Beauclerc Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of a good school: Beauclerc Infant and Nursery School 116 French Street, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex TW16 5LE

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Outcome

Beauclerc Infant and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils welcome visitors with a smile to their cheerful and thriving school. During happy playtimes, pupils balance on their trim trail, share construction equipment and play football together. Parents say that ‘staff show genuine interest and care’ for their children. The impressive nurture begins in Nursery, where staff instantly build warm and supportive relationships with children and parents. This ensures a reassuring and successful start.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to represent their classes in the ‘pupil parliament’, debating ways to improve the environment and school life. Everyone feels safe and valued. Expectations are high, but sometimes pupils need reminders to show their best listening. If pupils are experiencing emotional difficulties, staff provide effective support for their emotional and mental health.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trips frequently enrich school life. Highlights include a day out to learn about sea creatures and visits to the beach, museum and theme park, all linked to pupils’ learning. Everyone enjoyed visits from the local vicar, a nurse and a football freestyler. Leaders help disadvantaged families to access every opportunity available. From breakfast club to after-school activities including dance, tennis, film and drama, nobody misses out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is designed to develop pupils’ understanding of the world. Pupils are well prepared for their next stages. They show impressive awareness of different faiths, relationships and healthy living.

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

Parents are thrilled with the start their children make in Nursery. The whole-school approach to reading begins when children are three years old. Staff skilfully teach sounds and model how to say them. Children use flash cards to hone their skills and enjoy well-matched books to develop their reading. In Reception and Year 1, children become fluent readers. Assessment is precise. Leaders know exactly which sounds 4 May 2023

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individual pupils need help with. Staff run effective group sessions across the school every morning to ensure that everyone learns to read successfully. By Year 2, pupils read with expression and show strong comprehension and understanding. For example, pupils expertly identified synonyms in a text about healthy living. Pupils love the library and the wide range of books, from traditional tales to multicultural stories.

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Resources in Nursery and Reception offer stimulation and support for children. The skilful care provided throughout early years encourages both independence and collaboration. Strong early writing, reading and mathematics teaching ensure that pupils start Year 1 with secure knowledge and blossoming confidence.

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The whole curriculum is well sequenced with ambitious skills, knowledge and language. Teachers present ‘big questions’ as effective ‘hooks’ for pupils to develop curiosity at the start of units of work. In most lessons, activities ensure that pupils are highly engaged to learn and remember more. Teachers use targeted revision sessions to check what pupils know. This helps pupils commit information to their long-term memories. In mathematics, pupils achieve well and use their knowledge to solve problems with precision and skill. In religious education, pupils loved learning about religious festivals through hands-on experiences. They recall impressive knowledge of the faiths they have studied. In some subjects, lesson tasks are not designed to focus precisely enough on the essential knowledge that teachers have planned.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are achieving well. They access the broad and engaging curriculum alongside their peers. Leaders and staff swiftly identify needs through regular assessments and open communication. Adaptations and achievable targets ensure success for all. Some pupils with SEND benefit from ‘preteaching’, preparing them well for tasks before accessing them in lessons. Staff provide both emotional help and specific one-to-one programmes in areas such as number skills and speech therapy.

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Behaviour is positive around the school. The atmosphere in classrooms and on the playground is peaceful and nurturing. Learning behaviour is usually impressive, but sometimes pupils chat when they should be listening. Leaders must ensure that all staff use the school’s behaviour management system to maintain the highest standards.

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Pupils’ wider development is highly valued. Pupils were proud to run a marathon for charity. The wonderful care given in Nursery and Reception continues through the school. Pupils feel special because staff care deeply about their well-being. Pupils value the opportunity to write ‘I wish my teacher knew’ notes to discreetly share any worries.

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After a period of uncertainty caused by changes in leadership, the acting executive headteacher is now substantive, and proving to be inspirational. Parents say she is ‘amazing’ and has helped to make the school ‘truly special’. Staff appreciate how leaders listen to them. Everyone feels valued, supported and proud to be part of this thriving community. Insightful support from the local authority has boosted the effectiveness of the curriculum. Governors are knowledgeable and dedicated. They share leaders’ aspirations to ensure that every pupil is safe, happy and given an exciting learning journey. 4 May 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff training is frequently updated to ensure that everybody follows safeguarding systems well. Staff know how to identify risks and report them. Leaders are tenacious when seeking extra support from external agencies. They keep detailed records and find crucial help for families. Leaders and the home link worker provide valuable pastoral support.

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Safeguarding

Recruitment practice is secure. All staff and volunteers are thoroughly vetted and checked. Staff records are well maintained and monitored. Governors meet their duties with diligence to ensure that safeguarding practice remains strong.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to stay safe through effective curriculum work on healthy relationships and online safety.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The implementation of the curriculum is further developed in some subjects and classes than it is in others. Teachers should continue to improve the quality of education by designing lessons that meet the high aspirations of the curriculum intentions.  A minority of pupils can sometimes cause low-level distractions. All staff should use the school’s behaviour system effectively to ensure that pupils always meet high expectations for behaviour in lessons.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2017. 4 May 2023

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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. 4 May 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is federated with Chennestone Primary School, under one governing body and one headteacher.  There have been significant changes to leadership and governance since the last inspection. The headteacher has recently taken on the substantive role following a period of time as acting headteacher.  The school currently uses no 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors studied documents and records, including the school’s single central record and child protection referrals. Inspectors spoke with designated safeguarding leads, staff, governors and pupils. 4 May 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited lessons, spoke to pupils and looked at pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read and observed catch-up interventions to evaluate how staff provide extra support to pupils.  The lead inspector met two members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector spoke by telephone with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors analysed responses to the staff survey and spoke to staff about their views of the school.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the additional free-text responses.  Inspectors met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to pupils during social times and in lessons. Inspectors also considered

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responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Scott Reece, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Caroline Clarke His Majesty’s Inspector 4 May 2023

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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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