Four Lanes Infant School

Four Lanes Infant School Inspection report

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116082 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312173 Inspection number 31 January 2008 Inspection date John Seal HMI 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 246 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Eileen Stonock Chair Mrs Yvonne Thornton Headteacher 1 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Hanmore Road School address Chineham Basingstoke RG24 8PQ 01256 324256 Telephone number 01256 334923 Fax number

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4-7 Age group 31 January 2008 Inspection date 312173 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors. The inspector investigated the following issues in detail: achievement and standards, the quality of teaching and leadership and management. Evidence was gathered from the school's self-evaluation, national published assessment data and the school's own assessment records, curriculum and planning documents, observation of the school at work, interviews with staff and pupils, and the parents' questionnaires. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is an above average sized infant school. It shares the site with the neighbouring junior school and community centre. Almost all the pupils are from White British backgrounds. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. There is a below average percentage of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, and few have statements of special educational needs. The school has achieved the Active Mark.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 2008

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Grade: 2

Four Lanes Infants is a good school with outstanding features. Children really do get off to a 'flying start' as it says on the school's logo. The school has a long record of well above average standards of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 1. However, in recent years the outstanding results are a result of the headteacher's effective and resolute leadership. Pupils' very high attainment has been achieved by keeping the whole school focussed on pupils' progress and maintaining good teaching and learning through some significant staff changes in recent times. Teaching is good overall. Although new staff joined the school at the beginning of the school year and at the start of this term, the consistently well-planned lessons across each year group have ensured that pupils have continued to make very good progress across the whole school. The school's assessment information is very detailed. The tracking of progress and the analysis

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Grade: 2

of attainment is rigorous. Teachers are beginning to be even more effective in using this information to match tasks to pupils' needs during lessons. This is an area which the school plans to improve further. Teachers set pupils challenging targets. These ensure that all pupils make outstanding progress. As one pupil said, 'We have to do things we've never done before'. A very high percentage of the pupils who left Year 2 in 2007 attained levels well above the national average. Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are outstanding. Pupils' behaviour is very good and their thorough enjoyment of school life and learning is reflected in the above average attendance figures. Staff have developed effective behaviour management strategies which include the use of the 'Cosy Corner' in the library. This is an area where pupils are given effective social and emotional

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Grade: 2

support if they need it. Pupils feel safe in the school and know who to go to for help. One of the pupils was keen to explain that 'Bullying is sorted out quickly; teachers help us'. In the playground, the school has identified a 'friendship bench', which encourages pupils to be aware of other's needs. Children have a very clear awareness of healthy living. There is a high take up of the free fruit and vegetable scheme. One girl boasted proudly that she had eaten two bananas, as they would make her strong. Pupils contribute very well to the community. For example, they contributed gifts for a shelter for the homeless during the Harvest Festival. There is outstanding provision for pupils' economic well-being through the exceptionally high standards in literacy and numeracy. Pupils' information, communication and technology (ICT) skills are well developed by the regular and effective use of computers in lessons.

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum offers children a range of practical activities, which make learning meaningful and exciting. These include constructing detailed models that demonstrate how pulleys work in design and technology. Carefully planned activities are effective in building on what the pupils have learned before in order to improve skills and knowledge. The older pupils are organised into ability groups for English and mathematics. These groups ensure that each pupil makes the most progress possible because of the exceptional analysis of attainment information. However, not all teachers in the school use this information effectively and it is the highly rigorous monitoring and evaluation by senior management that keeps the pupils on track. Themed work for the younger children includes using stories and nursery rhymes. The Reception children were using 'Humpty Dumpty' to improve their writing skills and performing

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Grade: 2

puppet shows. Older pupils were designing posters warning younger children about the dangers 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 2008 of electricity. The school has a wide range of visitors to stimulate pupils' learning. There is a good choice of extra-curricular activities, which include clubs for gardening, cookery and French. Parents are very pleased with the way the school offers outstanding care, guidance and support. One commented 'We find the school very supportive of our children's development and welfare'. In addition to the very caring atmosphere, pupils' academic guidance is very well supported. The outstanding assessment information informs parents regularly about their children's progress and the next steps they need to take in their learning. The headteacher provides exceptional leadership. She ensures that the school maintains a clear and purposeful approach to pupils' progress and attainment. The staff, governors and parents

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Grade: 2

effectively support this stance. The governing body, whilst providing support, are also effective in their challenge to ensure the school focuses on a high quality education. Self-evaluation is detailed and accurate. Targets in the school's action plans are ambitious and consistently focussed on how to improve pupils' school life and learning. The recently established leadership team, which is already having a strong impact across all areas of the school, demonstrates that the school has outstanding capacity to improve.

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Grade: 1

Children's skills and knowledge at the beginning of Reception are in line with those expected nationally. The children make exceptional progress and, during their final term in the Foundation stage, a significant proportion of children's attainment exceeds that expected nationally. The learning environment is bright, cheerful, exciting and safe. Teaching is consistently good. The children have access to a wide range of well-planned, exciting activities, which meet all their needs. These include puppet theatres to act out stories and nursery rhymes. The very well led teaching team, which includes skilled and experienced teaching assistants, encourages children to develop their social skills along side their other learning. Staff use puppets to skilfully enable children to talk to about their learning. This fun and interesting approach also effectively develops children's language and communication skills. Parents receive regular updates about

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Grade: 1

how their children are progressing. A parent wrote 'What a wonderful foundation for my daughter to build on in her school years'.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Further improve teachers' use of assessment information to support pupils' progress and attainment. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 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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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the 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? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well 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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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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 2008

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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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 February 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Four Lanes Infant School,Basingstoke,RG24 8PQ I enjoyed my day in your school and would like to thank you for your warm and friendly welcome. It was good to talk with some of you and see you learning in your lessons. You said that you thought your school was a good school, and I agree. This is because your headteacher and teachers work hard to help you all learn so much right through the school. You are all cared for and very safe. You learn in a school that is clean, tidy and has exciting lessons. You behave very well and enjoy coming to school. You told me how you are set targets to learn more and how the adults work hard to help you. I really enjoyed talking to children in Reception about Humpty Dumpty and reading what they had written about him. I was glad to hear from other pupils about how much they knew about how to be careful with electricity and how they were going to warn younger children by designing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

well-written posters. I also had some good conversations about Roald Dahl with children in Year 2. They told me why they thought he was a good author. When your teachers plan your work, they are using all kinds of information about you to make sure they can keep giving you work that is interesting and makes you think. I agree with them that they should keep working on how to use the information as well as possible. This will help you keep making the very good progress you already do. I hope that you can help by carrying on working hard and enjoying your learning. Thank you once again for an enjoyable visit. Yours Sincerely John Seal Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Four Lanes Infant School, 31 January 2008

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