Wood Street Infant School

Wood Street Infant School Inspection report

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125004 Unique Reference Number Surrey Local Authority 293163 Inspection number 8 May 2007 Inspection date Keith Sadler 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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Infant Type of school Community School category 4 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 71 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Lee Eyres Chair Mrs Beth Clark Headteacher 11 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection Oak Hill School address Wood Street Village Guildford GU3 3DA

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01483 235165 Telephone number 01483 235170 Fax number

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4 °7 Age group 8 May 2007 Inspection date 293163 Inspection number .

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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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Wood Street is a small village infant school. About a third of pupils live in the village and others come from a wide area, with half of the pupils travelling some distance. Pupils are from a mix of economic backgrounds and the number entitled to free school meals is well below the national average. The proportion with learning difficulties and disabilities is about two thirds of the national average. Attainment on entry to the Reception class is at expected levels though children's personal, social and emotional development is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Wood Street is a good school on an upward trend. The areas of particular strength are in the care, guidance and support for pupils, the progress that they make both in their academic and social skills and parents' support for the school. The new headteacher provides excellent leadership and management and has brought more rigour to the school. She has high expectations of both staff and pupils and leads by example. She is supported well by the good leadership and management of the teachers and governors, who are directly involved in the school's strategic development. Parents are unanimously supportive of the school. A typical comment is: 'Wood Street gives a very caring start to a child's school career. It is a happy and secure school community.' The school's self-checking processes, though modest in their overall evaluations, are robust and accurate because they are based on solid evidence of pupils' progress. Consequently, the school

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Grade: 2

has good capacity to improve further. Pupils achieve well because the teaching and curriculum are good. Teachers provide high quality activities that capture the pupils' interests and encourage good discussion. As one pupil said, 'We have lots of fun learning.' This is helped because lessons are practically based and teachers provide a good context for learning. In a Year 1 science lesson, for example, the teacher got the pupils to ask their own questions to investigate the properties of materials. Due to the good provision in the Foundation Stage, children settle well and make good progress. By the time that they reach Year 1, the large majority of pupils reach the expected goals. Pupils continue to achieve well in both Year 1 and 2 and attain high standards in reading, writing and mathematics. In information and communication technology (ICT), standards are above average though pupils' progress is limited due to the lack of availability of computer resources.

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Grade: 2

Behaviour is good and pupils have positive attitudes to school, learning and each other. As one pupil said, 'After the hard work we love going into the playground to play with our friends. All the children are really friendly.' The excellent care, guidance and support provided by the school enable all pupils to feel safe and to thrive in the close family atmosphere that pervades the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Strengthen pupils' progress and standards in ICT by providing frequent access to computers as part of lessons.

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Grade: 2

All groups of pupils make good progress and achieve well. In the Foundation Stage, children make good progress. By the end of the Reception year almost all meet the national expected goals for learning and a small minority exceed them. At the end of Year 2, standards have been significantly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics for the past five years. In 2006, standards were exceptionally high in reading. The school has correctly identified two areas to accelerate pupils' progress further. Although standards in writing and mathematics were above average, the school has focused on boosting learning in these areas. In Year 1, for example there has been a project to strengthen the development of early writing skills and in Year 2, pupils have been given clear targets for improvement in their writing. These are 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007 understood well by the pupils. As a result, current Year 2 pupils are on course to achieve high

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Grade: 2

standards. Similarly in mathematics, the focus on strengthening pupils' investigative skills is also paying dividends and pupils are on course to attain standards that are high. Standards in ICT, however, are not as high because pupils do not have enough opportunities to use computers in all subjects.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. From entering Reception with above average social skills, pupils consolidate their good manners, routines, a respect for others and good attitudes to work. Behaviour is almost always good, though on occasion, some pupils' behaviour weakens as their concentration lapses in some lessons. They understand their responsibilities and delight in undertaking them and making choices that affect their lives. For example, pupils are involved in running their own class cake stall. They make posters, sell the cakes and then decide democratically how the money raised would be spent. On this occasion, it was used for magnetic construction apparatus. In the meantime, Year 1 pupils were excited when they had to practise learning to give change in preparation for their cake sale. They spent the money they raised on developing the role

