Studley Infants' School

Studley Infants' School

Address: High Street, Studley, Warwickshire, B80 7HJ Unique reference number (URN): 148511

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders are quick to identify pupils’ needs as soon as they start at the school. They work closely with families and external agencies to gain a detailed understanding of the barriers to learning that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with other vulnerabilities face.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff benefit from regular training to develop their knowledge of specific needs, such as social and emotional difficulties. This helps them to provide pupils with effective support. Staff provide additional resources so that most pupils with additional needs can take part in lessons. Some pupils use workstations to remove distractions and others have short movement breaks to help them stay calm. The specialist resourced provision provides highly effective support for pupils with complex needs. These pupils follow a highly personalised curriculum, which ensures that each individual thrives.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Pupil premium funding and targeted activities give disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND access to the extra help they need. Leaders monitor pupils' progress closely. They make checks on the small steps of progress that pupils make over time. They use this information to adjust the strategies in place to support pupils.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have developed a suitable personal development programme that aligns closely to the school’s values and ethos. This prepares pupils well for life at junior school and beyond. Leaders pay close attention to the needs of all pupils so that they can remove any barriers to learning and wellbeing. For example, leaders have made changes to the locations of visits so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities can take part.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders prioritise support for pupils’ emotional wellbeing. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and supportive. Daily check-ins help pupils to understand, express and regulate their emotions. Pupils generally show respect for each other. They know it is important to be kind to others and to treat everyone fairly. Pupils understand that there are different faiths and cultures in modern Britain. They are curious to find out more about how different people live.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn how to stay safe when they are out and about and when they are online. They know how to keep themselves healthy. For example, pupils can confidently explain the importance of eating a balanced diet, drinking water and taking regular exercise.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders provide a variety of opportunities to develop pupils' interests and broaden their experiences. Pupils enjoy attending clubs such as baking, football and gymnastics. Leaders encourage all pupils to take part, including by providing tailored enrichment activities for pupils in the specialist resourced provision and opportunities such as a rock band for pupils with particular musical interests.

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Achievement Needs attention

Not all pupils achieve as well as they should. By the end of Year 2, too many pupils do not have the knowledge they need across the curriculum to be ready for the next stage in their education.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils achieve well in mathematics. However, pupils' progress in writing is inconsistent. Leaders know this and have started to improve teaching. Staff do not address gaps in pupils' basic skills quickly enough. Some pupils' work shows persistent errors in letter formation, spelling and punctuation. This is particularly so for pupils with lower starting points, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils.

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Achievement Needs attention

Over time, pupils' achievement in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been below the national average. Leaders are addressing this, and achievement in phonics is improving.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils with SEND who attend the specialist resourced provision make very positive progress from their starting points.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils attend school regularly. They understand the importance of being at school every day. Leaders monitor attendance closely and are quick to act if a pupil’s attendance starts to fall. They provide effective support for families to remove barriers to regular attendance.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Behaviour is generally respectful and calm. However, pupils do not consistently demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. Sometimes, pupils do not concentrate on their work and distract others. Transitions between activities are often too slow. This is because leaders’ and staff’s expectations for pupils' behaviour are not high enough. In addition, staff do not respond consistently to pupils' behaviour. This means that pupils are not always clear about what behaviour is acceptable and what the consequences will be for any behaviour that falls short of leaders' expectations.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders provide effective support for the majority of pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour. However, this is not consistently the case. This can sometimes result in incidents escalating. Leaders respond appropriately when this happens. They reflect on incidents and adapt approaches for individual pupils where necessary.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders do not have a precise enough understanding of the quality of the curriculum and teaching across the school. They have identified some of the right priorities and are taking action to improve aspects such as phonics and writing. These improvements are having a positive impact. However, leaders are not sufficiently focused on ensuring that pupils secure what they need from lower starting points. Staff do not consistently identify and address errors in letter and number formation, spelling and punctuation. Expectations for pupils' handwriting and presentation in subjects other than English are too low. Across the wider curriculum, pupils' learning does not build in a logical order in some subjects. This means that pupils often complete work without the understanding they need to be successful. As a result, pupils do not secure the knowledge they should. There is variability in how well staff adapt the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs. This includes pupils

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

In phonics and mathematics, leaders have identified and sequenced the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teaching is effective. Staff in the specialist resourced provision match the curriculum closely to pupils’ needs, and provision in this part of the school is highly effective.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders are clear about what children should know by the end of Nursery and Reception. In phonics and mathematics, leaders have set out what children should learn step by step. However, this precision is not evident in some other areas of learning. As a result, activities are not always purposeful. They do not focus closely enough on the important knowledge and skills that children need to learn. Furthermore, adults do not consistently use interactions to extend children's language and thinking. This means that children’s progress through the curriculum is uneven. Some children do not develop the secure language foundations they need, and too many children leave Reception not fully prepared for Year 1.

