Stoughton Infant School

Inspection of Stoughton Infant School Stoughton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9ZT

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Early years provision Outstanding 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 Sarah Carrington. This school is part of Learning Partners Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jack Mayhew, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Andrew Isherwood.

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Overall effectiveness Good

Ofsted has not previously inspected Stoughton Infant 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. 14 and 15 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school develops warm and nurturing relationships between staff and pupils. The school values are extremely well understood by pupils. As a result, they are kind, considerate and keen to engage in learning activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils at the school. Consequently, they achieve well. In the early years, children are exceptionally well supported to work independently with a high degree of success. Pupils enjoy many opportunities to celebrate their successes and improvements. They know that staff notice their efforts to be the ‘best that they can be’. They also appreciate the range of extra- curricular activities and leadership activities that they can engage in.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying and unkindness are not tolerated at Stoughton Infants School. The school values underpin how pupils interact with each other and the adults who work with them. As a result, pupils trust that adults will deal with any concerns that they might have quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a positive pillar of strength and stability for many families. As one parent said, ‘This is a fantastic school where my child feels safe and happy. I couldn’t recommend this school enough to new parents and will be sad to leave.’

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better?

Nursery and Reception provide all children with a superb start to their education. Children are well supported to develop their language, reading and movement skills as well as their social development. Knowledgeable staff provide clear and careful guidance and practice opportunities for all children to achieve success. Children benefit from being engaged in high-quality talk with adults along with activities that require them to exercise their curiosity and independence. Careful tracking of children’s development helps staff to make timely adjustments to their teaching, so that learning time is maximised. As a result, children not only enjoy their learning, but they develop important foundational knowledge quickly and effectively.

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better?

Reading is a key priority at the school. There are high expectations for all pupils to develop into fluent readers who enjoy a range of texts. Struggling readers are provided with effective support to help them develop confidence and accuracy in reading.

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better?

Subject leaders are knowledgeable and staff have secure subject knowledge across the breadth of the curriculum. As a result, they are well supported to teach carefully selected content in an appropriate order. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified swiftly and provided with appropriate support to access the curriculum. Across the school, in lessons, pupils are provided with clear opportunities to practice independently or in small groups. Where this is most effective, staff routinely check pupils’ understanding. As a result, the activities that pupils engage in are well matched to what they know and can do. However, this is 14 and 15 November 2023

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not yet fully consistent across the school. As a result, in some lessons, not all pupils are given the precise support and feedback that they need to achieve consistently well.

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The school has high expectations of pupil behaviour, and they appropriately support all pupils to demonstrate positive learning behaviours. Consequently, pupils learn in calm and purposeful environments. Caring relationships that leaders have developed with families have helped the school to maintain high attendance. Where pupils’ attendance does not meet leaders’ high expectations, they work tirelessly to provide appropriate support and take quick action to reduce barriers to attendance. Leaders use a strategy called ‘The Pledge’ to provide highly effective additional support for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This support includes working closely with local organisations to increase opportunities for all.

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All pupils benefit from an excellent personal, social, health education curriculum that sensitively teaches important knowledge about healthy relationships and safety. As a result, pupils speak confidently about how to stay safe, how to be a good friend and what respect and diversity looks like in their school. The school uses assemblies and thoughtfully planned theme days to deepen pupils’ understanding. These opportunities enable pupils to revisit important messages over time. As a result of this high-quality provision, all pupils are extremely well supported to develop their broader character and embody the school values.

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Staff and parents are overwhelmingly proud of their school. The school community benefits from leaders’ thoughtful approaches to managing workload and well-being. Local governors and the trust understand the school’s strengths and priorities for further improvement well. The trust provides extensive opportunities for continuing professional development that are highly valued by all staff. The routine training and support through trust network meetings also help staff to share effective practice and stay abreast of developments in education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, teachers do not respond quickly enough to pupils’ misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge. This means that some activities are not matched appropriately to pupils’ level of understanding and precise support is not consistently provided in a timely manner. The school needs to ensure that staff routinely check pupils’ understanding and use this information to inform subsequent teaching. 14 and 15 November 2023

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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). 14 and 15 November 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined Learning Partners Academy Trust in September 2018.  Since September 2023, the headteacher is also the headteacher of Northmead Junior School.  In September 2023, a new deputy headteacher joined the school. There are also a small number of other leaders within the school who are new to post.  The nursery provision is for children from the age of three.  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. 14 and 15 November 2023

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 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 held meetings with leaders from across the school. The lead inspector also met with local governors and representatives from trust, including the chief executive officer.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education, and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions 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

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school and discussed wider development opportunities with leaders and pupils.  Inspectors considered the responses to the staff survey, pupil survey and the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, including free-text responses. Inspectors also spoke with staff, parents and pupils to gather their views.

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Inspection team

Hanna Miller, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrea Carter Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 November 2023

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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