Foxhills Infant School

Inspection Report Foxhills Infant School

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116024 Unique Reference Number Hampshire LEA LEA 279727 Inspection number 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 Inspection dates Beryl Richmond AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Foxhills School address Infant Type of school Colbury Community School category Southampton SO40 7ED 4 to 7 Age range of pupils 02380292453 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02380293261 Fax number 245 Number on roll Mrs Carol Watton Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jane Barrett Headteacher 28 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279727 6 July 2006 - 4 to 7 7 July 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Foxhills Infant School caters for pupils aged 4-7 years. Pupils' starting points are average overall. About half the pupils come from the local area, with the rest coming from the nearby urban area of Totton. Pupils come from diverse social and economic backgrounds. About one fifth of pupils have learning difficulties and disabilities, which is in line with the national average. All pupils speak English as their first language, with almost all coming from White British backgrounds. About one tenth of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is below the national average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Foxhills Infant School, 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006

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Grade: 3

Inspection findings show that the school's overall effectiveness is satisfactory and that it gives satisfactory value for money, although the school judged its effectiveness to be good. Bearing in mind pupils' starting points and the increasing number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities achievement is satisfactory. Standards are average overall but below average in writing. More able pupils are attaining sufficiently high levels in reading and mathematics but are not doing well enough in writing. Girls are not achieving as well as boys in science. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress towards their targets. Some pupils have insufficient knowledge of what they need to do to improve. The school recognises that teachers do not always use assessment information well enough to set challenging work, especially for the more able in writing, and has begun to address this issue.

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Grade: 3

A strength of the school has been the focus on keeping healthy through good nutrition and exercise. There are good partnerships with other organisations and local businesses to promote learners' well-being. The provision and standards in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory and improving. Pupils enjoy and appreciate the good range of after school clubs. Pupils' personal development and pastoral care are good. As one parent said, 'The school is a thriving community which enables staff and families to work together to help our children succeed'. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall but subject leaders are not fully involved in monitoring standards and achievement. Governance is satisfactory. The school has a satisfactory understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and has taken some effective action to bring about improvement. The issues identified in the previous report have been addressed satisfactorily. The school has the capacity for continued

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What the school should do to improve further

andmiddot; Raise standards in writing, particularly for more able pupils, and raise standards in science, particularly for girls.andmiddot; Develop the skills and activities of subject leaders in checking how well the school is doing.andmiddot; Use assessment information better to provide more demanding work in lessons and to ensure that pupils have challenging targets.

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Grade: 3

Given pupils' starting points, their achievement is satisfactory, except in writing. Children's progress in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and by the time they start in Year 1 their standards are average. A similar rate of progress in Years 1 and 2 means that standards overall are average at the end of Year 2. Standards in reading and mathematics have remained stable with some minor fluctuations since 2001. Standards in writing have fallen this year and, in particular, more able pupils are not achieving 2 Inspection Report: Foxhills Infant School, 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 well enough. The school has identified girls' underachievement in science. The curriculum has been adapted to ensure more focus on investigative skills but this has not had sufficient impact on attainment. Other planned adaptations to improve the science curriculum have not been put in place quickly enough. Pupils with learning

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Grade: 3

difficulties and disabilities are achieving well against their targets because of the focused one to one support that the school provides to help them learn effectively and catch up. More able pupils make satisfactory progress and attain above average levels in reading and mathematics but not in writing. Whilst pupils often meet their targets, the school recognises that pupils' targets have not always been sufficiently challenging in order to raise pupils' achievement.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy school, mainly behave well and have good attitudes to learning. They particularly like receiving 'Foxy badges' for good work, behaviour or politeness and say, 'It is a good thing because it encourages us to achieve something'. Attendance is satisfactory overall and the main factor affecting this is the number of parents who take holidays in term-time. There have been a few exclusions recently but the school has dealt with them well. Pupils generally feel safe in school although they do not like it when other pupils do not behave well. They are very clear about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and know how to use tools and equipment safely. Pupils have been involved in Sports Relief and a wide range of play and lunchtime activities, which they thoroughly enjoy and which promote their good health. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils know about

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Grade: 2

the lives of people from different cultural backgrounds through activities such as Chinese New Year. They all know the 'Foxy rules' for behaviour, get good opportunities to express feelings through planned opportunities in lessons and work together cooperatively. They take on a satisfactory range of responsibilities such as class monitors and contribute appropriately to the community through charity work such as 'Operation Christmas Child'. This combined with their satisfactory basic skills supports their future economic well-being satisfactorily.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, varying from inadequate to good. Children get off to a satisfactory start in the Foundation Stage where teachers give them good opportunities to develop their independence and confidence in speaking and listening. Staff pay close attention to the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Learning support assistants make a valuable contribution to their learning when working 3 Inspection Report: Foxhills Infant School, 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 with individuals and with groups but they do not always provide effective support to enable pupils to participate fully in whole class sessions. In good lessons, pupils are motivated to learn and work hard because teachers have high expectations of learning and behaviour. Relationships are good and teachers question pupils well. Lessons move at a good pace and pupils enjoy investigative work. Some pupils have good opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills,

