Valley End CofE Infant School

Inspection of Valley End CofE Infant School Higham’s Lane, Valley End, Chobham, Woking Surrey GU24 8TB

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 November 2024

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The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Kate Harper-Cole. This school is part of The Good Shepherd Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Paul Kennedy, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by James Friend.

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Ofsted has not previously inspected Valley End CofE Infant School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Valley End CofE Infant School to be outstanding for overall effectiveness before it opened as an academy. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 12 and 13 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to attend this ambitious and happy school. They constantly embody the school’s ‘golden rules’. This means they consistently show care and respect to each other and to the adults they work with. Pupils make a highly positive contribution to their community. They appreciate and look after their school environment. When chosen as the daily ‘special person’, pupils proudly show each other how to behave well. This has a profoundly positive impact on the conduct of other pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the leadership roles they have. As school councillors, ‘sad to happy’ playground buddies, singing leaders and reading buddies, they take pride in their responsibilities. They harness their talents to contribute to school life. Pupils benefit from an excellent and wide range of opportunities to build character. Pupil passports provide them with trips and activities which progressively build readiness for their next stage. These include parliament and democracy day, royal ball, Roman day, and well-being activities in Nower Wood.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils consistently meet the high expectations set for them by challenging themselves and persevering. From Reception onwards, pupils grow to become highly motivated, independent, and confident learners. They value the school’s ambitions for what they will achieve, and persistently try their best to achieve them.

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

The school has a highly ambitious and well sequenced curriculum. It supports all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve exceptionally well. The school has mapped out precisely the knowledge that pupils need to learn. This begins in Reception, where children secure important knowledge and are ready for learning in Year 1. The curriculum is meticulously designed so that pupils recall and build on prior learning. As a result, pupils apply their breadth of knowledge effectively to a wide range of tasks.

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

Teachers check what pupils know in all areas of the curriculum. They use information from these checks to make well-considered changes to lessons to rapidly fill gaps in knowledge. All staff have excellent knowledge of how to help pupils with SEND. The support in place in lessons is skilful and extremely impactful. Staff have expert subject knowledge, and teaching is very effective. Therefore, all pupils, including those with SEND, achieve extremely well.

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

Staff are expert teachers of phonics. They use checks on pupils’ learning to spot when a pupil has fallen behind. They put in place effective reading activities to close any gaps quickly. Consequently, pupils are learning to read exceptionally well. This is evident in the highly positive published outcomes for phonics in 2024. From Reception onwards, pupils love to read. They access a diverse and high-quality range of texts which builds their vocabulary. 12 and 13 November 2024

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There is a buzz of activity in Reception. Children sustain attention on a range of activities and are motivated and enthusiastic learners. Children are encouraged by expert staff to use their imagination in their independent play. The classroom environment has been crafted so that children can be boat makers, pilots, cartographers, and artists. Staff take every opportunity to develop pupils’ communication and language, and physical development.

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The behaviour of pupils is exemplary. The playground and lunch hall during social times are joyful places. Pupils play well together and show kindness to one another. Pupils trust adults will do what is best for them. The relationships between pupils and adults are warm and trusting. In lessons, pupils’ conduct and attitudes to learning are excellent. Learning is rarely disrupted because pupils work hard and focus very well.

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The personal development provision for pupils is remarkable. Through emotional regulation lessons and use of the ‘healthy mind platter’, pupils learn how to look after their mental well-being. Pupils learn how to recognise their emotions and talk about them. They become aware of their role in society by exploring the impact their behaviour and choices can have on others. Members of the community from a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds visit the school to talk to pupils. From this, as well as learning about ‘powerful voices’ in history, pupils develop an appreciation and respect for a wide range of cultural influences.

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Parents praise the positive impact the school has had on their children. As one parent said, ‘there is something very special about this school’. A sense of community spirit permeates, where all involved in the school have a common and moral purpose to provide the best provision for pupils. Staff are motivated by the vision set for the school. They feel valued and heard by school leaders, the local committee and the trust. All layers of leadership work together seamlessly and have pupils at the heart of everything they do.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 12 and 13 November 2024

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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). 12 and 13 November 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is a Church of England school, in the Diocese of Guildford. It was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in May 2023. The next inspection will be due five years from the date of the last inspection.  The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.  The school is part of The Good Shepherd Trust.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 12 and 13 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The lead inspector met with the headteacher and other members of the leadership team.  The lead inspector met with the co-chair of the local committee and two other members. She also met with representatives from the board of trustees and the trust.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, music and geography. The lead inspector also discussed the curriculum, and how checks are made on how well pupils are learning, in art, science and history. For each deep dive, the 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.

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 The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons. They also spoke to pupils in lessons and during play and lunchtimes.  The inspectors considered a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluations of the school, their school improvement plan, and minutes from governors’ meetings.  The inspectors considered parents and carers’ responses to Ofsted Parent View.  The inspectors took account of the views of staff through conversations and the responses to the online staff survey.  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.

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Inspection team

Nina Marabese, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kate Magliocco Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 November 2024

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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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