Savile Town Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Savile Town Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School Warren Street, Savile Town, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF12 9LY

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Outcome

Savile Town Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a caring and happy place, where pupils feel safe, enjoy their learning and make good progress. Staff and pupils treat each other with respect. The school’s Christian values are woven through the heart of everyday life. Through being ‘kind, caring and respectful’, staff and pupils celebrate the school’s different faiths.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have very high expectations for all pupils. Pupils are supported very well to meet these high expectations. Leaders ensure that the curriculum is taught well and meets the personal and academic needs of pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn well. Pupils enjoy reading.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are polite, friendly and kind to each other. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, pupils play happily together. In lessons, they concentrate well on their learning and listen to their teachers. Bullying rarely happens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent, typical of many, said, ‘My son always looks forward to going into Nursery. The staff are really friendly and accommodating. The teachers always listen to any concerns I have and act upon them promptly.’ Parents particularly appreciate the support for pupils with SEND.

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

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum for pupils. They have considered carefully the knowledge that pupils need to learn from early years to the end of Year 2. The curriculum is adapted effectively for pupils with SEND. These pupils learn as well as their classmates. Nursery School 23 November 2022

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Effective teaching helps pupils to remember what they are learning. For example, ‘Flash Back Friday’ allows teachers to revisit prior knowledge once a week and fill any gaps. As a result, most pupils achieve well. In some subjects, including music and physical education (PE), the curriculum has recently been revised. Leaders’ plans were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders are not as far ahead with this work as they would have liked. They are making rapid progress now.

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Children in Nursery get off to a good start with clear learning routines. For example, they take part in a range of activities independently, including writing, sharing books, putting on their coats and washing their hands.

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Children in the early years settle well and develop positive attitudes to learning. Staff have high expectations of children. They model early language and communication skills well. Teachers plan learning activities that match children’s needs. Children begin to learn phonics as soon as they join the school in the Reception Year. They enjoy learning about numbers through stories, songs and rhymes. Children apply their mathematical knowledge to describe shapes confidently. For example, they describe a triangle as a shape with ‘three straight lines and three corners’.

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Early reading is a high priority in school. The curriculum is carefully planned. Pupils learn to read well, especially those with very low starting points or those who speak English as an additional language. Children learn to read words and simple sentences accurately because most teachers teach phonics very well. However, some teachers are still refining their teaching of phonics. Teachers ensure that reading books closely match the sounds pupils are learning. They check regularly how well pupils are learning to read. If pupils fall behind, teachers act quickly to give them extra help. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are expertly supported by adults. These pupils achieve well in school. The school takes every opportunity to promote a love of reading. Pupils talk enthusiastically about books. One pupil said, ‘I love reading because it makes me happy’.

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Pupils behave very well. The school is calm, orderly and full of pupils’ excitement for learning.

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The curriculum supports pupils’ social and emotional development well. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including road safety and healthy living. Through the curriculum and collective worship sessions, pupils have a good understanding of other faiths. Assemblies and personal, social and health education lessons help pupils to explore values and to understand the world around them. Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to take part in school life, including the student council group, ‘munch bunch’ group and the collective worship group.

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Staff are proud to work at the school and feel part of a close-knit family. Governors know the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement very well. Staff feel well supported by leaders, who manage workload effectively. Representatives of the local authority and the diocese know the school well and provide appropriate support. Nursery School 23 November 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The headteacher and her deputy safeguarding leaders ensure that there is a culture of safeguarding in the school. They understand pupils’ wide-ranging needs very well. They make sure that the right external support is used when needed. Staff understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to keep pupils safe. Staff and governors benefit from regular safeguarding training. They are knowledgeable about what to look out for and what to do if they have any concerns. Leaders carry out thorough recruitment checks.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are safe in school. They learn how to stay safe and are shown how to make friends and respect the views of others.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculums for some foundation subjects, such as music and PE, are not embedded yet. Pupils do not have rich and deep knowledge in these subjects. Leaders should continue with their plans to embed these curriculums to the same extent as the other curriculums in school.  A small minority of staff do not implement the new phonics scheme well. A small number of pupils do not learn to read quickly and fluently. Leaders should ensure that all staff deliver the phonics programme knowledgeably and confidently.

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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 July 2013. Nursery School 23 November 2022

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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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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. Nursery School 23 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10242007 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 November 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.  The school is a Church of England voluntary controlled school and is part of the Diocese of Leeds. The last statutory inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in January 2017. The school’s next section 48 inspection is due to take place in the next academic year.  The headteacher also leads the Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School. The two schools were federated in 2018 and share one governing body.  The school does not make use of alternative provision. Nursery School 23 November 2022

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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 spoke with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, subject leaders, the designated leader for safeguarding and other members of staff. They met with three governors, including the chair of governors. They also held telephone conversations with representatives from the local authority and the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with curriculum leaders, spoke to pupils and teachers, visited lessons and looked at their work. The inspectors heard pupils read.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans for other subjects, including music,

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Information about this inspection

geography and history.  Inspectors observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plans, attendance and behaviour records, safeguarding files and recruitment checks. The inspectors talked to staff about their role in keeping pupils safe. They also talked to staff about workload, and about the amount and quality of training and support they receive from leaders.  Inspectors spoke with parents during the inspection. They considered responses, including free-text comments, to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire. The responses to the staff questionnaire were also considered.

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Inspection team

Dimitris Spiliotis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Shan Brough Jones Ofsted Inspector Nursery School 23 November 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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