Harewood Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Harewood Infant School Harewood Close, Tuffley, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL4 0SS

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Outcome

Harewood Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this inclusive school. The school cares deeply for the pupils’ well- being. It is a place where they are nurtured to be confident learners. Consequently, pupils thrive in a happy and safe environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Staff model the behaviours they expect of pupils. This in turn leads to impressive behaviour throughout the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the Reception Year, are eager to learn. They show positive attitudes to their learning and work hard. Most pupils achieve well in many areas of the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects all pupils to be responsible, respectful and active members of the school community. Listening to the pupils’ voice is a priority for the school, which helps build their confidence and self-esteem. The school offers a wide range of clubs, from roller booting to needlework and music. These are open to all and well attended.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities and take their roles seriously. For example, pupils in Year 2 act as lunchtime monitors who younger children look up to for guidance and support. ‘Harewood Heroes’ work to improve the environment.

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

The school has a rich, ambitious and exciting curriculum that has the pupils’ needs at its heart. Pupils, including children in the Reception Year, learn in depth and remember learning from previous years. They can connect learning in different subjects, such as history and geography. For example, pupils know about where they live and understand the role of the monarchy. Teachers constantly check that pupils have remembered what they have learned through the use of the school’s daily dashboard. This enables pupils to achieve highly, as reflected in the school’s published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics. Nonetheless, the school is aware that in some subjects, pupils do not get as 17 and 18 April 2024

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many opportunities to develop and practise their writing as they do in English. Work is already underway to strengthen this area to ensure pupils are fully prepared for the demands of key stage 2.

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The school sees reading as the gateway to pupils’ success. Children learn phonics from the start. They benefit from highly effective phonics teaching in the early years and across the school. Reading books match the sounds that pupils know. Staff are skilled in teaching reading. This means they are able to identify any pupils at risk of falling behind and provide the support they need to keep up. Pupils develop a love of stories and can talk about their favourite books.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow the same learning as everyone else. Adults are alert to pupils’ needs and adapt learning accordingly, for example by using equipment and adult support to break learning down into smaller steps. This enables pupils with SEND to achieve success.

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Pupils’ wider personal development is fundamental to the school’s work. A well-planned curriculum helps pupils to be kind, thoughtful young people. They learn to respect and celebrate the diversity of the world in which they live. The school works closely with carefully chosen charities such as the air ambulance, animal sanctuary and the local foodbank. As a result, pupils develop a sense of responsibility and empathy. Visits and visitors to the school, such as the hedgehog hospital and zoo lab, enhance pupils’ learning. All these activities help pupils to develop into responsible and proactive citizens.

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Pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at social times is impeccable. They quickly learn routines and what is expected of them. Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong. They demonstrate a strong desire to behave well and know the consequences if they do not meet the expectations. The use of ‘behaviour gems’ to reward positive behaviour is known and understood by pupils. These are used to celebrate positive acts, including kindness to people and looking after the environment.

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Improving attendance and reducing persistent absence are priorities. The school has effective systems in place to track and monitor pupils’ attendance. As a result of this work, the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school has significantly decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Parents are delighted with the school. They recognise that the manner in which staff support both pupils and families contributes to their children’s happiness.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 17 and 18 April 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils do not get enough opportunities to develop and practise their writing across the full range of subjects. As a result, pupils do not fully develop their writing in each subject. The school should ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to develop and practise their writing, so they are fully prepared for the demands of the next key stage.

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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 June 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). 17 and 18 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 27 and 28 June 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher started in post in March 2023.  The deputy headteacher started in post in May 2023.  The school does not 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and staff.  The inspector met with governors and a school improvement adviser from Gloucestershire local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject 17 and 18 April 2024

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leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector listened to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and 2 read to an adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector considered key documentation, including school development plans and governors’ minutes.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. The inspector met with school leaders to discuss and scrutinise how they respond to behaviour incidents and pupils’ attendance.  The inspector considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys and Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text replies.

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Inspection team

Jen Southall, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 April 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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