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Early years Needs attention

The teaching of phonics and early writing is effective. Children in Reception enjoy listening to stories and take great joy in voting for the daily story.

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Early years Needs attention

Staff know each child well. They greet children warmly each morning. Children are happy and well cared for. They enjoy learning and engage well with activities. Staff provide effective support for children’s personal, social and emotional development. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the extra help they need to grow in confidence and take part in activities alongside their friends.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders do not have a precise enough understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They have not identified some important weaknesses in the curriculum, teaching and behaviour, for example inconsistencies in how well staff secure pupils' basic skills and variability in how staff manage pupils' behaviour. This is because the checks that leaders make are not sharp enough. Despite this, leaders have made improvements to some aspects of the school’s work. For example, changes to teaching in phonics and writing are starting to have a positive impact on pupils' learning.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders are committed to including every pupil. They provide staff with training to support them in reducing barriers to pupils' learning and wellbeing. Leaders in the specialist resourced provision share their expertise with staff in the main school to improve the quality of provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff have mixed views about how well leaders support their workload and wellbeing. They are confident that leaders make decisions in pupils’ best interests. However, some staff feel that they do not always receive the support they need to manage pupils' behaviour. Those responsible for governance know that the school needs to improve. Trustees challenge leaders appropriately. They have begun to put in place a package of support to further develop the knowledge and skills of leaders and staff to bring about the required improvements.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Most parents are positive about the care and support their children receive. They engage well in school events such as sports days.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are happy at school and attend regularly. Leaders and staff know pupils and their families well. This helps pupils to feel welcome. Pupils talk positively about their friendships and the relationships they have with staff. Staff support pupils' wellbeing and social and emotional needs well. As a result, pupils grow in confidence, independence and resilience as they move through the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they need to access learning. Pupils who attend the specialist resourced provision receive the care and teaching they need to thrive.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils understand the school rules of 'ready, respectful and safe'. Most pupils generally behave well in lessons and at social times. However, leaders do not ensure that there is a consistent approach to managing pupils' behaviour across the school. Not all staff have consistently high expectations of pupils' behaviour. As a result, sometimes pupils do not concentrate on their learning as well as they should. They do not always take sufficient care with their handwriting and presentation.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are excited about their learning. They enjoy a broad curriculum and speak enthusiastically about their lessons. Pupils benefit from a range of trips and visitors to enrich their learning. However, teachers do not ensure that all pupils develop secure foundations in basic skills such as letter formation, spelling and punctuation. In the wider curriculum and in the early years, learning does not always build in small, logical steps. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and skills. This means some pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage in their education as they could be.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils feel safe. They can identify trusted adults who help them. Staff deal promptly with any incidents when they occur, including any bullying.

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Next steps

Leaders should define the small steps of knowledge that children in the early years need to learn so that all staff are clear about what to teach and activities are more purposeful. Leaders should develop staff’s expertise in the early years so that they can engage in consistently purposeful interactions to develop children’s language and communication skills.

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Team inspectors:

Stuart Evans, Ofsted Inspector Sally Snooks, Ofsted Inspector Leaders should develop a whole-school approach to managing pupils' behaviour and support staff in the implementation of this so that everyone shares the same high expectations and deals consistently with any off-task or poor behaviour in lessons and around school. Leaders should ensure that the wider curriculum is coherently sequenced so that pupils’ knowledge and skills build securely over time, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders should ensure that staff consistently identify and address gaps and errors in pupils’ basic skills so that pupils develop secure foundations. Leaders and those responsible for governance should strengthen the school’s approach to monitoring and evaluation to enable leaders to have a more precise understanding of the quality of provision and address weaknesses quickly.

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About this inspection

This school is part of the Arden Forest C of E Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Adam Walsh, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Nick Moon.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher and special educational needs coordinator, the leader of the specialist resourced provision, staff, pupils and parents during the inspection. They also spoke with the chief executive officer, the chair of the board of trustees and 2 representatives of the governing body.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school includes a specially resourced provision for up to 12 pupils with speech, language and communication needs and autistic spectrum disorder.

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About this inspection

The school currently makes use of one unregistered alternative provision.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. National average: 26.3%

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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What does this mean?

The type of Special Educational Needs provision provided at the school (if applicable).

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 4.8% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.7% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 9.6% 13.0% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 14.9% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 16.5% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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