Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery School Eskdale Drive, Beeston, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG9 5FN

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

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Outcome

Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They learn to be curious, caring and polite. They enjoy their learning because it ‘challenges’ them. Pupils recognise how everyone at their school is different. They celebrate this diversity. One pupil told the inspector, ‘It is good to be different or it would be boring.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They listen carefully to their teachers. Social times are purposeful. Pupils learn to make good choices in their behaviour. When this does not happen, they know adults will help them to reflect and understand what to do next time. Most pupils understand what bullying is. They know any rare instances will be taken seriously and resolved quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most parents and carers are positive about the work of the school. They appreciate how adults in school know and understand the pupils in their care. One parent, with a comment that was typical of many, said, ‘They put children at the heart of all they do.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders want the best possible start for all pupils in school. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, some disadvantaged pupils do not learn to read or develop their understanding of vocabulary and language quickly enough.

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

Leaders have high ambitions for all pupils. They have designed a curriculum that is well sequenced from the early years to Year 2. They ensure that the key knowledge pupils need to know is precisely identified. Leaders ensure that pupils revisit this knowledge in different ways across subjects.

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

Teachers are overwhelmingly positive about the professional support they receive from the Flying High Trust. This helps all staff to have a secure knowledge of the areas they 10 and 11 January 2023 teach. In some subjects, such as mathematics and early reading, this professional development is ongoing.

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

Systems to check on what pupils can remember are well established. All lessons start with pupils ‘reactivating’ the knowledge they should know. For example, teachers remind pupils to write numbers in the right order by helping them understand the values of each digit.

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

Leaders ensure that the curriculum is inclusive. Teachers consider how they can adapt lessons to help pupils with SEND to gain the same knowledge as their peers. However, some pupils do not develop their understanding of vocabulary well. Adults do not check how well the vocabulary they want pupils to grasp has been understood. This limits how well these pupils can access the curriculum.

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

Pupils enjoy reading. They talk fondly of authors they prefer and the poems they enjoy reciting. From the very start in Nursery, leaders ensure that children develop a love of reading through rhymes, songs and stories. When families do not have access to books at home, leaders address this by sending quality texts from school.

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

Leaders check that the early reading programme is being delivered as intended. They ensure that pupils receive reading books matched to their stage of reading. Additional support is put in place for those pupils who need to catch up. Despite this, some pupils at the early stages of reading find sounding out and putting words back together tricky. They do not receive enough opportunities to use and apply this knowledge for it to become second nature.

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

Children in the early years develop secure relationships. They use their environment well to support their play. The youngest children in the school learn early routines well. They learn to take turns and respond to the prompts of adults. For example, 2-year-old children enjoy singing the rhyme ‘five currant buns’ and counting alongside adults. Leaders recognise that language development in the early years environment needs to continue to be prioritised.

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

Relationships are strong at this school. Leaders strive to ensure that any behaviour is dealt with in a ‘calm, consistent and fair’ way. All adults in school understand how to support pupils who need additional help to regulate their own behaviour.

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

Leaders ensure that all pupils have opportunities to attend extra-curricular activities. Pupils enjoy their positions of responsibility, such as the Eco Team. The ‘children’s government’ helps pupils to understand that their views are valued. They recognise that democratic processes ‘give everyone a chance to have their views heard’. Pupils know how to eat healthily. They understand how water keeps us ‘hydrated’.

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

Staff appreciate leaders’ actions to support their workload. Trustees and governors know the school well. They understand the school’s strengths and what could be even better.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 10 and 11 January 2023 Pupils learn about how to stay safe. They know what to do should they have a problem or concern. Pupils understand that staff will take their concerns seriously. They have an age- appropriate understanding of healthy relationships.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know their pupils and families well. They work with external agencies to get the right help for them effectively. Leaders make frequent checks to ensure that all staff understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard pupils. They check that staff know how to spot pupils at risk. They ensure that the information they record supports a strong culture of care and safeguarding for all pupils.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils, many of whom are disadvantaged, do not quickly learn to read. Others do not develop their language and vocabulary securely. This slows down their progress and hinders them from developing secure foundations for future learning. Leaders must ensure that all pupils are secure in their knowledge of phonics and develop their language and vocabulary in meaningful ways so that they can deepen their understanding of the school’s curriculum.

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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 predecessor school, of the same name, to be good in December 2010.

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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. 10 and 11 January 2023

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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. 10 and 11 January 2023

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Inspection number 10254870 Type of school Infant

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School details

Website www.aldermanpounder.notts.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school became an academy, sponsored by the Flying High Trust, in November 2018.  At the last inspection of the predecessor school, Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery School, in November 2015, the school was judged to be good.  The headteacher took up post in September 2021.  Since the last inspection, the school has extended the nursery provision to include 2- year-olds.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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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.  The inspector held various meetings with the headteacher and other leaders in school. A meeting was held with representatives of the governing body and the trust. 10 and 11 January 2023  Deep dives were carried out in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, 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 inspector also spoke to leaders about the curriculum for religious education.  The inspectors examined a range of school documentation, including leaders’ self- evaluation, improvement plans and documentation relating to governance.

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Information about this inspection

 A meeting was held with the designated safeguarding lead. The inspector considered the safeguarding policy, training records and examples of safeguarding concerns.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s parent and staff questionnaires. The inspector also spoke to a sample group of parents on site.

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Inspection team

Shaheen Hussain, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 10 and 11 January 2023 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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