Queen Mary Avenue Infant School

Inspection of Queen Mary Avenue Infant School Queen Mary Avenue, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire DN35 7SY

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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 Good 2 and 3 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at school. They feel safe and know that there is a trusted adult they can go to if they are worried about something. Caring and positive relationships between staff and pupils are evident across the school. This contributes towards the school’s warm and friendly atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s aim for all pupils to ‘dream big, shine bright’ is consistently promoted by leaders and staff. Pupils contribute well to the life of the school. They carry out roles, such as library and assembly monitors, with maturity. School councillors play an active part in sharing their ideas with leaders. Recently, they have helped to select new resources for the early years playground and interviewed applicants for new jobs at the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school supports parents and carers well to ensure that pupils attend school. Most pupils attend school regularly. However, a small but significant group of pupils miss too much school. These pupils do not do as well in their learning. They have gaps in their knowledge. Some find it difficult to build strong relationships with their peers. Pupils with high levels of attendance, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils at the school, including those with SEND. Leaders have carefully considered what children must learn in the early years. They have ensured that the key stage 1 curriculum builds on this. For example, in science, there is a strong emphasis on what pupils must know and the scientific skills that pupils should develop. The school provides regular opportunities, from Nursery to Year 2, for pupils to use equipment to support investigations. During the inspection, children in the early years used magnifying glasses to examine the parts of a plant. Adults skilfully supported them to use vocabulary, such as stem, roots and petals, to describe what they observed.

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better?

In a small number of subjects, the school has not defined what it wants pupils to know precisely enough. Where this is the case, teachers are uncertain of the curriculum content to be taught and in what order. This makes it hard for pupils to learn effectively. Leaders are in the process of making the necessary changes to these curriculum subjects. They make effective use of the more established subjects as a framework for this development.

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better?

The school has ensured a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Adults teach phonics sessions with confidence. Most pupils, including those with SEND and/or who are disadvantaged, leave the school with a confident grasp of phonics. Pupils begin to develop an enjoyment of reading. They read books that are matched to their phonics knowledge. Pupils like to select books they can share with an adult. Pupils who are confident in their reading read books with increased independence. 2 and 3 July 2024

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The school has not established a consistent approach to support pupils to develop fluency in their reading. Some pupils do not develop reading fluency as quickly as they might.

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The school provides effective support for pupils with SEND. Small group and one-to- one time with an adult provide focused teaching to pupils. These sessions are used appropriately to ensure that pupils do not fall behind in their learning. Adults know pupils well. Staff foster positive relationships. This enables them to adapt activities to meet the needs of pupils.

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The early years classrooms and outside areas are attractive spaces for children to explore their learning. Adults promote the use of language and communication effectively. They model how to speak and interact with other people well. This builds children’s confidence to interact with their peers. Children enjoy sharing what they have learned and created with adults and visitors.

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The school’s personal, social and health education curriculum enables pupils to develop an age-appropriate understanding of how to keep physically and mentally healthy. Pupils demonstrate an impressive knowledge of online safety. Lessons and assemblies enrich pupils’ thinking about different faiths. They encourage pupils to treat others well. Purposeful activities, such as fund raising for charities, enable pupils to contribute to the wider community.

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Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, oversee the development of the school effectively. They hear from subject leaders, review curriculum audits and correlate this information with what they know about standards in the school. Leaders use the information they gather to evaluate pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. Systems to check what pupils know and remember in foundation subjects are not fully embedded. It is difficult to identify gaps in pupils’ learning in these subjects. Staff value the support they receive from leaders. It helps staff to manage their workload effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not established a consistent approach to develop pupils’ fluency in reading. Some pupils do not read fluently. This reduces the impact of the school’s reading curriculum. The school should further develop strategies to support pupils’ fluency in their reading.  In some foundation subjects, the important knowledge that pupils must learn has not been broken down sufficiently. Curriculum plans in recently revised subjects 2 and 3 July 2024

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lack the precision required to support non-specialist teachers. The school should continue to refine these curriculum plans so that teachers know what pupils must learn.

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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). 2 and 3 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 November 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The number of pupils on roll is above the national average for primary schools.  The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above the national average for primary schools.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average for primary schools.  The school runs its own breakfast club.  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. 2 and 3 July 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke to the headteacher, deputy headteacher, early years leader, curriculum leader and special educational needs coordinator.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, physical education and music. 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. Inspectors also reviewed curriculum plans and work in some other foundation subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors visited the school’s breakfast club.  An inspector met with representatives from the governing body. Separate meetings were also held with a representative from the local authority and the school’s improvement adviser.  Inspectors spoke to parents at the beginning of the day. They also considered the views of parents who had responded to Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View. Responses to Ofsted’s staff survey were also considered.

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Inspection team

Matthew Harrington, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jenny Thomas His Majesty’s Inspector 2 and 3 July 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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