Slip End Village School

Inspection of Slip End Village School Ross Way, Slip End, Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 4DD

p.1

Inspection dates: 10 and 11 December 2024

p.1

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 10 and 11 December 2024

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Slip End Village School. It is a school where pupils are happy and feel safe. Pupils live by the school’s values of belong, believe and achieve. Key stage 2 pupils are proud to be community champions. All key stage 2 pupils have a role of responsibility, and this encourages them to develop as active citizens.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, including children in the early years. Pupils respond well to this. They take pride in their learning and listen carefully to their teachers. Low-level disruption is rare. However, when it does happen, adults deal with it effectively.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has recently become more ambitious for pupils’ achievement. Pupils now achieve well. This is reflected in the key stage 2 provisional outcomes in 2024.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

A broad range of extra-curricular opportunities is available to pupils. Sport is a big part of this school and pupils’ participation in sports clubs is very high, including for those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils talk fondly about these opportunities.

p.2

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

The school has strengthened the curriculum and ensured that is broad and balanced. The curriculum is progressive and builds on pupils’ skills and knowledge over time. Teachers are skilled at checking what pupils have learned. They use this knowledge to adapt future learning. The school has systems in place to identify pupils with SEND promptly and to ensure support is put in place to meet pupils’ needs. Teachers adapt activities to enable pupils with SEND to be fully included in lessons. In a minority of subjects, the teachers do not design learning activities that emphasise the important knowledge that pupils should learn. Consequently, in these subjects, some pupils do not achieve as highly as they could and struggle to recall details of prior learning.

p.2

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

Children in the early years experience an interesting and exciting curriculum. Children are provided with activities to engage and support their learning. The curriculum prepares children for Year 1 well. Routines are well established. Adults support the children effectively and relationships are strong. Adults are trained well and have a good understanding of how to get the best out of young children.

p.2

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

Reading is the school’s top priority. Children begin to learn corresponding letters as soon as they start school. Teachers follow the school’s chosen phonics programme closely. This provides a consistent approach to teaching reading across the school and helps pupils to become successful readers. Books match pupils’ phonics knowledge. This helps to develop their reading fluency. Pupils who fall behind receive additional support that helps them to learn to read well. Pupils enjoy reading and like being read to. 10 and 11 December 2024

p.2

3

Pupils’ behaviour is positive. They engage in learning well and remain focused during lessons. Classrooms are calm and purposeful. Around the school, pupils are polite and courteous. They socialise well at breaktimes.

p.3

3

Attendance is a high priority for the school. However, some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. This means they are missing out on learning and do not achieve as highly as they could.

p.3

3

The school’s approach to promoting pupils’ personal development has been well thought through. Pupils learn about life in modern Britain. They learn to respect and celebrate differences. The school arranges many trips and visitors regularly come into the school. This helps to make learning memorable across the curriculum.

p.3

3

Many parents are positive about the school, stating their children are happy and feel safe at school. A few parents are dissatisfied with how their concerns are dealt with and some other aspects of the school’s work.

p.3

3

There have been changes in the leadership of the school over recent years. Leaders have an accurate picture of the areas of strengths and areas to improve across the school. Staff enjoy working in this school. They feel valued and appreciate how leaders consider their well-being and workload. Leaders invest in staff. They offer many opportunities for continued professional development to enable staff to fulfil their roles effectively. Teachers talk highly of the opportunities to work alongside others within the federation. Governors know the school well. They provide appropriate challenge and support to help it to improve. They ensure their statutory duties are carried out effectively, including safeguarding.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, some of the subjects in the curriculum are not implemented as the school intends. As a result, some pupils do not secure an understanding of these subjects. The school should ensure that teachers design activities that allow pupils to deepen the important skills and knowledge they need.  Some pupils are persistently absent and this hinders their learning. The school should review and amend how they work with parents and outside agencies to improve attendance.  A small number of parents do not agree that the school deals with their concerns effectively or in a timely way for them. The school should review and make suitable 10 and 11 December 2024

p.3

4

amendments to how they deal with concerns from parents and to the school’s processes for responding to parental enquiries.

p.4

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.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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). 10 and 11 December 2024

p.4

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.5

School details

Headteacher Laura Jackson (federation executive headteacher) Website www.slipend.beds.sch.uk

p.5

School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 and 4 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 The school is part of a federation with Caddington Village School. The federation headteacher and governing body lead both schools. Each school is registered separately with the Department of Education. Each school is inspected separately by Ofsted.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision for pupils.  The executive headteacher and head of school have been appointed since the previous inspection.

p.5

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. 10 and 11 December 2024

p.5

6

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the federation executive headteacher and head of school.  The lead inspector spoke with the chair of the governing body and two additional governors, as well as a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.

p.6

6

 Inspectors spoke with leaders and pupils about some other subjects and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; spoke to staff about the training they receive; spoke to those responsible for safeguarding about systems to keep children safe; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents, Parent View. The inspectors considered responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

p.6

Inspection team

Julie Winwood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Georgina Nutton Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 December 2024

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7