Grange Infant School

116171 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 279763 Inspection number 16 °17 October 2006 Inspection dates Christine Canniff Reporting inspector

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

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Franklin Road School address Infant Type of school Rowner Community School category Gosport PO13 9TS 4 °7 Age range of pupils 02392582984 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0 Fax number 158 Number on roll (school) Reverend John Draper Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jan Taylor Headteacher 29 November 1999 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279763 16 °17 October 2006 4°7 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

The school is similar in size to most schools, although the number of pupils on roll has fallen recently. Most pupils are of white British heritage and few speak English as an additional language. Deprivation is higher than found in most schools and more pupils than usual have learning difficulties or disabilities. A high number of pupils join the school at intermittent times throughout the school year reflecting the high proportion of families of military personnel.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 3

Grange Infants provides its pupils with a satisfactory education. Standards are close to average by the end of Year 2 and pupils' achievement is satisfactory. It is an improving school because the headteacher is now giving a clear and accurate direction for its work. When children start school many have skills that are below those expected for their age. They make good progress and the Foundation Stage prepares them well for their next stage of learning. In Years 1 and 2, pupils make satisfactory progress. Pupils achieve best of all in reading which has been a focus of school improvement. However, still too few pupils reach above average levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Children in the Foundation Stage make particularly good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. They work well together and develop positive attitudes to their work. These good habits continue throughout the school and help

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Grade: 3

prepare pupils for their future learning. Pupils develop good personal skills. They behave well and are enthusiastic in lessons because they enjoy being at school. This view is confirmed by the overwhelming majority of parents. 'Our daughter in extremely happy, and so are we', wrote one parent. Another strong aspect of pupils' personal development is their knowledge of healthy eating. The curriculum is good and is enhanced by a good range of additional activities which add to pupils' enjoyment. The school puts the welfare of its pupils at the heart of its work and gives them a very good standard of care and welfare. Good relationships between adults and pupils foster confidence and trust. As a result pupils say that they are well cared for and feel safe and secure. Teaching is satisfactory. Lessons are well prepared and teachers aim to make learning fun. However, teachers do not consistently set work that matches all pupils' abilities.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher leads her staff well. The senior management team know what needs to be done to improve the school. The teamwork and commitment shown by all staff are positive features of the school. Everyone, including the new team leaders, support staff, administrative staff and mid-day supervisors is now more involved in helping to bring about the planned improvements. Monitoring and evaluation of standards and achievement are not yet sufficiently rigorous because the school does not have reliable data to demonstrate pupils' progress through Years 1 and 2. As a result the school's targets have not been challenging enough, particularly for the more able pupils. A start has been made on tracking pupils' progress more accurately. However, these arrangements are not yet fully established and have not yet made an impact on standards and achievement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that pupils' progress is monitored more regularly, new targets are identified and appropriately challenging work is set. 2 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006 • Make teaching more consistent by ensuring that pupils know what they are to learn and how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' achievement is satisfactory. The attainment of many children when they join the school is below average. Children make a good start to their education because the Foundation Stage caters well for them. The effective teaching and appropriate emphasis on personal, social and emotional development enable the children to develop good attitudes to learning and make good progress towards the targets expected for their age. In Years 1 and 2, pupils make steady progress. Standards are close to average by the end of Year 2. Pupils do better in reading than in mathematics and this reflects the school's improved emphasis on the teaching of reading skills. Although the majority of Year 2 pupils achieve their targets, too few move on to the higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because teachers do not track pupils' progress regularly enough to identify their changing needs and challenge them at the right level. Pupils

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Grade: 3

with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans. There are no significant differences in the progress made by boys and girls.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Pupils say they feel safe and are happy. They enjoy learning and feel valued. They are increasingly learning how to be independent learners. As one parent wrote, 'the school has helped my son learn, and he really looks forward to going to school'. Attendance is satisfactory. Pupils' spiritual, moral and social education is good. They make the most of the very good opportunities provided to learn about their own and others cultures. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles - they look forward to their daily fruit, and drink water regularly. At break times they are active and since the last inspection good improvement has taken place in the teaching of physical education. Pupils make a good contribution to their school community when they volunteer to be monitors and when they raise and discuss issues affecting the school during 'Talk Time'. They understand the importance of keeping safe. Their suggestions about

