Buryfields Infant School

Buryfields Infant School Inspection report

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115933 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312111 Inspection number 13–14 November 2008 Inspection dates Rob Crompton Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Infant Type of school Community School category 4–7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 170 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Judith Hobson Chair Miss Susan Croft Headteacher 25 April 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Buryfields School address King Street Odiham Hook RG29 1NE 01256 702667 Telephone number 01256 702667 Fax number

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4–7 Age group 13–14 November 2008 Inspection dates 312111 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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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 smaller than average. It serves a socially mixed community. About half the pupils are from service families living in the nearby Royal Air Force base. This causes instability in the school population as many pupils enter and leave the school other than at the usual times. The school has provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in two Reception classes. Almost all pupils are White British and very few are at an early stage in acquiring English. An above average proportion of pupils has learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This includes pupils with social, behavioural and communication problems, as well as those who find learning difficult.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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Grade: 2

Buryfields Infant School provides a good quality education. Pupils make good progress and reach above average standards within a warm, caring and stimulating environment. Parents are overwhelmingly appreciative of all the school does. Typical of their comments are, 'The school encourages children to enjoy learning and have confidence in themselves', and, 'The caring positive attitude of Buryfields has nurtured my children for the past three years'. As they start in Reception, children's skills and understanding are broadly typical of the age group. They soon settle in and make good progress across all areas of learning. Pupils start Year 1 eager to learn and well equipped with basic skills. They achieve well through Years 1 and 2 and generally reach above average standards, despite the high levels of pupil mobility. Standards in reading tend to be much better than those in writing. In particular, the proportion

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Grade: 2

of pupils reaching the highest levels in writing is below average. Although pupils can write at a high standard, the quality of their work is inconsistent. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. They have extremely positive attitudes, behave very well and are proud of their school. Pupils support each other and respect differences. They have an excellent understanding of how to lead safe and healthy lives. Pupils make an excellent contribution to the life of the school and acquire a very good understanding of working together to improve their community. By the time they leave, pupils are armed with good skills to help them move on successfully to junior school. The curriculum provides good opportunities for pupils' academic and personal development. Every opportunity is taken to plan work that interests and engages pupils. Themed weeks focusing on history, science and healthy living, for example, help ensure relevance and meaning

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Grade: 2

to pupils' learning. Pupils enjoy a wide range of visits, visitors and clubs. Underpinning the outstanding care, guidance and support pupils receive are the school's core values, expressed as 'excellence, respect and achievement'. The school welcomes all children, whatever their needs. Pupils and parents recognise this and it is a key factor in pupils' very positive attitudes to school. An excellent feature of the care provided is the outstanding support provided for pupils whose parents are on active service. One parent wrote, 'It has been a difficult time for my son and the school has helped tremendously, showing real concern for his happiness and well-being'. Pupils benefit from clear guidance about what to do to improve their work. Well-established induction strategies and effective assessment systems enable teachers to identify newcomers' levels of attainment quickly and to provide work that builds on their prior

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Grade: 2

attainment. The headteacher plays a pivotal role in sustaining the school's positive ethos. Good leadership and management ensure a continuous drive for improvement. Governors keep in touch with the school, identify strengths and weakness and provide good support. The school's strong capacity to improve is evident from the good progress made since the last inspection and the common determination to move further forward.

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Grade: 2

Children get off to a very good start in the Reception classes. They achieve well and most reach or exceed the levels expected by the end of the Reception year. Children are developing good basic skills. Some are very articulate and many have good levels of numeracy. Children count 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008 confidently and are well acquainted with the names of solid shapes, such as 'sphere', 'cylinder' and 'cube'. The children's personal and emotional development is very good. This means they are willing learners. They work together well, have good levels of independence, share equipment and enjoy conversations with their peers and adults. The Reception class teachers work together as an effective team and have created an appropriate action plan. They review their plans regularly and identify successful teaching strategies. Consequently, teaching and learning are good. All areas of learning are catered for well. Teachers

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Grade: 2

have a calm approach and look continually for opportunities to praise children's contributions. They are skilled at questioning and develop children's learning by building up their understanding. Children's achievements are logged and the curriculum is built around their experiences. There is a good combination of work that is organised by the teacher and activities initiated by the children themselves. Support staff are quick to seize opportunities to develop children's learning further and are particularly active in supporting children being independent and developing their social skills.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve standards in writing, especially those achieved by more able pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress through Years 1 and 2 and usually reach above average standards. Levels of attainment differ from year to year, mainly because the number of pupils with learning difficulties varies and because of the high number of pupils leaving and joining at different times. Despite this, pupils' overall performance in the 2008 national assessments was a little above average. Boys did better than girls, especially in mathematics, but in other years, girls outperformed boys. The results of assessments in reading show consistently above average standards with an above average proportion reaching the higher levels. Pupils do not do as well in writing and the gap between attainment in reading and writing is a little wider than the national trend. The school's careful tracking of progress through each year shows that almost all pupils, including those with learning difficulties, meet or exceed the challenging targets set

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Grade: 2

for them. This is no mean feat given the high level of pupil turnover. Teachers soon find out the level of attainment of new pupils and provide suitable work. This means pupils who join the school at different times soon start making good progress and most achieve well during their time in the school.

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Grade: 1

Pupils get along well with one another and behave very well. They develop an excellent grasp of what constitutes a healthy diet and know that exercise is good for them. They are very well aware of how to stay safe and avoid hazards, for example when not under the immediate supervision of an adult. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils express their personal feelings articulately and show empathy and compassion for others. For example, they offered practical ideas about how to support someone in a wheelchair including, as one stated, the importance of 'playing at a table of the right height,' and the suggestion to 'push the chair around so we can all have fun'. Their advice to someone with a problem included, 'Go to a friend and ask them what you should do next'. Pupils' strong sense of responsibility is seen in the way that they willingly act as 'buddies' to new pupils. Pupils gain

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Grade: 1

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008 a good understanding of cultural diversity in religious education lessons and through celebrating religious festivals during the year. Pupils' positive attitudes and levels of independence, together with their secure skills in literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology (ICT), provide them with a good grounding for their future education.

