Newport Infant School and Nursery

Inspection of Newport Infant School and Nursery Granville Avenue, Newport, Shropshire TF10 7DX

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 12 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. 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. 15 and 16 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and well cared for at Newport Infant School and Nursery. From the very beginning, children feel that they belong to one big family. Each pupil makes a peg doll of themselves. The school community displays their peg dolls together. This shows how important each pupil is within this family.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve. Most pupils achieve well in most subjects, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils have high expectations of themselves. They enjoy learning and want to know how they can improve their work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At playtime, pupils engage in a range of activities. Adults interact and play with pupils. Routines are clear and well understood by pupils and children in early years. These clear routines support a positive learning environment in which pupils and children behave very well most of the time. Pupils know and routinely exhibit the school’s rules of ‘be ready, be kind, be safe’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Some older pupils are part of ‘Super Sue’s Safety Crew’. As part of this leadership role, they lead assemblies and teach younger pupils about how to stay safe. They talk, for example, about wearing bright colours when walking in the dark.

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better?

There have been several recent changes to the leadership of the school, including to the governance arrangements. The newly formed leadership team is caring. Leaders are ambitious for what they want pupils to achieve. They have created an inclusive and welcoming environment. The school works closely with the local junior school. This close working relationship supports pupils to transition well into key stage 2.

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better?

In most subjects, the curriculum is well planned. For example, in history, the curriculum sets out the key knowledge and vocabulary that pupils are expected to know and remember. The local town of Newport is central to pupils’ learning journey. As a result, pupils develop a strong understanding of their local area. Older pupils talk about how the past shapes the present. In most subjects, the curriculum is designed so that knowledge builds in a logical order from early years to Year 2. However, in other subjects, such as mathematics, this is not the case. The small steps of knowledge have not been clearly and precisely identified in key stage 1. This means that individual class teachers make decisions about what to teach and when for their own classes. Consequently, learning does not always build in a logical order from year to year, and this slows pupils’ learning.

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better?

Reading and books are celebrated and prioritised across school. Adults share stories and poems daily with all pupils. There is a wide range of diverse books, including from a variety of cultures. All of this helps to create a culture in which pupils enjoy reading. Children benefit by learning phonics right from the beginning of early years. 15 and 16 November 2023

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The school has systems in place to identify pupils who are falling behind. Support is quickly put in place to help them. The youngest children in Nursery are taught nursery rhymes and follow oral patterns in stories. In English, pupils’ work is well presented. There is a strong focus on handwriting, spelling, grammar and sentence structure. Pupils achieve well in this area as a result. However, in key stage 1, the school has not clearly set out the precise subject knowledge that it wants pupils to learn in English. For example, pupils are not always aware of the features of different types of writing. This means that gaps emerge in their English subject knowledge.

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Effective systems are in place to identify the needs of pupils with SEND accurately. These are regularly reviewed. Pupils are well supported. The school has recently established a new provision to further support pupils with complex needs. Pupils are taught to communicate using signing and visual aids. The school is developing ways to ensure that these communication systems are consistently applied throughout the day.

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Pupils’ wider development is prioritised. The school has established a list of ‘30 things to achieve at Newport Infant School’. This includes visiting the local canal, feeding ducks and tasting food from another culture. During the ‘wonderful world of work’ week, parents and carers share information about their professions with pupils. This helps to broaden pupils’ experiences. There is a range of extra-curricular clubs on offer, such the music, sports and teddy-bear clubs. The school knows that more needs to be done to widen pupils’ opportunities to access to these clubs.

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Governors provide appropriate support and strategic challenge. However, systems for checking, analysing and evaluating work across the school are not sharp enough. This means that leaders do not always know precisely what is working well and what needs further improvement. Parents and staff are supportive of the new leadership team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In mathematics, the school has not set out the key knowledge that it wants pupils to learn over time in key stage 1. Teachers are not always clear about what to teach and when. This means that pupils’ knowledge does not build in a logical order over time. The school should ensure that it consistently identifies and sequences the key knowledge it wants all pupils to learn in mathematics.  In English, the school has not ensured that pupils are clear about the precise subject knowledge they are learning in key stage 1. This means that gaps emerge 15 and 16 November 2023

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in pupils’ English subject knowledge, specifically in writing. The school should ensure that the subject-specific knowledge in English is clearly set out in lessons.  The systems for checking, analysing and evaluating work across school are not sharp enough. This means that leaders do not always accurately know how different aspects of the school are working. The school should ensure that it has an effective system in place for accurately evaluating the impact of its work.

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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). 15 and 16 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 8 and 9 June 2011, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has undergone several changes since its previous inspection. A new headteacher was appointed from within the school in September 2023. The previous year, the headteacher was co-headteacher for two days a week. The deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher were promoted from within the school in September 2023.  The chair of governors was appointed in June 2023.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  A provision for two-year-olds opened in September 2022. This provision has been based at the school site prior to this date, but was registered under a different provider.  A specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND opened in September 2022. All pupils in this provision have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The provision is resourced for eight pupils with speech, language and communication needs and autism.  The school has a before- and after-school provision on site. This is operated by

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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 had 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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, chair of the governing body, four governors, subject leaders, teachers and pupils. They also talked informally with parents and carers.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority and a representative from Severn Training & Schools Alliance.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, English, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning

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Information about this inspection

and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors looked at a sample of pupils’ EHC plans.  The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school.  Inspectors observed informal times to evaluate safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour.  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 considered responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. This included free-text comments. Inspectors also looked at responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This

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Information about this inspection

included the school’s self-evaluation, school policies, curriculum documents and SEND records.

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Inspection team

Anna Vrahimi, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gill Turner Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 November 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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