Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre

Inspection of an outstanding school: Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre Wigmore Lane, Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 8AH

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Inspection dates: 29 and 30 November 2022

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Outcome

Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Someries are very happy and love to learn. Younger children are inspired to explore and learn in the exciting environments in the early childhood education centre. Pupils in key stage 1 build well on this strong start, learning important knowledge and skills needed for future learning. They grow in confidence and want to learn even more. All pupils achieve highly. They are very well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for every pupil. The ‘my big voice’ sessions help pupils to discuss how to behave. Pupils learn how to make friends and be responsible for their actions. They support one another in the classroom and play kindly on the playground. Pupils know how to voice concerns, which helps ensure they are safe and free from bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very well behaved. They work exceptionally well together. Pupils are highly motivated and keen to learn. They show focus and interest in all the tasks they complete.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are very keen for their children to attend this school. This is due to the high levels of care that staff give to every pupil. Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe.

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

Leaders have formed their curriculum around ‘learning threads’. These help teachers understand what pupils learn from the Nursery Year to Year 2. Leaders are ambitious for what all pupils can achieve. They have planned every curriculum area with precision. In all subjects, knowledge is broken down and organised into small learning steps. This helps pupils to make connections with previous learning and understand more complex ideas. Pupils learn, through thoughtfully planned sequences of lessons, the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their learning tasks. 29 and 30 November 2022

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Teachers are quick to spot those pupils who misunderstand. Teachers offer the prompts pupils need to keep up with their learning. Whether looking at their work or talking to them about their learning, pupils demonstrate their understanding very well. All pupils achieve highly.

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The learning environment in the early years is exceptional. All staff share the same high ambitions for what children can achieve. Leaders’ carefully constructed curriculum ensures that adults plan purposeful learning activities. Every learning opportunity captures children’s interest and inspires them. This helps children try hard consistently, even when they find things difficult. Staff develop children’s communication and language skills through carefully planned learning opportunities. Children are highly engaged and all, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve very well across all areas of the curriculum.

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Leaders are meticulous in ensuring that all pupils learn to read. Reading has the highest priority. Teachers check regularly on pupils’ reading. They make sure that pupils get any help they need so that they keep up. Teachers match reading books closely to pupils’ phonics knowledge. This ensures that pupils become fluent, accurate and very confident readers. Pupils read a wide variety of exciting and interesting stories. Pupils apply what they have learned from reading these stories, and their phonics knowledge, in their written work, which is of a high quality.

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Pupils with SEND access and benefit from the same well-planned curriculum that helps all pupils to achieve well. Staff provide extra help to those pupils who need it. Staff are very knowledgeable about how to inspire pupils and support the learning of pupils with SEND. This helps pupils with SEND to make very strong progress.

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Children in the early years quickly adapt to routines and expectations of how to behave. This sets up highly positive attitudes to learning. In lessons, pupils are attentive and concentrate fully. No learning time is lost. Pupils behave exceptionally well at playtimes and lunchtime.

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Leaders provide many opportunities for pupils to develop and flourish. Through the thoughtfully constructed personal development and diversity programme, pupils learn about different religions, cultures and why they should respect difference. Pupils have opportunities to share their thoughts and views, and they know these will be respected. Pupils relish opportunities to take part in a wide range of hobbies, which help them develop and pursue their interests.

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Leaders make sure that teachers have high-quality professional development. Teachers have the knowledge and expertise needed to teach all subjects confidently and well. Leaders and staff have shared ideas and visions which are put into action every day and in every lesson. Governors understand the strengths of the school and have the same high ambitions for pupils’ outcomes. Leaders and governors make sure that staff are supported with their workload and well-being. 29 and 30 November 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know the local risks pupils and families face. Using staff meetings and e-mail bulletins, leaders keep staff training up to date. This ensures staff remain vigilant, spotting pupils at risk of harm and reporting this to leaders. Leaders maintain detailed records of any concerns. These provide the evidence that ensures external agencies act quickly to help pupils.

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Safeguarding

At school, pupils learn how to keep safe. For example, learning the ‘pants rule’ about safe touching.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including governors, carefully oversee the recruitment of staff and volunteers. They ensure adults in school are safe to be there.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in February 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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 29 and 30 November 2022

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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. 29 and 30 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10242496 Type of school Infant

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School details

Chair of governing body Paula Murgatroyd

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 December 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Currently, school leaders do not use alternative provision for any pupils.  The school has a breakfast club and after-school club. This is run by the school.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school 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.  The inspector held meetings with leaders, including the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, special educational needs coordinator, five governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. 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. The inspector also listened to a sample of pupils reading to a familiar adult. 29 and 30 November 2022

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record of recruitment and vetting checks. The inspector met with the headteacher and the governors. The inspector reviewed records of safeguarding. The inspector spoke to staff about the training they have received and how this helps them identify potential safeguarding concerns. The inspector spoke to pupils to establish the extent to which they feel safe in school.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at playtimes. The inspector reviewed the support and training that staff receive to help pupils manage their behaviour.  The inspector took account of the 27 responses to Ofsted Parent View, including 20 free-text comments. The inspector considered the 20 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. The inspector spoke to pupils to find out their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Jessie Linsley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 29 and 30 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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