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Grade: 2

Teachers promote independence in learning effectively. They encourage pupils to build on what they know, think about what they need to learn next and reflect upon how they can use what they have learnt. Pupils also learn well because teachers devise activities that appeal to them. For example, the school's recent book week and staff pantomime provided pupils with excellent opportunities to talk about and write about their favourite book characters. Teachers use interactive whiteboards successfully as a resource bank to draw on during lessons, frequently calling up pictures and video sequences from the internet. Teachers' skilful questioning builds well on pupils' prior attainment and offers further challenge. Talking partners in lessons provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills and extend their vocabulary. For example, Year 2 pupils took turns in describing

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Grade: 2

their partners' 'book week' characters. Prompted successfully by the teacher, the suggested words such as 'mischievous', 'horrid' and 'brave', helped the pupils to extend their vocabulary, reflecting good levels of achievement. Pupils rise to the challenges set them because adults are continually looking to celebrate everyone's successes. Teaching assistants play an important part in this and they support individuals and small groups very well. Occasionally, their skills are a little underused during the introductions to lessons because pupils spend too long as a whole class listening to the teacher or in class discussions before starting more productive independent work.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' enjoyment and achievement is enhanced through relevant links between subjects and, where possible, work reflects pupils' everyday experience. Teachers ask pupils what they know about a topic before finalising their plans and increasingly involve pupils in deciding what they want to find out. Conscious of the need to ensure progression across the year groups when so many pupils move in and out, staff are rightly reviewing their curriculum plans to make sure that pupils' skills increase as they move through the school. Educational visits provide good opportunities for pupils to learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how to keep safe. For example, pupils visit the local RAF base where physical training officers lead fun sessions. Pupils learn to challenge themselves without danger during visits to an outdoor education centre. Provision for ICT is very effective. Pupils have good computer skills and use

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Grade: 2

them well. For example, they search the internet for information when studying the Great Fire of London. A good range of extra activities, such as the art, sport and ICT clubs, supplements classroom learning. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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Grade: 1

Pastoral care is outstanding. Many parents paid moving tributes to the way staff support their children. Describing the individual help given to her son, one parent wrote to his teachers, 'We thank you both once again...you will always have a place in his heart...we will never forget our gratitude for you reaching out and touching his life'. Staff do indeed go the extra mile. This is evident in the sensitive way children and their families are supported when a parent is on active service. Pupils with specific needs, such as speech problems, are soon identified and benefit from regular sessions with a specially trained teaching assistant. Similarly, the few pupils who enter the school with little or no English make great strides due to the expertise of teaching assistants. The whole staff are involved in offering suggestions and devising strategies to support the most vulnerable pupils, reflecting a sincere commitment to inclusion. Pupils of

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Grade: 1

different abilities are very well supported during lessons and through teachers' high-quality marking. Pupils receive very good individual guidance about how to improve their work, as teachers' comments celebrate their success and include pointers for the next steps in their learning. A renewed emphasis on ensuring the most able pupils know how to improve their writing is bearing fruit. This was evident as pupils discussed their targets, including, as one accurately described, 'More powerful verbs, exciting adjectives and better punctuation'.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, supported by an enthusiastic staff and active governing body, provides excellent leadership. Her consultative approach allows staff to develop their skills and contribute ideas. Consequently, there is a whole-school commitment and sharp focus on raising pupils' achievements. The headteacher and senior management team successfully monitor teaching and learning. Effective methods are shared and areas for further training are identified. Teaching assistants and other support staff are included in the review of the school's performance. All staff feel valued and they are aware of the school's priorities. This is reflected in the school's achievement of the Investors in People standard. The careful analysis of assessment data accurately identifies strengths and areas for development. The governing body is becoming increasingly involved in setting the school's priorities and in development planning. Current plans rightly include a renewed emphasis on

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Grade: 2

catering for the more able pupils and sustaining the present focus on how children learn. However, the school is aware that some targets in the development plan are not precise enough to enable an accurate evaluation of the impact of the school's initiatives. There are excellent links with the local community and pupils' global awareness is promoted well. Parents and carers are included whenever possible and the school makes great efforts to support service families and their children. The school's work in this area provides an invaluable cohesive element between the school and the local community. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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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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needs of learners?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

27 November 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Buryfields Infant School,Hook,RG29 1NE Thank you very much for helping us when we visited your school. We enjoyed our time spent with you. A highlight was the pantomime that the grown-ups performed for you and we can see that you have lots of fun with your teachers. We agree with you that Buryfields is a good school. You make good progress and reach standards that are better than many other schools. This is because you are thinking carefully about the way you learn. Your teachers are very good at helping you improve your work. They check on how well you are doing and make sure you know what to do to improve. The grown-ups are also very good at telling your parents how well you are doing. We like the way you make friends with one another and the way you behave. You are learning many things to help you when you grow up, especially in the way you treat one another and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

also about good manners. You are learning a lot about your community and the things that are happening in the world. We have asked the teachers to help you to improve your writing. You have a part in this, too! Make sure you continue to listen carefully to what your teachers want you to learn. Continue to work hard and think carefully about the targets grown-ups set you. We all want you to make even better progress. Finally, thank you once again for making us welcome at your lovely school. Yours sincerely Rob Crompton Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Buryfields Infant School, 13–14 November 2008

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