Parsonage Farm Nursery and Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Parsonage Farm is a caring school where staff know every pupil well.

Pupils enjoy coming to school to learn new things with their friends. They describe it as a welcoming place where they feel safe and listened to. This is because staff work together as a team to care for them.

Pupils behave well because adults have high expectations and model what they want pupils to learn. If bullying happens, leaders deal with it effectively. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the school's values and how they can demonstrate these through how they behave.

Pupils socialise happily together and delight in the wide range of activities outside. They enjoy exploring their talen...ts and interests through a growing range of sports clubs and special events to enrich the curriculum.

Pupils are proud to belong, and are kind to each other.

There are well-considered opportunities for pupils to take responsibility and make a difference in school and in the community. Pupils relish serving on the school council, helping as lunchtime buddies or learning as part of the 'wilder team'. Pupils value their relationships with their teachers.

One pupil said, 'They are kind and help us learn more words.'

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have made reading a priority for improvement. Children in Reception Year learn to blend sounds quickly so they can read words.

However, reading is not as well developed as it should be. This is because the teaching of reading is inconsistent. Not all staff have enough expertise in how to teach phonics well.

Pupils' reading books do not always help them to practise the sounds they know. Some of the books that pupils use to read are too hard for them and hinder fluency, especially for Year 1. Pupils speak warmly about their favourite books and authors.

Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. Teachers plan work that pupils often find interesting and demanding. In most subjects, lessons clearly build on prior learning.

Pupils remember what they have been taught and use this to help them learn new things. However, in some subjects, such as history, this is not yet the case. This is because teachers do not use assessment consistently or well enough.

For example, assessment is not used to help pupils use knowledge fluently, check for understanding or inform future teaching. Leaders are aware of this and have plans to address it.

Leaders deliberately structure the curriculum so that what children learn in Nursery and Reception Year prepares them effectively for what they are taught in key stage 1.

Children in the early years settle in well to the routines and high expectations of the early years classes. They get off to a secure start because they learn to be focused, resilient and more independent, ready for Year 1.

Staff identify the support required for all pupils to achieve well.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have a sound knowledge of the differing needs of pupils with SEND as they move through the school. These leaders are skilled in identifying individual needs and supporting teachers to adapt their teaching.

This enables pupils with SEND to learn effectively alongside their peers.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. The foundations of the positive culture are firmly laid down in the early years.

Pupils respond well to the modelling and praise they receive from adults. They want to behave and choose to do so, both in the classroom and outside. Teachers develop strong classroom routines right from the start so that most lessons are both focused and purposeful.

If anyone becomes distracted, staff calmly remind them of what they should be focusing on. Pupils react well, showing an eagerness to learn.

Pupils' personal development is well considered.

The curriculum supports pupils to recognise and respect others' differences. As a result, pupils show empathy and care for others. Character development is prioritised, which enables pupils to become more confident and gain more independence.

Leaders provide meaningful opportunities for pupils to learn about responsibility and become active citizens, for example by supporting local charities. Opportunities to develop pupils' interests and further enrich the curriculum have been affected by COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic has restricted the school's capacity to offer the range of clubs, assemblies and workshops previously in place.

However, leaders are now addressing this.

Governors work well alongside leaders to develop strategic plans and check that these are working as intended. Governors offer useful support and challenge to help leaders achieve their goals.

Staff are proud to be part of the team. They appreciate and value the way that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils feel safe here, and their parents confirm this. Appropriate safeguarding training enables staff to recognise signs that may suggest a pupil is at risk of harm. They know what to do if they are concerned.

Leaders work well with external agencies to ensure that pupils get the help they need quickly. Leaders make sure that they share relevant information with the other schools and professionals in the community. Governors monitor and challenge the school's safeguarding work but there is more to be done.

The school's safeguarding records were not well organised and contained inaccuracies. When this was pointed out, leaders addressed issues quickly.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not ensured that the teaching of phonics is effective enough.

Some staff do not have the knowledge they need to teach phonics with accuracy and precision. In addition, the books pupils are given do not match the sounds they know. Leaders must provide training to staff involved in early reading.

They should assure themselves that the phonics programme is fully resourced and that teaching is effective so that pupils learn to read fluently by the time they leave Year 2. ? Teachers in key stage 1 do not consistently incorporate effective assessment opportunities into their foundation lesson designs. Nor do they always utilise opportunities within the lesson to check that all pupils are developing the intended understanding.

This means that some pupils do not acquire the knowledge that they need to make secure progress across the curriculum. Leaders need to develop assessments in the foundation subjects so that teachers are systematically checking pupils' understanding and that all pupils are supported to embed knowledge and use it fluently. ? Leaders have not followed their own policies consistently when dealing with safeguarding concerns.

For example, centralised record-keeping is incomplete and does not correspond with other records held elsewhere. This means that individual pupil records are not fully collated to share with external partners or monitor in an appropriate way. Leaders must ensure that all record-keeping is complete and that all designated safeguarding leads follow the school policies and local authority arrangements.

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