William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: William Lilley Infant and Nursery School Halls Road, Stapleford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG9 7FS

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 September 2022

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Outcome

William Lilley Infant and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and welcoming school. The school is a caring community. As one pupil said, ‘We look after new pupils, we want to help other people.’ Pupils’ well-being is a priority for everyone in the school. As a result, pupils feel safe and well supported by staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect pupils to try their best. Pupils work hard to meet these expectations and they learn well. Staff model the behaviours and attitudes they want pupils to have. Pupils behave in a calm and orderly way. They love to earn ‘proud points’ for making their teachers proud. Adults talk to pupils with respect and a deep sense of care. Staff work with skill and compassion to help pupils manage their behaviour. Pupils understand what bullying is. They are confident that staff would deal with bullying if it did happen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trips and other experiences enrich what pupils learn. Leaders ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included in every aspect of school life. Many pupils enjoy attending a range of after-school activities to develop their interests. Pupils enjoy their responsibilities and take them very seriously. These include ‘playground pals’ and ‘mini me’ lunchtime helpers.

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

There is a clear, shared ambition in the staff team for all pupils to achieve their best. Leaders and staff have planned a curriculum that suits the needs of pupils. The curriculum is well organised and sequenced in all subjects. It has been carefully constructed to take account of the mixed-age classes. Leaders have ensured that the school’s key learning ‘drivers’ underpin all aspects of their work.

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

Some of the curriculum plans are new. Leaders have not yet been able to check the impact of these plans. Pupils sometimes remember the exciting activities they have done rather than the knowledge they have gained. 28 and 29 September 2022

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Reading is taught well and is a clear priority for the school. From the start of the early years, children enjoy rhymes, stories and songs. Staff focus on developing children’s communication and language skills. They have received the training they need to deliver the school’s chosen phonics programme. The books the pupils read in all year groups match the letters, sounds and words pupils learn. Pupils read every day. They enjoy story time. Teachers use assessment well to identify the sounds that pupils do not know. Leaders provide extra help for pupils if they struggle.

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Children get off to a flying start in the early years. They are settled and happy. Leaders have clearly mapped out what children should be able to do and know at the end of each half term. Staff plan for smaller steps of learning so that children can reach these long- term milestones. There are well-established routines which help children to develop their independence. Staff identify and understand well the different needs of the children. The classrooms are calm and well organised.

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Leaders work with staff to ensure that pupils who may have SEND are identified as quickly as possible. Leaders communicate well with parents, carers and a range of professionals. This ensures that pupils with SEND receive the appropriate support they need to access the curriculum. Staff support them to develop their knowledge while also helping them to develop socially and make friends. Pupils with SEND thrive in this school.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons and at breaktimes. Pupils demonstrate the school’s shared values. They are nurtured, inspired, determined and successful. Parents appreciate the care the staff give to their children. One parent, echoing the views of many others, said, ‘We are thrilled that our child is a part of this school community.’

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Pupils’ personal development is at the heart of this school. Staff work hard to deepen pupils’ understanding of people’s similarities and differences. Pupils show respect when discussing differences and diversity. They have an age-appropriate understanding of relationships and know how to stay healthy. Pupils have many opportunities to develop their interests and talents. These include learning how to ice skate and play a musical instrument.

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Governors provide strong support for school leaders. They keep a close eye on the quality of education. Staff say they feel valued and listened to by leaders. They report how leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know pupils and their families well. Strong relationships between staff and families allow for an understanding of different family circumstances. Leaders work with other professionals to support and help to those families who may need it. Leaders make sure that all staff have had the training they need to understand risks to pupils and families. The required checks are carried out on adults who work in the school. 28 and 29 September 2022

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations in and out of school. This includes road safety, water safety and keeping safe when using the internet.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils are not always able to remember well what they have learned in some subjects. Some describe the activities that they have done rather than knowledge and skills they have learned. They cannot reliably build on prior knowledge. Leaders need to ensure that the teaching of all subjects consistently enables pupils to know and remember key ideas and build on these as they progress through the school.  Some aspects of the curriculum have been introduced relatively recently. Leaders do not yet know definitively the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning. They need to monitor the implementation of the curriculum carefully and rigorously, making adjustments as necessary, to assure themselves that all groups of pupils are achieving as well as they can.

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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 an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2013.

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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. 28 and 29 September 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. 28 and 29 September 2022

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Inspection number 10227870 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 23 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs an after-school club and a breakfast club on site.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, and a range of staff, including early career teachers.  The inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke to a representative of the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, and design and technology. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, spoke with teachers, and spoke with pupils about their learning. She visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. 28 and 29 September 2022

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, the inspector reviewed school policies, procedures and records. The inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead and also spoke with staff, governors and pupils about the school’s approach to keeping pupils safe.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. The inspector met with staff and considered responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector His Majesty's 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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