Yaxley Infant School

110713 Unique Reference Number CAMBRIDGESHIRE Local Authority 288750 Inspection number 4 °5 October 2006 Inspection dates Joanne Harvey 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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Main Street School address Infant Type of school Yaxley, Yaxley Community School category Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE7 3LB 4 °7 Age range of pupils

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01733 240918 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01733 240918 Fax number 146 Number on roll (school) Ms Eleanor Hills Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs B J Ourtilbour Headteacher 18 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288750 4 °5 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

This is a slightly smaller than average sized school serving the village of Yaxley near Peterborough on the edge of the Fens. Pupils start the school with broadly average levels of knowledge, skills and understanding. A small number of families register their entitlement to claim free school meals. The number with learning difficulties and disabilities is approaching the national average. Most pupils are of White British background. A small proportion of pupils are known to have a first language other than English. The school has an Investors in People Award, a Health Promoting Schools Award, and a Basic Skills Quality Mark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 October 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school that this is an effective and improving school which provides good value for money. The needs of the children are at the forefront of all its work. Focused and committed leadership by the headteacher, along with her able and supportive staff, have ensured that the environment provided, pupils' personal development and the quality of education that they receive are all good. Key issues from the last inspection have been successfully addressed. These include improvements to the standards pupils reach and the progress they make. Behaviour and attendance are also much better. This goes hand in hand with improved teaching, curriculum and provision for pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Governors now carry out their role effectively. In addition, the learning environment has been transformed to make it much more suitable and enjoyable and plans are underway to

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Grade: 2

make it even better still. A real strength of the school is the shared commitment to its aims and values. Teaching quality is good. Adults and children really do 'play together, learn together, grow together'. The school places itself at the heart of its community, which it serves well. It does all it can to promote successful partnerships with others from which the pupils benefit a great deal. Parents and pupils are extremely supportive of the school and feel it takes their views into account. They particularly value the way pupils develop a real love of learning. One parent wrote of 'the calm professional approach of the teachers, their abundant knowledge and their infectious enthusiasm'. As a result, pupils in all phases of the school make good progress. From a broadly average starting point, pupils achieve standards which are above those expected for their age by the time they leave the school. Staff get to know each child

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Grade: 2

well so that academic and personal needs can be met. Skilful support staff work closely with teachers to ensure those who need extra help also do well. The headteacher has worked very hard to ensure that the impact of leadership and management has continued to be good, though leadership is not yet shared widely enough by everyone to take a full role in school improvement. The school collects good quality information about the standards pupils reach and the progress they make in English, mathematics, science and increasingly in information and communication technology (ICT). However, it does not have such a clear picture about how well pupils do in other subjects such as physical education, history and geography. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in school. Adults 'go the extra mile' to make sure everyone feels happy, valued, well cared for and respected. Consequently, pupils' behaviour is good. When

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Grade: 2

asked if they were happy at school, pupils replied with a universal cheer of 'YES!' The school council helps to develop a sense of responsibility, as do the many jobs pupils are given to do, for example the lunchtime monitors and 'playground buddies'. There is plenty to do in and out of lessons to extend skills, interest and enjoyment. Playtimes are active and joyful occasions. Pupils enjoy working and playing together, helping each other and helping others in their community and beyond. The parent of a child whose daughter had recently started the school wrote that 'the other children in the school have been lovely and she has made friends very easily'. Pupils are well aware of how to keep safe and many are beginning to make healthy lifestyle choices. The 2 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 October 2006 success the school has had in the past, the lack of complacency and determination to