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Grade: 2

play area. Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe in school and at home. They also have a good understanding of keeping healthy. Pupils' outstanding enjoyment of school is reflected in their above average attendance. As one pupil said, 'I love coming to school and I love going home!' They make good gains in the skills that they will need at their next schools and they are well prepared for the transition to junior school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress because teaching and learning have been consistently good for a number of years. Staff work closely together as a team and provide a strong sense of continuity and routine, from which pupils benefit. Teachers question pupils well and their assessments of work are used well to amend future plans. Many lessons are exciting and pupils enjoy them. In a mathematics lesson in Year 2, the teacher's excellent questioning in the final session placed high demands on the pupils when they had to explain how they had answered addition problems and also the strategies that they had used. In addition, pupils were able to check for themselves whether they met the stated success criteria for the lesson. Teachers generally manage pupils effectively to sustain pupils' interest, but there are moments when pupils are restless because the teacher allows the pace in the lesson to drop by providing explanations that are too long.

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Grade: 2

On these occasions, in Key Stage 1, the pupils' progress dips as their concentration wanders. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are taught well and their learning benefits from the very good support that they receive from skilled support staff.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is of good quality. It is made interesting and relevant by good adaptations to national guidelines. Teachers plan well to develop the skills that pupils can use across many subjects. This supports effectively the pupils' attainment in literacy and numeracy. In the 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007 Reception class, children develop their knowledge and skills well with a wide range of discovery and investigative work that is made real. Because of the very substantial building works, which have been recently finished, opportunities for outdoor learning in the Foundation Stage have been limited but there are very good plans in place to remedy this. Throughout the school, the quality of lessons is enriched by a variety of visits and visitors. These have included theatre visits, drama workshops and trips to the Discovery Centre to enhance learning in science. In

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Grade: 2

addition, an exceptionally wide range of extra-curricular clubs is held. These mainly focus on the arts and sports but also include Spanish. Curricular provision for pupils who find learning hard and those that are gifted and talented is effective and enables these pupils to make good progress. The curriculum for ICT is limited because there is too little opportunity for teachers to plan for use of computers in lessons as resources are currently limited.

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Grade: 1

The care, guidance and support provided are outstanding and demonstrate clearly that the school believes that every child matters. Procedures for protecting and safeguarding pupils are rigorous and of high quality. There were particular safety demands during the extended building programme. These were managed exceptionally well by staff and governors. Although one or two parents raised concerns about the level of care it is evident from the pupils' responses and the robust and thorough procedures that all avenues were considered. There are not many schools where a class of infants have such a high appreciation of how to stay safe when in sight of concrete mixers! Staff track pupils' progress exceptionally well and this has enabled teachers to be clear about what is expected of all pupils and has been an important key to boosting achievement, particularly in writing.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The new headteacher has made an excellent start. She has built successfully on the many strengths of the school since the time of the previous inspection. Her precise analysis of the school's strengths and development points, including making exceptionally good use of the data available, has led to well-founded improvement projects. These have impacted positively on pupils' learning and progress. In consequence, pupils' attainment has shifted from being significantly above average to being high and shows the outstanding effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation. The headteacher is assisted effectively by the other teachers, who take their responsibilities seriously. They provide good leadership by having a clear view of provision and progress in their subjects. Resources are managed effectively on the whole as witnessed by the impressive new buildings that have been

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Grade: 2

maintained within budget. However, the number of computers for pupils' use is below recommended levels and although there are new machines waiting to be networked in the revamped suite, opportunities for classroom use have been insufficient in the past. The school is aware of this issue. Governors understand their roles and contribute significantly to school improvement through their good links. They keep a close check on the school's work, though they do not question the staff sufficiently well to provide a full challenge. The close teamwork amongst all the adults has led to a happy and purposeful atmosphere, this helps the school to have a positive and uplifting ethos where all feel included. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007

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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 1 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? 1 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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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?

1 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007

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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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

18 May 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Wood Street Infant School,Guildford,GU3 3DA Thank you for your help when I visited your school. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit because everyone was so welcoming and friendly. I think that yours is a good school. These are the things that I think are best about your school: • you really enjoy school because you are happy and safe and all the adults look after you extremely well • your behaviour is good • your teachers give you exciting and fun things to do and this makes your lessons good and interesting • you learn quickly and well • your headteacher does a good job. I have asked your headteacher to do one thing: • help you to make more progress in ICT by making sure that you can use computers in lessons more often. I hope that you will always enjoy your time at school. Keith Sadler Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Wood Street Infant School, 8 May 2007

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