North Baddesley Infant School

Age group 4–7 Inspection date(s) 27–28 November 2008 Inspection number 326280 North Baddesley Infant School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 115875 Local Authority Hampshire Inspection number 326280 Inspection dates 27–28 November 2008 Reporting inspector Jane Wotherspoon HMI

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 under pilot arrangements; it was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act .

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Type of school Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 4–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll 168 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs S McFaull Headteacher Mrs L Chambers Date of previous school inspection April 2006 School address Botley Road North Baddesley Southampton SO52 9EE Telephone number 02380 412412 Fax number 02380 412413 Email address adminoffice@northbaddesley-inf.hants.sch.uk Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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

This pilot inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Additional Inspector. The inspectors visited 15 lessons, and held meetings with governors, staff and groups of pupils. They observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of documentation including the school’s information on the progress children make, the school improvement plan, the school's monitoring information and 74 parents’ questionnaires.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at the following:

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Introduction

 how well pupils are progressing, especially in writing and mathematics  how consistently teachers are meeting the needs of different groups of pupils  how well children are doing in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)  how strong is the capacity to improve.

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Information about the school

Since the previous inspection the school has undergone significant staff changes, including in leadership roles. There have been lengthy periods of absence covered by temporary teachers. The school has accredited awards for financial management systems (FMSIS) and Activemark for its work in giving pupils opportunities to be active.

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other schools

School size 168 Smaller than average Free school meals 8.7% Below average Proportions of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities 21.4% Broadly average

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other schools

Proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups 4.4% Below average

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other schools

Proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language 2.6% Below average

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other schools

Proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs 0.6% Below average

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Inspection judgements

Grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Main findings

This is a school in which academic standards began to decline during a period of turbulence in staffing. That decline has been halted, as indicated by the upturn in the standards of reading, and there are secure strategies in place to ensure that pupils can make the good progress of which they are capable. A systematic and thorough approach to monitoring the quality of provision gives the school an accurate view of where improvements are needed. The school improvement plan contains an appropriate range of well-targeted actions to secure improvement. Inconsistencies in the quality of teaching are being tackled and there is some outstanding teaching on which the school can draw to raise the quality overall. The school’s strong ethos of care gives pupils a positive environment in which to learn and to develop the social skills that will stand them in good stead in the future.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards, particularly in mathematics, by:  providing training for staff in the new framework for mathematics  developing further the role of subject leaders in monitoring and evaluating the quality of provision and in supporting staff to develop their practice  providing more challenging tasks for potentially higher-attaining pupils to apply their skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the consistency in the quality of teaching by:  ensuring that teachers make effective use of assessment information to plan modified tasks that better match the needs of pupils of different abilities  providing training for teachers to develop strategies and practical resources to support and challenge pupils according to their needs.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  strengthening systems for assessing what children know, understand and can do in order to identify the next steps in their learning  planning a better balance of activities, indoors and outdoors, that reflect all areas of learning, as well as activities led by adults and initiated by children  ensuring that adults are clear about what children are expected to learn from each activity, so that they can target their interventions to extend children’s learning.

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Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good; they are enthusiastic and hard-working. Their efforts are sometimes undermined by the fact that the work is either too difficult or not challenging enough for more able pupils. Pupils are happy and keen; they persevere well, even when the work is too hard. They respond especially positively to practical activities. For example, the task of making a jacket for Baddesley Bear engaged their interest, helped them to think through a solution to a problem and gave them opportunities to apply skills that they had learnt previously. Activities such as this show clearly that pupils have potential that is too often untapped because they do not have enough chances to apply basic skills in follow-up activities. The school’s data show that pupils have made uneven progress in the past and standards, although broadly average, could be higher given their starting points. Pupils’ books and lessons observed show that progress is now satisfactory and they

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Pupils make a significant contribution to the community through their work as members of the TED (Together Everybody Decides) teams that review all aspects of school life, or as school councillors. They have an unusually strong sense of duty and well-developed understanding of citizenship for their age through taking part in elections or through applying for their roles. They are proud of what they do and recognise the importance of representing their peers, because they know that action is taken by the school as a result of their comments. The TED team responsible for ‘health’, for example, designed the ‘carrot tokens’ awarded to pupils to promote positive attitudes to school life and to learning. Pupils say they feel safe and well cared for. Confident that someone will help them if they are upset or struggling with their work, they know what to do to help others if they are unhappy. Pupils get on

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well with each other and behaviour is good.

