Springwood Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Springwood Infant School Springwood Avenue, Waterlooville, Hampshire PO7 8ED

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Outcome

Springwood Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy to come to school every day. They know their teachers will look after them and make the lessons interesting. Pupils work well in class and play very well together outside. Pupils are kind and caring towards each other. Pupils demonstrate the school’s values in how they behave throughout the day. These are to stay safe, treat each other with respect, try your best and be proud.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is very inclusive and welcomes pupils with a wide variety of needs and from different backgrounds. Staff go above and beyond to make school a successful experience for everyone. This includes for pupils with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils show great patience and empathy to make sure everyone is included.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is ambitious in all subjects. The ‘Springwood Family Offer’ tells pupils what wider experiences they will receive during their time at the school. Pupils take part in a variety of clubs and trips. This includes an adventurous two-night residential trip in Year 2 to an outdoor study centre in the New Forest.

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

The school implements an engaging curriculum. Pupils learn key knowledge, skills and vocabulary in every subject. The school has thought carefully about how to teach important aspects of each subject. This starts in the Reception Year, where pupils achieve well and quickly settle into school routines.

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

The school prioritises reading. The relatively new scheme is becoming embedded, meaning most pupils are learning to read well. Staff teach phonics with fidelity to the scheme, so pupils learn the sounds they need in a consistent way. Teachers check this learning carefully to ensure that pupils have books they can read fluently. All adults want pupils to have a love of reading. A wide range of texts are read by teachers to pupils, who listen eagerly. Pupils also enjoy choosing books from the well-stocked library. 3 and 4 October 2023

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Teachers have good subject knowledge in all other curriculum areas. In mathematics, lessons are well organised and delivered in a way that allows all pupils to learn effectively. As a result, pupils engage very well in their mathematical learning. Teachers check meticulously how well pupils learn the mathematics curriculum. They use this information to highlight any gaps in pupils’ learning and make timely adjustments. In other subjects, such as religious education (RE), geography and art, teachers deliver lessons that follow the curriculum. However, teachers are not as sharp in their checking of pupils’ learning in wider curriculum subjects. As a result, gaps develop in some pupils’ learning, which are not fully addressed.

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The provision for pupils with SEND is very strong. Individual support plans recognise the strengths and specific areas in which pupils with SEND need additional support. Classroom staff then provide the help pupils need effectively. Parents of pupils with SEND recognise that the provision their children receive is well considered by school staff. The school provides the same care and consistency for pupils who sometimes struggle with their behaviour, making sure these pupils have every opportunity to be successful. These successful approaches mean there is little low-level disruption to pupils’ learning in lessons.

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The school takes its responsibilities around relationships and health education seriously. It deals with sensitive issues with care. Pupils are able to show their early leadership skills through the school’s ‘Equalities and Rights Advocates’. This is a group of pupils who help others to avoid making wrong choices. ‘Eco-Warriors’ encourage behaviours that help to protect the environment. The school organises many worthwhile curriculum trips, including to the SeaCity Museum and Arundel Castle. While most of the clubs pupils can participate in are sports related, the school is widening the range of activities. The school choir, which performs in church or at the summer fayre, is popular with pupils. The school also supports a range of charities. These help pupils not to just raise money but to gain a wider sense of the problems other people face in their lives.

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Governors at the school are ambitious and want all pupils to get as much from their time at school as they can. Staff are overwhelmingly happy to work at the school. Parents recognise the efforts staff make. One parent, for example, commented, ‘The staff are amazing. They are so welcoming, inclusive and like a family. I cannot recommend the school enough.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, processes are not fully in place for staff to systematically check what pupils have learned and can remember. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers check what pupils have learned and use 3 and 4 October 2023

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this information to adapt the curriculum so that all pupils develop and embed a detailed knowledge in all areas of the 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2018.

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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’ 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). 3 and 4 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 March 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Springwood Infant and Junior School Federation.  There are breakfast and after-school clubs on site run by an external provider, which were not included as part of this inspection.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher and other senior leaders. He also met with members of the governing body and had a telephone call with representatives of the local authority. 3 and 4 October 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and RE.  For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  During the inspection, the inspector met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to them informally during social times.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.  The inspector considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View and talked with parents on both mornings of the inspection.  The views of staff were gathered through surveys, interviews and discussions

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conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspector gathered pupils’ views throughout the inspection, including through classroom visits, discussions and at lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Chris Parker, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 3 and 4 October 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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