Windlesham Village Infant School

Inspection of Windlesham Village Infant School School Road, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6PB

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 January 2024

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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 Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Naomi Ezzard. This school is part of The Alliance Multi-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, Jonathan Hills, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Keith Gardner. 23 and 24 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils to try their best and achieve well. Pupils respond positively to these expectations, being motivated by the positivity of staff who encourage a ‘can do’ attitude. This means pupils develop the confidence to keep trying when learning is more difficult, or when they make a mistake. Pupils value the recognition of their successes in weekly celebration assemblies or through displays of their work such as ‘writing heroes’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk confidently about the school’s six values of ‘respect, friendship, happiness, courage, co-operation, and appreciation’. They learn how to demonstrate these values and understand why they help to make the school a happy place. Around the school, ‘meaningful acts of kindness’ occur regularly, reflecting pupils’ learning about consideration. Pupils talk about the school being ‘like a family’. They appreciate the warm, supportive relationships they have with teachers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is calm and respectful. At playtime, pupils from different year groups willingly play together and share a wide range of activities, for example creating a team to build an obstacle course. Parents and carers overwhelmingly value the school’s nurturing ethos. A parent captured this by saying, ‘My child has flourished at the school thanks to the supportive, nurturing environment.’

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better?

The school’s curriculum is broad and ambitious. There is careful consideration of the order in which pupils learn new knowledge so that they gradually build a deeper understanding. This starts in the early years, where the curriculum leads children to develop effective skills for learning. Across all subjects, there is systematic checking and revisiting of earlier learning, which supports pupils to remember previously taught knowledge.

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better?

Teachers have secure subject knowledge and carefully consider how to explain complicated ideas clearly. They make thoughtful use of resources. Sometimes, explanations do not focus tightly enough on the core knowledge being taught. Teachers make effective use of questioning to check pupils’ understanding. They use pupils’ answers to address any incorrect thinking. Teachers support all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to develop secure understanding. Teachers promptly identify pupils with SEND. Appropriate adaptations to activities and effective support from teaching assistants mean that most pupils achieve well.

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better?

Pupils’ progress is robustly assessed in core subjects. Teachers check pupils’ understanding as they learn and use topic assessments to identify areas of knowledge which require further teaching. In some foundation subjects, the school has identified that assessment needs to be more effective. In these subjects, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge, which hinder their wider understanding. To 23 and 24 January 2024

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address this, the school has recently introduced a new approach to assessment in these subjects.

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The school prioritises reading. In Reception, children learn phonics from the start and their progress with learning new sounds is closely tracked. This means that if children struggle, they are identified quickly and receive targeted daily support so that they catch up rapidly. Pupils enjoy listening to a wide range of stories woven into the curriculum and talk enthusiastically about their favourite books. They enjoy library visits to choose books according to their interests.

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Pupils are enthusiastic about learning and apply new knowledge keenly. In lessons, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, which are supported by clear routines. Pupils meet these expectations well and lessons are purposeful and orderly. If pupils become distracted, in most cases teachers swiftly refocus them on the learning. When undertaking paired activities, pupils are considerate to each other and work together well.

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Developing pupils’ character is at the heart of the school. In Reception, children learn essential language and routines, which support them to become more independent. A range of thoughtful opportunities develops pupils’ awareness and views about issues in the wider world. This means pupils confidently talk about how people can have different beliefs, family lives and roles in society. Pupils understand that people are equal and demonstrate this through their attitudes towards others. There are some meaningful leadership opportunities such as being ‘School Council’ members, where pupils gain experience of responsibility.

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The school is diligent in its approach to continuous improvement. Changes are thoughtfully considered and carefully embedded. Staff appreciate the school’s efforts to keep their workload manageable, so they can focus on teaching well. The governors and trust use their extensive knowledge of the school to provide effective challenge and support to drive and resource further improvements. They fully meet their statutory responsibilities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment in some foundation subjects does not identify pupils’ knowledge gaps clearly enough. This hinders pupils’ achievement in these areas. In these subjects, the school needs to embed its newly introduced approach to assessment so that teaching addresses areas where pupils’ knowledge is less strong. 23 and 24 January 2024

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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). 23 and 24 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority Local Academy Board

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 September 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Alliance Multi-Academy Trust.  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.  Inspectors discussed any continued 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 and subject leaders. The lead inspector met with representatives from the local academy board, the trust’s chief executive officer, representatives from the board of trustees including the chair of trustees. 23 and 24 January 2024

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, computing and geography. 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.  The inspectors observed playtime activities.  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 inspector considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school. They looked at the schools’ self-evaluation documents, trust reviews and school development plan.  The inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View

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questionnaire and the additional free-text responses. This included speaking to parents at the gate.

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Inspection team

Phillip Blagg, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Debra Anderson Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 January 2024

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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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