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Grade: 2

playground safety have been acted upon and they now act as 'cone monitors' to ensure no pupils stray from the play area. They carry out public performances and raise money for charities. Their basic skills, including information and communication technology (ICT) skills are contributing to a satisfactory preparation for future life. 3 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. There is a good working environment in classrooms because of the good relationships. Pupils want to learn and try hard. Lessons have a clear focus and teachers use resources well to make lessons interesting for pupils. Although the activities are often varied to match their differing abilities, sometimes pupils are given the same tasks and these do not provide sufficient challenge for higher attaining pupils. Teaching assistants contribute well to pupils' learning. Teachers' marking gives pupils good encouragement, but not enough guidance on how they can make their work better. Next step targets have been set for writing and give pupils some idea of what they are aiming for. Teachers do not always make reference to these so that pupils learn to use them to guide their work.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good, interesting and stimulating curriculum that motivates pupils well. The school's evaluation of the curriculum has led to a more creative approach to teaching which gives pupils greater pleasure in learning. Pupils particularly like the themed days and weeks. These provide good opportunities for pupils to apply a range of skills to a particular topic, such as took place in 'India afternoon' and 'Story Telling Week'. This approach has been effective and more changes to the curriculum are planned to ensure all pupils achieve their potential in using the skills they have learned. Pupils' experiences are broadened by carefully selected visits and visitors that link well to their learning. They enjoy the good range of opportunities to extend their skills through a variety of extra-curricular clubs. These features enhance the curriculum well and make a good contribution to pupils' personal development.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Parents are correct in believing that the school provides a very good standard of care for pupils, both physically and emotionally. A major factor in this is the school's knowledge of the pupils. The school is successfully extending its care to pupils' families, making good use of the Home School Link Worker. It also accesses a good range of external agencies. Arrangements for child protection, health and safety, and risk assessments are rigorous. Not all pupils know their targets in writing and mathematics. Teachers do not make the most of opportunities to involve pupils in their own learning by evaluating and improving their work. The management and monitoring of pupils with learning difficulties are effective and enable them to achieve well. 4 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. The headteacher has a very clear vision for the school. Staff share her commitment to pupils' personal development and the fulfilment of their potential. The headteacher and deputy head have given strong leadership and introduced a range of necessary changes. The developing curriculum is contributing to the pupils' increased enjoyment and motivation. In guided reading teachers have started to focus more sharply on what pupils need to do to improve their progress. Many of the changes to the school's organisation and monitoring systems have been too recent to have an impact on standards and achievement. A computer program to help track pupils' progress has recently been introduced but is not yet fully used to guide teaching and learning. Senior staff analyse assessment data, but there is too little emphasis in teaching on tracking pupils' progress over time to inform the setting

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Grade: 3

of appropriately challenging targets and raise the school's performance. Governors visit the school regularly. The governing body provides appropriate challenge and supports the school well. There has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection. AAall staff, including the newly appointed year leaders are now involved in evaluating the school. Pupils and parents are regularly consulted through questionnaires and meetings and the school has made constructive use of their suggestions. Senior managers ensure that all staff receives appropriate professional development and performance management is now given a high priority. The headteacher and deputy head monitor teaching effectively. Year leaders have clearly defined responsibilities which include opportunities for them to monitor the work of the teaching assistants. These initiatives reflect the strength of the leadership team in moving the school forward and indicate the school's good capacity to improve.

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Grade: 3

5 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making us so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed our visit and everywhere we went you were polite and friendly. The youngest of you had only been in school a few weeks and we were pleased to see how well you had settled in. You clearly enjoy school and the many interesting activities it offers you, such as the visiting theatre group. Many of you wore odd socks like the puppet character Ollie Odd Socks. It was great fun! You behave well and try hard in lessons. You told us how you feel safe and happy at school. You also have a good understanding of what you need to do to stay healthy. Your ideas and suggestions make a difference to the school, as you did when you when you raised the issue about playground safety. Your school is giving you a satisfactory education. Teachers make your lessons interesting and plan lessons that help you learn and that you enjoy. There are some occasions though when

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

those of you who learn faster could be given more difficult work. Your headteacher and staff help each other well and do a good job in organising the school and looking after you. They understand the ways in which the school needs to improve. We have asked them to make two changes: to check more often on how well you are progressing in your work and to help you understand what you need to do to make it even better. Yours sincerely Christine Canniff Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Grange Infant School, 16 °17 October 2006

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