Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School Leeds Road, Shaw Cross, Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF12 7HP

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 9 and 10 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School is a caring, happy and inclusive place. Pupils enjoy coming here. They behave well and say adults are kind and listen to them. They feel safe here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has taken action to improve the curriculum more recently. This has had a positive impact in most core subjects. Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. In these subjects, the curriculum is clear. It supports pupils to learn effectively. The wider curriculum is in a much earlier stage of development. Some of the foundation subjects need further consideration to ensure that the planned learning supports pupils to build their knowledge over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for behaviour. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the nursery and school building. Pupils are polite and inquisitive. When they are focused on their learning they behave well. They understand the rules and follow them carefully. Pupils help each other to make the right choices as they play together. They love to help each other accumulate class ‘treasure’ as a reward for good behaviour. This is then exchanged for a range of exciting treats, such as extra playtime in the school’s woodlands.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from some enrichment activities. However, these are currently limited to singing in the choir or ‘Friday Fitness Club’. Some pupils express interests in drama and the arts. They would like further experiences to help them to develop their wider interests and understanding of the world around them.

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better?

Following the last inspection, the school quickly identified that it needed to improve the learning offer for all pupils. The school is ambitious to ensure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve highly. Pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics show that the improvements made to these subjects have been successful. Pupils achieve well in these subjects and outcomes are very positive. The school is now fully focused on improving the wider curriculum subjects, to ensure that all areas are taught as effectively.

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better?

In some foundation subjects, there is still much work to do. Leaders have broadly identified what pupils will learn from Nursery to Year 2. However, the precise knowledge they want pupils to remember is not yet clearly defined. This means that, in some lessons, teachers are not adequately supported to plan learning that helps pupils to build on prior knowledge. In some subjects, lessons are disjointed, and some activities don’t challenge or support pupils sufficiently.

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better?

Reading is a priority in the school. Pupils are encouraged to read books or listen to stories daily. Staff have benefited from training and follow the school’s chosen phonics programme with confidence. Adults skilfully support pupils to develop 9 and 10 April 2024

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fluency with blending sounds to read. Pupils finding reading more difficult are quickly identified. They are helped to catch up through regular intervention lessons and extra reading opportunities.

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Pupils with SEND are extremely well supported. Needs are identified quickly. Pupils quickly receive extra support, for specific areas of need, such as speech and language development. Bespoke timetables support pupils with the most complex needs to learn in adapted spaces as well as within the mainstream classrooms. However, in some lessons, learning is not as well adapted for pupils with SEND. This lack of clarity in the school’s wider curriculum impacts on how well teachers are able to adapt learning. Despite this, the school is ambitious for pupils with SEND. They continually seek ways to help them to be successful.

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Children in the early years enjoy the positive, happy environment the school has created, both inside and outside the classrooms. Early years staff expertly use every moment to promote curiosity, engagement and learning. They encourage talk and independence. The curriculum outlines what is taught from Nursery through to Reception. The school is now developing this further, to ensure that this learning provides strong foundations which are built on in Year 1.

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The school uses regular assemblies alongside the personal, social, health and education curriculum to support pupils’ personal development. Learning focuses on important aspects of pupils’ development, such as understanding fundamental British values. Pupils remember some parts of the taught curriculum. However, in some areas, they struggle to link this learning to real-life situations. Learning is not sufficiently progressive to help them to build on prior knowledge. Pupils talk with confidence about positive friendships or why respect is important. They can attend music or sports clubs. Some take on roles of responsibility, such as being school councillors or playground leaders. However, these opportunities are limited. Enrichment activities don’t currently enable pupils to learn sufficiently about the diversity of the school and local community or about their own leadership or creative skills.

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Due to current staffing difficulties and senior leaders’ teaching commitments, there is insufficient monitoring of how school improvement targets are being addressed. Governors, while aware of these challenges, have not identified ways to support staff to overcome them. This means that some staff do not receive the training they need to implement the new curriculum effectively and some struggle to maintain a manageable workload. A recent governor review has been commissioned. This aims to support governors to fully understand their role and offer more support and challenge to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 9 and 10 April 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a number of foundation subjects, the school’s curriculum does not identify the important knowledge and concepts that leaders intend pupils to learn. Teachers do not have the necessary information to plan sequences of lessons that enable pupils to know and remember more. The school must ensure that they have a carefully considered curriculum plan for every subject so that pupils are able to build on their prior learning and make strong progress to achieve ambitious endpoints that prepare them well for key stage 2.  The school has not ensured that leaders have sufficient capacity to address the wider curriculum concerns. Gaps in staff subject knowledge and understanding of pedagogy are not identified and addressed quickly enough. Governors have limited oversight of the curricular aims of the school and how these are implemented. The school needs to ensure that teachers and leaders have the necessary training and support to ensure that all subjects are taught and led well.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Opportunities to develop some aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding are limited. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunity to develop their talents or interests, or to learn more about the world around them. The school needs to ensure that the personal development curriculum gives pupils creative and diverse experiences which prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

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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 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). 9 and 10 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 April 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a nursery provision for children aged three and above.  The school offers a breakfast and after-school provision.  The school does not 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.

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Information about this inspection

 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, other leaders, the special educational needs coordinator and members of staff during the course of the inspection. 9 and 10 April 2024

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 The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and a representative of Kirklees local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, geography and music. For each of these subjects, inspectors held discussions with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. An inspector also listened to pupils reading and discussed the curriculum in other subjects.  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.  Information about behaviour and attendance was scrutinised.  Inspectors considered pupils’ behaviour at various times of the day, including in lessons, around the school site and at lunchtime.

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 The inspection team took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents, and the staff survey. Inspectors spoke informally to parents outside the school.

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Inspection team

Andrea Batley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gerry Wilson Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 April 2024

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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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