Spixworth Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Spixworth Infant School Ivy Road, Spixworth, Norwich, Norfolk NR10 3PX

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Outcome

Spixworth Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every pupil in this school experiences warmth and kindness from the adults. Teachers’ caring approach helps pupils to feel safe. Pupils respond in kind by being polite and friendly towards each other and the adults. Staff help pupils to overcome their worries and occasional friendship issues. Pupils appreciate this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils look forward to coming to school. They enjoy learning. Their teachers use stories and drama to help them remember what they have learned. Pupils follow teachers’ instructions and routines. If pupils find it difficult to follow a routine, staff are on hand to support them. When pupils try hard or do particularly well, their teachers notice this and give pupils praise and rewards.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A range of activities and responsibilities helps pupils to learn about and appreciate the wider world. Pupils can take part in cookery club, archery and the forest school. Pupils enjoyed going to Catton Park to learn about the natural environment. They also relish their roles as playground buddies, classroom monitors and school council members.

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

Leaders have planned, in detail, the knowledge and skills that pupils will learn. This knowledge is arranged in a way that helps pupils to make connections with what they have already learned. Teachers receive supportive advice on how to teach subjects well. They regularly check how well pupils have learned the curriculum. In some subjects, such as religious education, assessment is at an earlier stage of development. Leaders have plans in place to use assessment information in new ways, such as by reflecting on small changes they could make to the curriculum to help pupils learn even more.

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

Teachers explain new knowledge well. They use a range of strategies to help pupils understand and remember it. For example, in mathematics, pupils have opportunities at the start of the lesson to rehearse mathematical facts and methods. This helps pupils to feel successful and be ready for what they are going to learn next. 13 June 2023

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Pupils who are new to reading experience plenty of success. All staff are knowledgeable about how to teach reading. Teachers quickly notice if pupils need more support. They provide ample additional opportunities for pupils to practise their new reading skills. Teachers read a range of interesting and exciting books to pupils. Pupils enjoy these moments. They know that reading is important because it gives them ideas and the ability to concentrate.

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Leaders make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the best care and support. Leaders carefully choose approaches to help pupils with SEND, taking into account the views of teachers, parents and carers, and pupils. Staff support pupils with SEND in lessons with visual prompts and extra explanations. Pupils with SEND benefit from extra teaching so that they can access the full curriculum.

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Teachers help children in Reception Year to settle and follow routines. Staff model social skills so that children quickly learn the best ways of making and keeping friends. Teachers carefully design and set out activities that help children to learn and practise new skills. As a result, children are confident to talk about what they have learned.

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Warm relationships between staff and pupils help to build trust and respect. Pupils learn how to maintain their concentration. They know the importance of instructions. Staff use consistent prompts and phrases to help pupils ‘make good choices’. Pupils respect their teachers and are keen to learn. On rare occasions, routines slip and pupils’ focus wanes. This affects their ability to stay on task. Teachers give reminders to help pupils refocus.

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Teachers teach pupils that fairness and respect extend to everyone in and outside the school community. Pupils learn how to have a polite debate. To build pupils’ confidence, leaders and teachers plan a range of opportunities for pupils to perform. For example, Year 2 pupils played their ocarinas in assembly. Philosophy sessions and circle times help pupils to learn how to reflect.

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Leaders and governors have worked hard to build a sense of community. They are proud of staff’s commitment and are mindful of staff workload and well-being. The new ‘community hub’, which leaders have recently set up, brings people together, as do the networks of support in the federation.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the signs of harm and how to report concerns. Any worries or concerns are quickly identified and shared. Positive relationships with parents and frequent communication with external agencies, including pupils’ previous schools, help leaders to secure timely support for pupils and their families. Leaders consistently and astutely focus on all matters related to safeguarding. They make sure that everyone who has a key role in safeguarding has up-to-date knowledge about pupils, contextual issues and safeguarding practice. 13 June 2023

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Pupils learn how to stay safe, including when online. Pupils know that they can go to any trusted adult at the school if they have a worry.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment in some subjects is at an early stage of development. In these subjects, staff do not use information about what pupils have learned to develop the curriculum as well as they might. Leaders should support staff to make the best use of assessment information to ensure that the curriculum supports pupils to progress well in all subjects.  On rare occasions, teachers do not apply routines to secure positive behaviour well. As a result, pupils can sometimes lose focus during changes in activity. Leaders should support staff to use the agreed systems consistently so that pupils can meet leaders’ high expectations.

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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 January 2014.

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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. 13 June 2023

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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. 13 June 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Spixworth Infant School is part of The Federation of Spixworth Schools. There are two schools in this federation, the other being Woodland View Junior School.  The head of school took the post in September 2022.  The school does not make use of 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 lead inspector met with members of the school’s senior leadership team, the special educational needs coordinator and members of the local governing body.  The lead inspector spoke via telephone with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their 13 June 2023

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learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector heard some pupils read to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector looked at the school’s single central record of recruitment and vetting checks and the school’s records of safeguarding concerns and spoke to leaders about safeguarding. Inspectors also talked to teachers and pupils about safeguarding.  The lead inspector considered 23 responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent View, including 15 free-text comments. There were no responses to the pupil survey or the staff survey. To gather the views of pupils and staff, inspectors spoke with groups of pupils and staff.

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Inspection team

Hannah Stoten, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Carol Dallas Ofsted Inspector 13 June 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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