Cumberland Infant School

Inspection of Cumberland Infant School Methuen Road, Southsea, Hampshire PO4 9HJ

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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 Previous inspection grade Good 6 and 7 December 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen and excited to learn. Leaders have high expectations for pupils to learn a broad range of knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. This starts in the early years, where children enjoy learning to jump, climb and construct in the brand new ‘physical development zone’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe here. Older pupils educate younger pupils about keeping safe. The Year 2 ‘ambassadors’ are rightly proud of the anti-bullying information leaflet they helped leaders produce. Incidents of bullying are very rare, but when they happen, staff take them seriously and resolve them quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that pupils have the chance to make a positive contribution to their local community. Pupils have learned how to encourage wildlife into urban areas through helping to install wildflower planters on local streets. Pupils also know the importance of being kind to all. They showed this through donating specially made artwork to the residents of a local care home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy opportunities to learn beyond the classroom. Trips to places such as Portchester Castle and Marwell Zoo broaden pupils’ knowledge of the local area. Pupils also enjoy learning from visitors to the school. This has included learning about orchestral instruments from a brass band.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to do their very best and achieve highly. Leaders have designed a broad, well-sequenced curriculum for all subjects. The knowledge and skills that all pupils need to learn in all subjects is clearly set out right from the beginning of Nursery to the end of Year 2. All subject leaders have strong knowledge of their subjects and are clearly passionate for these to be taught well.

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better?

In some subjects, for example art and mathematics, the curriculum is well established and pupils achieve well. Teachers’ detailed subject knowledge enables them to plan frequent opportunities for pupils to revisit and apply their learning. For example, in mathematics, teachers in Reception provide independent activities which reinforce the number and shape work children have previously learned. Teachers in all year groups ensure that pupils with SEND access the curriculum effectively. For example, in art, teachers adapt resources effectively to enable pupils to practise the important skills of painting and drawing. This helps all pupils to recall and use their knowledge confidently in different contexts.

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better?

However, some subjects are at an earlier stage of development. In these subjects, some teachers’ subject knowledge is not as deep and detailed as it could be. This means that they do not consistently design tasks that enable all pupils to achieve as well as they could. For example, in religious education, sometimes the important knowledge that pupils need to remember is not taught until right at the end of the 6 and 7 December 2022

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topic and then not revisited until the following year. This means that pupils do not remember information as well as they do in stronger subjects.

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Leaders are ambitious for pupils to love reading. Pupils value the ‘Cumberland Collection’, a set of high-quality stories that leaders want all pupils to know in detail. Teachers share these books with pupils during daily story time. The keen engagement of pupils as they listen to these stories is a joy to watch. Children are taught to read right from the start of Reception using a well-sequenced phonics programme. This is generally taught well. However, occasionally, pupils are not supported to practise their reading consistently well enough. This is because some staff do not always use the most effective teaching strategies. Leaders are addressing this as a matter of urgency.

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Pupils behave well and their attendance is high. Leaders have built strong relationships with pupils and their families. Pupils are polite and well mannered to adults and to each other. Pupils engage well in lessons and have positive attitudes to their learning.

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Leaders have developed a clear approach to promoting pupils’ personal development based on the school values. These include collaboration, perseverance and imagination. Pupils learn about these values through specific, targeted activities. For instance, children in Reception learn about collaboration by carrying out group problem-solving tasks. Extra-curricular opportunities, such as football, art club and choir, provide opportunities for pupils to use their imagination and to develop their perseverance.

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Leaders and governors share a clear vision to continue to improve the school. Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel well supported by leaders and governors to do their best for all pupils. As one member of staff stated: ‘I really enjoy being part of the Cumberland team. Everything we do is centred around our little community all working together to be the best that we can be.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding practice is strong. Highly effective policies ensure that all adults know what to do to keep children safe. Leaders have established a strong culture of vigilance to identify pupils who are at risk of harm. Procedures and record-keeping are clear and comprehensive. Leaders work well with outside agencies to ensure that pupils and their families get the help and support they need.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in school and know where to go for help if they need it. They are confident that their concerns will be dealt with well. Pupils have a clear, age- appropriate knowledge of how to keep themselves safe online. 6 and 7 December 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are some inconsistencies in how well some pupils are supported to learn to read. This means that not all pupils can read confidently and fluently. Leaders should ensure that these inconsistencies are ironed out, so that all pupils learn to read quickly.  Some of the learning activities that teachers provide do not always allow pupils to develop a deep and detailed understanding in all subjects. This means that, while pupils achieve highly in some subjects, this is not the case in all. Leaders need to ensure that teachers provide pupils with appropriate learning opportunities to enable them to acquire deep and detailed knowledge across the ambitious curriculum.

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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. 6 and 7 December 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10242130 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Heather Chadbourn

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School details

Website www.cumberland.portsmouth.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 July 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Cumberland Infant School is a smaller-than-average community school.  Little Cumberland Preschool is part of Cumberland Infant School and has spaces for children from the age of two.  The school currently does not 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 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.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors and an officer from the local authority. 6 and 7 December 2022

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and design, and religious education. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also discussed planning and documentation from a range of other subjects with leaders.  The inspectors reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising safeguarding records and interviewing staff, and through discussions with pupils.  The views of parents and carers were considered through their responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey. Further views of pupils and staff were gathered through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including self-

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evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Sue Keeling, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Hacker Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 December 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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