Waynflete Infants' School

Inspection of Waynflete Infants’ School Waynflete Avenue, Brackley, Northamptonshire NN13 6AF

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Tina Lagdon. This school is a single-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Penny Du Sautoy.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Ofsted has not previously inspected Waynflete Infants’ School as an academy under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 as, until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection of the predecessor school. 19 and 20 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a warm, nurturing ethos at Waynflete. Staff know the pupils well. They have created an environment where pupils feel safe and secure. Pupils say, ‘The adults look after us here. They make sure we are happy.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are very positive about the school. They appreciate the care and support their children receive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school wants the best for all its pupils, but the quality of education they receive is not good enough. The school has not set out exactly what pupils need to learn in all parts of the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy going to school. They like playing together on the playground and they know what it means to be a good friend. However, some pupils do not always follow the classroom rules. Lessons can be disrupted by silliness and calling out. Pupils sometimes show a lack of respect by not listening, ignoring staff and talking over them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has not ensured that staff have the same expectations of pupils’ behaviour in lessons or that poor behaviour is dealt with consistently. When staff do not address low-level disruption effectively, it can affect pupils’ learning.

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better?

The school wants all pupils to read fluently as soon as possible. Children in the early years begin to learn to read the moment they start in Reception. Staff teach the school’s chosen phonics programme well. They encourage pupils to sound out and blend words in their heads. Staff model what speedy, expressive reading should sound like. These approaches help to develop pupils’ reading fluency. Staff ensure that the reading books that go home are matched to the letter sounds that pupils know. Pupils look forward to story time each day. They like listening to the variety of books that staff read to them.

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better?

The school has not ensured that all parts of the curriculum have been broken down into small, progressive steps. This means that pupils do not systematically build their knowledge and skills over time in some subjects. This is also the case for some areas of learning in the early years.

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better?

In some subjects, staff routinely go over prior learning. In phonics, for example, staff regularly revisit the letter sounds that have been taught in the past. This keeps them fresh in pupils’ minds so they can use them again. However, the school has not made sure that recall practice happens in all subjects. As a result, pupils sometimes remember the activities they have taken part in rather than the important knowledge that they need to retain. 19 and 20 September 2023

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One of the school’s priorities is the development of children’s communication skills when they are in the early years. However, some staff do not make the best use of opportunities to consolidate and extend children’s spoken language. This is because the school has not provided staff with the training that they need to be able to do this well. There are also some subjects where the school has not ensured that staff have had training to teach the curriculum effectively.

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The school makes sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the individual help they require. Staff think carefully about the support that pupils with SEND need to access the curriculum and make progress.

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Pupils sometimes get away with behaviour that distracts others and hinders learning. This is because the school has not ensured that all staff are consistent in what they expect from pupils or how they handle low-level disruption. The school does not check closely enough on the occurrence of this type of behaviour to address it effectively.

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The school’s work on personal development is helping to prepare pupils for their future lives. Staff teach pupils to recognise how they are feeling and how to deal with their emotions. Pupils learn about their rights and responsibilities. They understand how to keep themselves healthy. Pupils know what to do if they feel unsafe. There are a variety of clubs, trips and activities on offer to give pupils a range of experiences and to develop their talents.

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Staff are positive about the support they receive to manage their workload, including those in the early stages of their career.

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There have been several changes in the trust board recently. The trust has ways of assuring itself that safeguarding arrangements and SEND provision are effective. However, the trust knows that it needs to widen its checks to ensure that the quality of education is high across the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some parts of the school’s curriculum have not been broken down into a precise sequence of learning. This means that pupils do not systematically build their knowledge and skills over time. The school must set out exactly what pupils will learn from the early years through to Year 2 and ensure that staff have the training they need to implement all parts of the curriculum effectively. The school must ensure that staff help pupils to remember the important knowledge they have learned before so they can recall it securely. 19 and 20 September 2023

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 In the early years, children’s communication and language skills are not consistently well developed. The school has not made sure that staff make the most of free-choice time or imaginative play to check on children’s understanding or extend their vocabulary. The school must provide all staff working in the early years with the training they need to develop children’s communication and language. The school must ensure that high-quality interactions between staff and children take place throughout the day.  The school has not ensured that there are consistent expectations of pupils’ behaviour or a commonly understood approach to dealing with low-level disruption. When poor behaviour occurs and it is not addressed effectively, it hinders pupils’ learning. The school must ensure that all staff follow the agreed behaviour policy so that pupils develop consistently positive and respectful attitudes to learning, and any instances of disruptive behaviour are addressed

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swiftly and effectively.  The trust does not check closely enough on the quality of education across the curriculum. This means that the trust is not fully providing the challenge and support the school needs. The trust must review its systems so it can be sure that the school is providing high-quality education in all subjects.

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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' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 19 and 20 September 2023

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School details

Website www.waynfleteinfantsschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Waynflete Infants’ School converted to become an academy in April 2012. When its predecessor school, Brackley Waynflete Infant School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.  The school 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, science and physical education. For the deep dives, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject 19 and 20 September 2023

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leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculums for art and design, geography and history.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders and a sample of teaching and support staff, including a teacher in the early stages of their teaching career. Inspectors met with the leaders with responsibility for pupils with SEND, the early years, behaviour and personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including leaders’ self- evaluation, the school improvement plan, and documentation relating to

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governance and to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils in Years 1 and 2 read to a familiar adult. Inspectors met with groups of pupils from across the school.  The lead inspector met some trustees, including the chair of the trust.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and the results of the Ofsted survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Shaun Carter, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Luella Manssen Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 September 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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