Riders Infant School

Inspection of Riders Infant School Kingsclere Avenue, Leigh Park, Havant, Hampshire PO9 4RY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 13 and 14 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘Riders’ is at the heart of this community. The actions taken by leaders since the last inspection have had a positive impact on pupils’ experiences. Leaders know their pupils and families well. As a result, relationships between pupils and staff are strong. As one parent reported to inspectors, ‘My child is happy and says it’s fun!’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They all feel confident that they can go to an adult for support if they have any concerns. Staff act swiftly to resolve them. Bullying is not tolerated by staff or pupils. Pupils are accepting of others and celebrate those from different religions and backgrounds.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations. As a result, pupils behave well and care about each other. Pupils enjoy taking part in the multiple sports clubs that are on offer. Trips are well chosen to enrich the curriculum and develop a broader understanding of the local environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is improving. Leaders are ambitious for pupils’ achievement, and in some areas, such as early reading, pupils achieve well. However, in other areas, the quality of education is still not good enough. Pupils do not achieve as well as they could because the curriculum is not being delivered consistently well.

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better?

Leaders have overhauled the school curriculum. Since the last inspection they have worked hard to identify the specific knowledge that pupils should learn. Leaders have organised this knowledge so that it builds up gradually and ensures that pupils revisit key content as they go through the school. This is accessible for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND). However, this progression of knowledge does not build sufficiently well on the curriculum in the early years.

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better?

The delivery of many subjects is inconsistent. Leaders are still developing the way in which the curriculum is taught. Consequently, teachers are not always making best use of activities and resources to help pupils connect new learning to what they already know. They do not check pupils’ understanding carefully enough. As a result, pupils’ knowledge and achievement across the curriculum are uneven.

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better?

Encouragingly, there are strengths in the curriculum for early reading and mathematics. Leaders have introduced a new phonics programme. Regular assessment precisely identifies any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Teachers use this to adapt teaching, which helps pupils to catch up and ensures that they gain the knowledge they need to become confident and fluent readers. In mathematics, teachers present new concepts to pupils clearly and give them time to practise problem-solving. This helps them to achieve well. Both developments represent important improvements since the school was last inspected. 13 and 14 June 2023

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Help and support for pupils with SEND is inconsistent. Leaders have made some impressive changes to ensure the swift identification of needs. There is growing clarity about what needs to be in place for pupils’ learning. However, activity choices do not always enable pupils to achieve the same ambitious aims of the curriculum as their classmates.

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Children in the early years get off to a good start. The curriculum has been carefully designed to meet their needs. Teachers have good subject knowledge. Children benefit from a range of carefully designed activities that deepen their understanding. They achieve well.

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Pupils’ personal development is a priority. There is a structured curriculum that teaches pupils how to stay safe and about other faiths, cultures and religions. This starts in the early years. Pupils enjoy a broad array of inclusive after-school clubs and benefit from a variety of trips that enrich their learning of the curriculum.

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Pastoral support is comprehensive. Leaders have established robust systems to tackle persistent absence and secure higher attendance. There are, however, still some pupils who do not attend school regularly enough. The school works proactively with families to support pupils and offers a range of interventions. This includes forest schools and cookery. As one parent told inspectors, ‘This school offers so much more than education. Every child is included and has the same opportunities.’

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Leaders are improving the school. Governors have an accurate picture of where the school needs to improve. However, leaders’ and governors’ vision for the quality of education is not shared among all staff or born out in practice. Not all staff feel supported to deal with behaviour or to deliver the curriculum as it is intended. They feel overwhelmed by the multiple initiatives and improvements that are being implemented. Leaders’ plans are therefore not translating into improved quality of education for all pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

A strong culture of safeguarding is threaded through everything at this school. Training is comprehensive, contextual and ongoing. This means that all staff are empowered to spot signs of concern. They know how to record and report any worries that they have, and do so in detail. Leaders act diligently to manage these concerns. They take swift and determined action. Pastoral staff work with pupils, families, other local schools and outside agencies to secure the help that pupils and their families need. Pupils are taught how to stay safe, including online. 13 and 14 June 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not being delivered in a way that builds on what pupils already know. As a result, pupils are not able to connect their learning to prior knowledge and are unable to recall. Leaders must work to improve how the curriculum is implemented and provide teachers with the support and development they need to do this effectively.  Teachers do not always make adaptions for pupils with SEND. This leads to some pupils with SEND not achieving as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers receive the training and support that they need to be able to provide effective support to all pupils.  There is disparity between the early years and key stage 1 curriculums, and the way they are delivered. Teaching in Year 1 does not build well on what pupils already know and understand. Leaders need to ensure that the steps of knowledge that pupils should learn are coherently planned and sequenced, for all

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

subjects, from the beginning of early years to the end of Year 2.  Staff workloads are too high. This means they are unable to implement all the changes that leaders intend. Leaders need to ensure that teachers have the capacity to improve implementation of the curriculum and improve pupils’ quality of education.  Persistent absence remains a challenge. This means that some pupils are not fully benefiting from the school’s provision. Leaders must continue with the strategies and support they have put in place to improve attendance of all pupils.

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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. 13 and 14 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268016 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 At the time of the inspection, the school was not using alternative provision.  This school is federated with the adjoining Riders Junior School. The executive headteacher has responsibility for both schools.

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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

 Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff, pupils and representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors. An inspector also spoke with a representative from the local authority.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and art. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils, visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 13 and 14 June 2023

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 Inspectors considered 17 responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff survey as well as the views of pupils that were gathered throughout the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors viewed the school’s website and policies, met with the designated safeguarding leaders, spoke with pupils and staff, checked the school’s records of safeguarding checks carried out on adults working at the school, and spoke with governors.  Inspectors met with the SEND coordinator.

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Inspection team

James Stuart, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Linda Jacobs Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 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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