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These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes How well do pupils achieve and enjoy their learning? 3 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress 3 The quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and their progress Pupils’ attainment 1 3 To what extent do pupils feel safe? 2 How well do pupils behave? 2 To what extent do pupils adopt healthy lifestyles? 1 To what extent do pupils contribute to the school and wider community? 1 How well do pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future 2

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1 Grades for attainment are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; 4 is low economic well-being? Pupils’ attendance and punctuality 2 What is the extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development? 2

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The quality of the school’s work

Teachers make good links between subjects by planning interesting activities in a thematic way with ‘open-ended’ tasks. The success of this approach is reflected in pupils’ enthusiasm and enjoyment of learning. However, improving the consistency in the way that lessons are taught is the challenge for the school. The main weakness is that not all teachers plan activities sharply enough to meet the needs of pupils of different abilities. Too often the same task is given to all pupils without enough modification, so that it is too easy for some and too hard for others. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning, but these are not matched by equally high expectations of what different groups of pupils will achieve in a lesson or through an activity. At times teachers do not make enough use of technology to introduce activities and as a resource for pupils. A positive feature is

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The quality of the school’s work

the detailed marking of pupils’ work which, at its best, gives pupils clear pointers for improving their work. Teachers set targets for improvement in reading and writing but not yet in mathematics. These are not always written in ‘child-friendly’ language and pupils say that they do not always understand them. Targets are shared regularly with parents, so that they can be involved in checking and helping their child’s progress. The school makes good use of links with external services to provide good support for pupils who have particular educational, social or emotional needs. The school has clear strategies and policies to ensure that pupils are looked after well throughout the day. Vetting procedures are robust; the school ensures that all adults working with and supporting pupils are appropriately qualified and suitable to do so.

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The quality of the school’s work

These are the grades for the quality of provision High quality teaching and purposeful learning 3 Effective assessment and academic guidance 2 An appropriate curriculum which meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, provision through partnership with other organisations Support, guidance and care 2

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How effective are leadership and management?

Senior staff provide strong leadership. Rigorous monitoring, both of the quality of provision and also of its impact on pupils’ performance, has led senior staff to make a very honest assessment of what needs to improve. Systems for tracking pupils’ progress have improved and this is giving the school’s leaders better information to help them tackle issues of underachievement. Discussions between senior staff and teachers about the progress their pupils are making are helping to make teachers more accountable. Monitoring also involves governors, who ask challenging questions of the school’s leaders. Importantly, teamwork is strong and all staff are behind the efforts to improve. All are aware of what needs to be done to overcome variations in performance and to raise academic standards. Well-founded actions are set out in the school improvement plan. Increasingly, staff responsible for leading subjects are

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How effective are leadership and management?

involved in evaluating the impact of actions taken. Improvements in reading standards show that the school is now on the right track and has the determination to make the necessary improvements to raise standards across the board.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school has the confidence and support of parents and the local community. Close liaison with parents is a high priority for the school and they are updated about school matters through the website and regular newsletters. They are consulted frequently about broad areas of school development through the parent council and annual surveys. The school has a number of ways for parents to keep in touch with their child’s progress. The weekly open morning, for example, is well supported.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management Monitoring, evaluating and planning for improvement to outcomes for pupils 2 Promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination 3 Ensuring that safeguarding procedures are effective 2 Ensuring that the governing body provides effective challenge and support so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities are met Promoting the school’s relationship with parents and carers, including their involvement in decision-making about matters relating to learning and well-being Developing partnerships with other providers, organisations and services 2 Ensuring the school contributes to community cohesion 2 Deploying resources to achieve value for money 2