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Grade: 3

particularly through paired discussion work, but this is not consistent in all classes. In the inadequate lesson, the needs of all children were not fully addressed. The pace of the lesson was too slow and pupils spent too long sitting on the carpet and, consequently, became restless. Teachers' marking has improved and the 'Foxy' marking system is understood well by pupils. However, work is not always planned well enough to match pupils' needs, particularly in writing, and consequently pupils do not make as much progress as they should.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. All subjects are planned for comprehensively and suitable cross-curricular links are made. A good example of this was the good use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support a science lesson. However, pupils are not making enough progress in writing and there is too little investigative work or engagement of girls in science. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is good with a wide range of strategies and interventions used to promote their learning. The programme for personal, social and health education makes an effective contribution to pupils' personal development. The Foundation Stage curriculum ensures that all areas of learning are covered and children have a good balance between teacher led and independent activities. The school provides good opportunities for enrichment through, for example, visits to Longdown Dairy Farm and 'Arts week'. These effectively enhance the curricular

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Grade: 3

provision. There is a good range of after school clubs and pupils particularly enjoy the sports clubs provided.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. Provision for pastoral care is good and the monitoring of academic performance is satisfactory. The school provides a secure and welcoming environment where children feel happy and enjoy their learning. There is very good provision for children starting school in the reception classes and parents are very appreciative of this. On a recent visit children were warmly welcomed into their classes, settled very well and enjoyed the wide range of activities on offer. Child protection procedures are fully in place and detailed risk assessments are undertaken prior to all school trips. There is good care of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and the small number of vulnerable pupils. The school has achieved the Healthy Schools Award and is working towards enhanced validation. This has 4 Inspection Report: Foxhills Infant School, 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006

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Grade: 2

ensured that all pupils are fully aware of the importance of healthy foods and taking a good amount of exercise. The school assesses and monitors pupils' academic progress regularly and sets targets for their learning over time. However, this information is not used well enough to improve pupils' rate of progress and to guide teachers on setting challenging work. Pupils in Year 1 have targets for their writing, are clear about what these are and are making good progress but this good practice is not consistent across the school.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The shared vision of the headteacher, deputy headteacher and staff, is clearly articulated through the 'Learning Map', which was drawn up in order to raise standards in pupils' learning skills. Whilst teachers work together well in year group teams to plan, good practice is not always disseminated throughout the school. Responsibility for improvement is not shared widely enough although the school has started to address this. Subject leaders' roles in overseeing their subjects' development relies too heavily on monitoring of teachers' planning and pupils' work and not enough on first hand knowledge of teaching and learning in lessons so that a clear picture of strengths and weaknesses can be established. School monitoring and self-evaluation are satisfactory because areas of weakness are identified and addressed. For example, the Foundation Stage provision has been improved and

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Grade: 3

this is having a positive effect on the standards children attain, effective help has been given to pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities so that they can catch up and ICT provision has improved well. Other improvements illustrate that the school has the capacity to improve. The issues of weaknesses in lesson planning and marking, which were identified in the last report, have been successfully addressed. Good leadership of the Healthy Schools initiative has resulted in good provision, including healthy school dinners and a wide range of physical activities. Effective leadership has also led to good pastoral care and personal development, which enable pupils to feel secure and concentrate well on their work. Assessment procedures ensure that pupils' progress is tracked satisfactorily, except in writing. Parents are supportive of the school and the school takes into account their views and

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Grade: 3

the views of pupils in Year 2. The governing body give satisfactory support. Although they visit the school regularly, they recognise that they have not been sufficiently involved in monitoring the school's performance. They are beginning to address this issue. 5 Inspection Report: Foxhills Infant School, 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Foxhills Infant School, 6 July 2006 to 7 July 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Children I am writing to let you know how much we enjoyed our visit to your school. We think it is satisfactory overall with some good elements. We found it to be a friendly and happy place. Thank you for making us welcome and for helping us. Here are the most important things that we want you to know:* You enjoy coming to school and participating in the opportunities that the school offers you. You particularly enjoy the after school clubs.* Your behaviour is good and this is one of the important reasons why you are achieving satisfactorily in lessons. Some of you are achieving even better, particularly when you are given help to catch up. * You have a good understanding of how to stay healthy by eating well and by taking exercise. * Staff look after you well and help you when you have difficulties. Teaching is satisfactory overall and some of you benefit from good teaching. These are the things that we think could be better:* We think that you could do better and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

achieve higher standards in writing, particularly those of you who are achieving high standards in reading and mathematics. Girls could be doing better in science.* We have asked your headteacher to involve teachers even more in improving your school.* We think that your personal targets could be improved to help you learn better and also that teachers could match work even more carefully to your needs. Best wishes for the future, Beryl Richmond Lead Inspector

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