Winterton Church of England Infants' School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Winterton Church of England Infants’ School West Street, Winterton, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire DN15 9QF

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Outcome

Winterton Church of England Infants’ School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and staff flourish in this caring school community. The vision that everyone here will grow and learn is truly lived out in all the school does. Pupils benefit from the care and education provided by well-trained staff. Relationships are positive. Adults know the pupils and their families incredibly well. Pupils feel happy and enjoy their time in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the importance of kind behaviour. The youngest children settle quickly, learn to share, listen to others and take turns. When a small number of pupils need help to manage their emotions, staff and other pupils support them incredibly well. Woody, the school dog, is an integral part of school life, helping pupils to develop an understanding of responsibility.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school wants every pupil to achieve well. Improvements made to the curriculum in recent years help to ensure that this is the case. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have a secure start to their education and are prepared well for junior school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the opportunities the school offers to broaden their horizons. There are a range of purposefully chosen activities that pupils experience which add to the ‘bank of memories’ the school strives to provide.

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

The school prioritises reading. It has constructed the English curriculum around well- chosen, quality texts. Staff are highly effective at delivering the phonics programme. They 7 and 8 January 2025

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emphasise the importance of using the correct pronunciation as pupils learn new letter sounds. When the school identifies gaps in pupils’ learning, these pupils are quickly supported well so that they can continue to build their reading knowledge alongside their peers. Pupils enjoy reading. They talk about their favourite books and love to hear stories read by their teachers.

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Staff appreciate the opportunities they have to develop their own knowledge and expertise. This helps to ensure that they deliver the curriculum to pupils effectively. The curriculum has been designed so that the knowledge pupils learn is clearly identified from Nursery to Year 6. The school makes frequent checks to assure itself that pupils are learning what they should. However, in a few subjects, this information is not used to inform what pupils will learn next. On occasions, including when learning to write, some pupils are not given the opportunity to practise and apply what they know before they move on to more complex tasks.

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The school acknowledges that it has a pivotal role in developing pupils’ language to prepare them well for future learning. Children in the early years learn key vocabulary across the seven areas of learning. For example, children in Reception investigate how to melt blocks of ice. This not only inspires their curiosity to investigate, but it allows them to practise using words such as melt, freeze and temperature. Vocabulary continues to be an integral part of the wider curriculum for pupils in key stage 1. For instance, in physical education, pupils confidently use terms such as ‘posture’ and ‘control’ when describing their movements.

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The needs of pupils with SEND are identified swiftly. Those pupils working on very individual learning tasks are supported well by school staff and external agencies. Regular checks are made to ensure these pupils are making progress through their curriculum. For other pupils with SEND, adaptations are put in place so that they learn the curriculum successfully alongside their peers.

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The strong pastoral team works together with families to ensure pupils have all they need to be ready to learn. The school makes attendance a high priority. Staff analyse the reasons some pupils do not attend as well as they could. The school swiftly takes effective action to help these pupils to attend more regularly.

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From the early years, children learn to follow well-established routines. Pupils become independent, make positive choices and manage their own behaviour well. The school has created safe spaces for pupils around school for those who need additional support to manage their feelings or simply a quiet space to reflect.

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The school carefully identifies the experiences pupils need to learn to keep themselves healthy and safe. Pupils attend swimming lessons with school. They learn about water safety alongside developing their water confidence from an early age. Pupils also benefit from opportunities to become leaders. They proudly talk of their roles as ‘infant leaders’, ‘worship leaders’ and ‘eco warriors’. 7 and 8 January 2025

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Governors have a wealth of experience. They are committed to developing their own knowledge to ensure they continue to effectively support and challenge the school. Governors are skilled at asking the right questions to understand the school’s strengths and areas for development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, pupils do not have the opportunity to practise and then apply the key knowledge they need to be secure in their learning. Some pupils access learning which does not closely meet their needs. The school should ensure that assessments of what pupils know and can do are used effectively to design opportunities for pupils to practise the knowledge and skills they need before they move on.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2019. 7 and 8 January 2025

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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). 7 and 8 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.thewintertonfederation.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Winterton Church of England Infants’ School is federated with Winterton Junior School. The governing body governs both schools. The executive headteacher and several other staff work across both schools.  The school is part of the Diocese of Lincoln. The most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in June 2023.  There is a breakfast club for pupils run by the school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken this into account in her evaluation of the school. 7 and 8 January 2025

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 The inspector met with the executive headteacher, deputy headteachers and other leaders. She spoke with representatives from the governing body, including the chair of governors. In addition, the inspector discussed the school with representatives from the local authority and the diocese.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation provided by the school. This included school improvement priorities, policies, safeguarding records, information about children with SEND and records of governors’ meeting minutes.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector spoke to parents at the end of the school day. The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. She also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single

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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

Sarah Gordon, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 January 2025

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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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