Ashley Infant School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Ashley Infant School Lower Ashley Road, Ashley, New Milton, Hampshire BH25 5AA

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Outcome

Ashley Infant 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?

As one parent summed up perfectly, Ashley Infants ‘nurtures and brings out the best in children’. The simple school ‘promises’ set a high bar and successfully cultivate a happy, inclusive working atmosphere. There is a notable abundance of smiles from pupils and staff throughout the day. Pupils’ behaviour in and out of class is impressive. They are kind to each other and rarely fall out. Pupils of all ages are respectful, listen to adults and to each other and try their best. There is an unmistakeable sense of purpose in classrooms. The carefully designed curriculum grabs pupils’ interest and builds their knowledge and understanding step by step.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get so much more than an academic education at Ashley. Everything is centred on the mantra that ‘childhood is precious’, both in itself and in preparing pupils for their future. The ‘CHARM’ values are the golden thread through daily life, encouraging pupils’ ‘can do’ attitudes and equipping them with important life skills. From Reception upwards, they learn to recognise their feelings and how to manage them if they are sad or angry. Pupils benefit hugely from working and playing alongside their friends from other backgrounds and those with different needs. They have a mature understanding of, and respect for, diversity.

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

An unfaltering commitment from everyone to offer ‘the best learning experiences and pastoral care possible’ underpins pupils’ social and academic achievements. Ongoing improvements to the school’s work are steered by an honest analysis of what is going well and constant reflection about what could be even better. Staff’s, pupils’ and parents’ thoughts and contributions are encouraged and valued. Strong governance holds the school to account. Careful consideration of the changing school community, and with it 18 and 19 March 2025

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some pupils’ needs, informs decisions and pertinent professional development for staff. Testament to this is their strengthened understanding of neurodiversity and how pupils who speak English as an additional language learn.

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Equality and equity are at the heart of the school’s work. Pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (specially resourced provision) thrive. Carefully personalised teaching supports their learning and development effectively. The expertise within the specially resourced provision is used well to support staff in the main school to pinpoint and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Those at risk of not keeping up with their classmates benefit from effective support from both teachers and teaching assistants, for example through carefully considered group work.

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All pupils, particularly those who speak English as an additional language, are gaining from the renewed focus on explicitly teaching speaking and listening skills to support their language development and understanding. The same determination that all pupils will fully benefit from what the school offers drives the relentless work to tackle unnecessary absence.

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Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics. Phonics teaching is skilful and precise, making the best use of well-trained staff, time and space. Pupils are grouped carefully according to their knowledge and skills and those who need it get additional tailored support. The teaching of early reading goes well beyond pupils acquiring the skills to work out what is written on the page and make sense of it. Dedicated time to read and be read to are part of their daily experience. Staff’s book recommendations are all around the school. Pupils’ love of reading is evident in the tangible buzz as they and their parents choose new books to share during library sessions. The focus on the methodical teaching of writing skills in recent years has reaped benefits, as is making sure that pupils can recall and apply important mathematical knowledge.

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The wider curriculum in the main school is equally well thought through from Reception to Year 2. Last year’s investment in overhauling the content, ensuring ‘purpose and realism’ in each unit, is paying dividends. There is absolute clarity about what the new learning should be each half term and how that fits with what came before and what will come next. The vocabulary which pupils need to explain their learning in different subjects is explicitly identified. The local area is used to great effect to bring learning to life, as pupils visit the New Forest, the beach, castles and museums.

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Guidance for teachers ensures that they build pupils’ learning systematically from lesson to lesson. They are skilled at explaining new ideas to pupils, checking who has grasped them before they move on. Pupils are confident and keen to talk about the interesting facts they have learned. There is, though, still work to do to ensure that checking whether pupils understand what it means, for example, to be a historian or a scientist, is thorough enough. 18 and 19 March 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The ambitious curriculum in the foundation subjects is not fully realised in practice. Pupils do not readily remember some of the intended learning. The school should ensure that, as part of its plans to further develop assessment, that checks cover subject-specific skills as well as knowledge.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2015.

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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. 18 and 19 March 2025

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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 and 19 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Chris Slater-Johnson

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School details

Website http://www.ashley-inf.hants.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The proportion of pupils with SEND who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan is much higher than seen nationally and rising over time. Most commonly, these pupils have speech, language and communication needs or autism. Twenty-eight of the pupils with an EHC plan are taught in one of the three classes in the school’s specially resourced provision for pupils with severe learning difficulties.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language has increased in recent years. Their proficiency in English ranges from those who are new to English through to those who are fluent English speakers.  The school does not currently 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 that into account in her evaluation of the school. 18 and 19 March 2025

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 Meetings were held with the headteacher and other school leaders, as well as the chair and vice-chair of the governing body, and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. She also listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector 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.  Staff and parent views were gathered using Ofsted’s surveys. There were no responses to the pupil survey, but the inspector met with pupils as well as staff during the inspection. She also talked to pupils around school and outside at breaktime, and with staff as they went about their work.

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Inspection team

Alison Bradley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 March 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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