Weston Shore Infant School

Inspection of Weston Shore Infant School Foxcott Close, Weston, Southampton SO19 9JQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is James Wiltshire. This school is part of Hamwic Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Robert Farmer, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Alice Wrighton. 3 and 4 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their friendly school. They feel happy and well cared for as they appreciate the strong relationships they have with their trusted adults. Pupils are confident that if they have any worries, they will always be helped. Families feel part of the school and enjoy being invited in to find out more about their children’s learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations and pupils live up to them. In lessons, they listen carefully, want to learn and achieve well. Pupils behave exceptionally well. There is a consistent and fair approach, which they understand well. Pupils are polite and respectful when they talk to adults and each other. They burst with pride when they share their work with others or receive a coveted pink postcard to take home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over break and lunchtimes, pupils have a range of exciting pastimes to choose from. Adults help them to enjoy fun activities with their friends, such as skipping, ball games and riding scooters. Those pupils who attend ‘start sporty’ enjoy their active and sociable start to their school day. Pupils enjoy their local trips to the shoreline and a farm shop. This gives them a sense of belonging to their community.

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better?

The school’s mantra – ‘creating endless opportunities’ – is at the heart of all it does. It is explicit in every action leaders take. There is high ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This ambition translates into a curriculum which is exceedingly relevant to pupils at the school. It builds on their experiences, and it widens their horizons. Pupils’ learning journey is clearly mapped out, starting from early years.

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better?

Children get off to a very strong start in Reception. The environment is impressively well thought through, with every moment for learning seized. Teaching staff are highly knowledgeable about the stages of child development. For example, the resources that children access are well considered. They build in complexity as children develop their manual dexterity. Children enjoy many opportunities to build their physical strength when they climb and jump. Adults help them understand how to stay safe. There is a strong emphasis on developing children’s communication skills. Staff widen children’s vocabulary and encourage conversation. When children need extra support with their speech, they receive it through carefully tailored programmes.

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better?

The teaching of reading is prioritised. Pupils are supported well by staff who help them to learn and use their letter sounds. In phonics lessons, pupils are excited to learn new sounds and use them to read and write with increasing fluency. Reading books are appropriately matched to the sounds pupils know. They are proud of their reading stickers which help to create regular reading habits. Pupils also enjoy taking books home from the school library to share with their families. 3 and 4 October 2023

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge, which is enhanced through accessing the wealth of expertise available across the trust. They help pupils to remember the knowledge they have been taught across the curriculum. During the inspection, pupils were keen to share their recent learning about the Great Fire of London, which they did in great detail. In lessons, teachers regularly check what pupils have remembered. However, they do not always use what they learn from these checks to influence their future teaching as precisely as they could. Consequently, not all pupils benefit from equally rich opportunities to deepen their understanding and make links across their learning.

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Pupils’ personal development is extremely well considered. Pupils learn how to respond to stimuli such as pictures and music and express their views and opinions. They ask questions and share thoughts. Pupils show they can disagree with each other in a respectful way when they present their views. There are many opportunities for pupils to assume positions of responsibility. Head pupils promote the school’s many strengths when they help to take prospective new pupils and their families on tours. Pupils on the school council know they have a voice. They are proud that their letters to the local council helped to raise awareness about cars speeding in the community. There is also consideration given to what pupils encounter in their local area. They know how to stay safe in a range of situations, including near water.

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The strength in leadership across the school and wider trust is highly evident. The same passion and determination are shared by all staff, who want the very best for pupils at the school. Staff enjoy being part of the Weston team and enthuse about their many professional development opportunities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teaching does not always build on what pupils already know and understand. This means that some pupils do not connect their learning between subjects. The school should ensure that teaching, in response to what pupils know and remember, allows pupils to deepen their understanding and make meaningful links between areas of learning and concepts.

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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. 3 and 4 October 2023

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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

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Following the closure of the predecessor school, Weston Shore Infants opened in 2019 as an academy, sponsored by the Hamwic Education Trust.  The school has an above average number of pupils who qualify for pupil premium funding.  The school does not currently 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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions 3 and 4 October 2023

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about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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.  The lead inspector had meetings with senior school leaders and representatives from the trust.  The inspectors analysed responses to the staff survey and spoke to staff about their views of the school.  The inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the additional free-text responses. The lead inspector also spoke with parents on the morning of the second day of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Kate Fripp, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Cesca Arocas Ofsted 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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