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children make satisfactory progress overall, although there are some differences in how well they do in different areas of learning. For example, children’s skills in reading and writing have improved greatly since the start of the academic year because these areas receive daily practice and direct, focused teaching. Other areas of learning, such as knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development, do not receive so much attention in the planning. A really positive feature of the provision is the way that adults introduce ‘learning scenarios’ to the children in the form of a problem that needs to be solved. For example, during the inspection the children were posed the question, ‘How can we help the Queen of Hearts find out who has stolen her tarts?’ This immediately engaged the children’s interest and enthusiasm and gave them the chance to suggest a range of their own ideas that were taken up by the adults in subsequent planning. The new Early Years

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Foundation Stage leader acknowledges that the following factors affect how well children are able to learn and develop.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

 Adults are not always clear what they want children to learn from the activities that are planned.  There is not a systematic approach for checking which activities children have experienced during the day.  Systems for assessing precisely what children have learnt are still developing.  The organisation and balance of activities indoors and outdoors and opportunities to move freely between the areas.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Despite these factors, however, adults look after the children well. Close liaison with pre-school settings before children start school ensure they quickly adapt to school life and to the routines of the Reception classes. As a result, they are settled and well-behaved, and enjoy good relationships with adults and other children. Misbehaviour is rare, but is dealt with unobtrusively and sensitively by staff who provide a good model of teamwork.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

How effective is the provision in meeting the needs of children in the EYFS?* 3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? 3 How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop?* 3 How effectively is the welfare of the children in the EYFS promoted?* 2 How effectively is the provision in the EYFS led and managed?* 3 * Common judgements made across all inspections of the EYFS

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Views of parents and carers

The vast majority of parents responding to the inspection questionnaire expressed a high level of satisfaction with all aspects of the school’s work. Parents are confident that their children enjoy school and are well looked after. Many acknowledged the warm, friendly atmosphere and the way that children’s opinions are valued. Several commented on the improvements being made at the school.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. In 2006-7, 14% of schools were judged to be outstanding. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. In 2006-7, 46% of schools were judged good. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing for its pupils suitably. In 2006-7, 34% of schools were judged satisfactory. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. In 2006-7, 6% of schools were judged inadequate.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: an overall measure of the pupils’ success in their academic learning. The term combines attainment and progress. Pupils might make good progress, for example, but if their attainment remains low, inspectors may judge that their achievement is only satisfactory.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school. 12 December 2008

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Inspection of North Baddesley Infant School, Southampton, SO52 9EE

My colleague and I enjoyed our inspection visit to North Baddesley Infants last week. Thank you for making us so welcome, for talking to us and for completing the questionnaires. You gave us lots of helpful information and some good suggestions for questions that we might ask in future. We think your school is satisfactory, but there are many good things about it too.

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Inspection of North Baddesley Infant School, Southampton, SO52 9EE

We were very impressed at how well school councillors and members of the TED teams work to improve things for everyone in the school. Well done to all those who are earning ‘carrot tokens’ for making healthy choices. You told us you feel safe and know who to go to for help and support. It is good to hear that you are all friends and know how to look after each other. You told us that most children behave well and we agree. Nearly all of you say you like school and the interesting things you do.

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Inspection of North Baddesley Infant School, Southampton, SO52 9EE

We think that some of you could manage to do even harder work, so we have asked the teachers to make sure that the activities are always hard enough so that you can do even better. This is especially so in mathematics. Sometimes some of you need slightly easier things to do as well. We want the youngest children in Reception to have a better variety of things to learn.

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Inspection of North Baddesley Infant School, Southampton, SO52 9EE

Jane Wotherspoon Her Majesty’s Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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