Church Aston Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Church Aston Infant School Church Aston, Newport, Shropshire TF10 9JN

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Outcome

Church Aston Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Church Aston Infant School is at the heart of its community. Love and care live here. All have the highest expectations for every child and want them to have the best possible start to education. As a result, children flourish and do well. This is especially so for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is strong. They love school and enjoy attending regularly. They are a delight to speak to. Pupils are friendly, welcoming and proud of their school. Lessons are calm, orderly and generally free from disruption. The purposeful and positive relationships between staff and pupils are a joy to observe. Pupils say that their teachers care about them and help them to learn. They are confident that their teachers will deal swiftly with any issues if they ever happen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff pay serious attention to pupils’ well-being. They are nurturing and kind. The school’s motto of ‘the world is ours to explore’ underpins the offer to promote pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn about different cultures, faiths and beliefs. As a result of this work, pupils understand, appreciate and respect differences in the world and its people. They say that everyone is welcome at their school, regardless of their background.

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

The school sets ambitious goals for every pupil. The main tool for achieving these goals is the school’s curriculum, which outlines the knowledge and skills pupils should acquire over time, including during the early years. Learning builds in a logical order. This helps pupils to achieve well. However, in a very few foundation subjects, this work is not as well developed. In these subjects, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is not always as clear as it could be.

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

The reading curriculum is effective. Teaching of phonics ensures that pupils become fluent 18 June 2024

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readers. Pupils enjoy reading and do so daily. Staff quickly spot any pupils who need extra help. Effective interventions then ensure that pupils catch up. In addition, there is a strong reading culture across the school. Pupils love reading and enjoy daily story time.

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Pupils with SEND are extremely well supported. They receive targeted support at every level. This includes in their lessons and individual intervention sessions. Staff are highly skilled at identifying pupils’ educational needs, and leaders ensure pupils get the help they need quickly. All of this means that pupils with SEND overcome their learning barriers, flourish and achieve well.

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Staff, including additional adults, have strong subject knowledge. The school has ensured that all staff have the expertise to deliver the curriculum. Staff provide pupils with engaging learning tasks that deepen their knowledge. They use assessment well to check on what pupils can do. They adapt their teaching to address any gaps or move learning on when pupils are ready to learn new things. Pupils, including those with SEND, receive work that is extremely well matched to their needs. Consequently, pupils learn well.

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Children in the early years learn with their peers in Year 1. Children settle quickly and begin learning as soon as they arrive. Strong care and nurture ensure that children swiftly learn the routines and expected behaviours of daily school life. Adults model language and speech very well. The curriculum is effective in ensuring that children are well prepared for Year 1.

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The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development is strong. This work includes trips, visits and after-school activities which pupils keenly attend. The school’s curriculum to develop pupils’ character and independence is excellent. Pupils, for instance, are expected to clean their plates and tidy up at lunchtime. They do so independently. Furthermore, pupils knowledgeably talk about values such as kindness and friendship. As a result of this work, pupils are very well prepared for their next steps in life and education.

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The school and governors have a strong understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to improve. They work hard to continuously improve. Staff speak highly of the support they receive, including about their well-being and workload. All staff are proud to work here and refer to Church Aston Infant School as a family.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum in a few foundation subjects does not always clearly identify the precise knowledge and essential skills that pupils should know. As a result, in these subjects, staff are not always clear about the most important knowledge pupils need to be taught and remember for future learning. The school should ensure that staff members 18 June 2024

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have a clear understanding of the precise key knowledge and skills pupils are expected to learn.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2014.

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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). 18 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.churchastoninfantschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 December 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller-than-average-size primary school.  The school runs daily breakfast and after-school clubs for its pupils.  The school does not use any alternative provision for its pupils.

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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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher. The lead inspector held a meeting with the chair of the governing body and telephone meetings with the local authority and the school’s external improvement consultant. Meetings were held with curriculum leaders, teachers and support staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a 18 June 2024

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sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors visited the early years for each of the deep dives. Inspectors considered the curriculum offer in other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour and interactions during lessons and at breaktime and lunchtimes and spoke to many pupils during the inspection.  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 survey, Ofsted Parent View. This included free-text comments. The inspectors also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online

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staff survey and responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. Inspectors also spoke to parents at the school gates to gather their views about the school.

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Inspection team

Bianka Zemke, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jayne Thorpe Ofsted Inspector 18 June 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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