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Grade: 2

do even better means that the capacity for sustained and future improvement is good.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Further devolve the leadership and management of the school to ensure that all make a full contribution to school improvement. - Ensure that the quality of monitoring and evaluation is as strong in other subjects as it is in English, mathematics and science.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well. Most pupils enter the school with levels of knowledge, skills and understanding which are broadly similar to those found in most schools. For the last two years they have achieved standards at the end of Year 2 which have been above and sometimes well above average. Pupils make good progress in the Reception classes and are prepared well for the next stage of their learning. By the time they enter Year 1 many pupils are achieving the goals set for them and some have surpassed them. Pupils continue to progress well through Years 1 and 2 in acquiring skills in reading, writing, mathematics and science. All pupils, including those who have learning difficulties, progress equally well.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy coming to school and their behaviour is now good. Attendance is above average. Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is now also good. Pupils develop self-confidence and independence skills with growing consistency and from much earlier in their school career. The school has been fully involved in the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) project and this has contributed to the good progress the children have made. Spiritual development is being enhanced by lessons in philosophy, which give the children opportunities to talk and reflect about their world. The school council talked enthusiastically about the school and when asked what they are most proud of replied 'Our work!'

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Grade: 2

Well established routines, good planning and clear expectations about what the children can achieve are key strengths of the more consistent good teaching seen in the school. As a result, children are making good progress in their learning. The school has good accommodation, which means that a whole range of activities can take place and learning is well supported by the teaching assistants and other classroom helpers. 3 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 October 2006 Children are encouraged to decide for themselves how well they are doing; 'thumbs up' for good, 'thumbs down' and the teacher will be on the case. There are good systems in place to support those children who need extra help.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a creative curriculum which stimulates the children's interest and help them learn. It already holds stimulating Creative Days where all children become involved in a rich variety of activities and it is quite rightly planning to extend these types of activities. The colourful displays throughout the school reflect the broad curriculum and its impact on learning, through children's work and photographs. Children enjoy the opportunity to join in out of school activities such as tri-golf and Indian dancing. They talk enthusiastically about trips out and interesting visitors to school. The Christmas production is an exciting and important event for the school and gives the children an opportunity to contribute to the community.

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Grade: 2

Arrangements for safeguarding pupils, including child protection, are robust and meet current guidelines. This provides a secure environment in which the pupils learn and make good progress. Reception children stayed for lunch for the first time during the week of the inspection. Not only did adults show support and care but the two Year 2 lunchtime monitors were there to lend a hand too. The level of care shown by adults to children is increasingly being seen more consistently in the way that children treat each other. The school sets challenging targets for academic and personal success and encourages pupils and parents to be fully involved.

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Grade: 2

There is now a proven track record of achieving high standards and good progress which provide confidence that further improvements will be made. Success has not happened by accident. The headteacher has provided strong leadership, a clear vision and a good role model. To share this, she has created an able team that is committed to providing the highest quality education. This teamwork is paramount, as seen in a growing consistency of approach and the valuable contribution of teaching assistants. Self-evaluation provides a good picture of the school's strengths and priorities for improvement. The headteacher recognises that leadership and management are not yet devolved enough to ensure everyone makes their full contribution to school improvement. Monitoring and evaluation of pupils' achievements in subjects such as the humanities and physical education are not as strong as in English, mathematics

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Grade: 2

and science. 4 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 October 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 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 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 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 2 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?

2 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. 6 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 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? 7 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

6 October 2006 Dear Pupils Yaxley Infant School, Main Street, Yaxley, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE7 3LB We were pleased to meet you and all the staff and very much enjoyed the time we spent with you. Thank you for making us so welcome, talking to us and helping us to find out so much about you and your school. You are lucky to go to such a good school. All the adults work very hard to do everything they can to help you do your best in everything and be the best that you can be. They take very good care of you and make sure your lessons are fun. You have lots to do outside lessons, and playtimes and lunchtimes are happy times of the day. It was lovely to see you all behaving so well, getting on so well together, looking after each other and working really hard. You all make good progress from the minute you come in to the Reception classes to when you leave the school at the end of Year 2 and you reach

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

standards which are better than pupils at most other schools. Everyone at the school is very keen to make sure you do even better. Those who lead the school are going to make sure that everyone gets a chance to play their full part in checking on the work of the school and making it even better. They are going to make sure that they know as much about how well you are doing in other subjects as they do in English, mathematics and science. We would like to wish you the very best for the future. Joanne Harvey Lead Inspector Joy Stopher Team Inspector 8 Inspection Report: Yaxley Infant School, 4 °5 October 2006

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