils during lessons, at playtime and around the school.

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Inspection team

Deborah Gordon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Lizzie Jeanes Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 September 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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