Prospect Hill Infant and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Prospect Hill Infant and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 22 May 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings.

The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2015. This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

You have built a dedicated team whose members share your ambitions to raise standards and provide exciting and engaging learning experiences for pupils. High expectations are evident throughout the school. All areas of the s...chool are extremely well presented and classrooms are attractive with good-quality resources to support learning.

Displays celebrate pupils' achievements and school events. Pupils behave well at all times and have excellent attitudes to their learning. Good relationships are seen between pupils and adults, and pupils work cooperatively with each other.

Consequently, the school has a calm and purposeful atmosphere where tolerance and respect for others are high priority. Parents and carers are supportive of the school and praise the staff for being approachable and 'going above and beyond'. In response to Parent View, Ofsted's online survey, one parent said, 'This is an excellent school, with excellent staff and a family vibe.'

There were many comments saying that children enjoy coming to school and are making good progress. The previous inspection report asked you to develop and strengthen partnerships with parents. You now communicate with parents via text, the website, and weekly newsletters as well as providing a wide range of events and meetings where parents can find out more about their children's learning and progress.

An app provides parents with personalised information about their child's learning. Improving standards in writing remains a priority for the school and features in your school improvement plan. Since the last inspection, there have been some fluctuations in outcomes from one year to the next.

However, the proportion of pupils achieving the standards expected for their age in writing at the end of Year 2 is now similar to reading and mathematics. The proportion of pupils working at greater depth in writing remains lower than in the other subjects. Safeguarding is effective.

Safeguarding is central to the school's work. There are clear procedures for raising and following up concerns. All staff are knowledgeable about their responsibilities and what to do if they have a concern.

They receive regular training to ensure that they are up to date with the most recent government guidance. Training opportunities are also available for governors. Pupils say that the school is a safe and happy place where bullying is rare.

They have confidence in their teachers to help them resolve any problems they may have. Pupils understand the expectations for good behaviour and know that this helps to keep them safe. Staff know pupils and their families well and are alert to any minor concerns, providing timely support where needed.

Attendance is above the national average and persistent absence is low. You rightly promote the importance of regular attendance. All absences are followed up rigorously and you work with individual families in order to improve attendance where it is low.

You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are detailed and of good quality. You and a member of the governing body monitor documentation regularly to ensure that it meets all requirements. Inspection findings ? During the inspection, I looked closely at children's communication, language and literacy skills and how these are developed through the curriculum to improve standards in writing.

I also explored how well different groups of pupils are achieving. ? Since the last inspection, a greater proportion of children are achieving a good level of development at the end of foundation stage. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check has improved.

At the end of key stage 1, similar improvements have been seen in writing. These measures are now at least in line with national averages. ? From starting points that are often lower than national expectations, children make good progress throughout the foundation stage.

There is a strong focus on developing language and vocabulary. Adults are tireless in promoting conversation and discussion in all areas of children's learning. Children enjoy talking about their learning and become more confident in their use of language.

• Phonics is taught effectively throughout the school and most pupils have the skills and knowledge expected for their age by the end of Year 1. Pupils continue to practise and apply what they have learned throughout Year 2 and are able to rise to greater reading and writing challenges. Pupils told me that they enjoy the challenges their teachers give them which are sometimes 'really hard', but they are clearly excited by their achievements when they are successful.

• Pupils read confidently, sometimes with expression that reflects their enjoyment of the story. They have a good understanding of the text and can answer questions about the plot and its characters. They say about reading: 'you learn stuff from books' and 'you can get good words from books and put them in your writing.

.. and it suddenly sounds really good'.

• Pupils' books show work at standards appropriate to pupils' ages. Some pupils' writing is at greater depth and demonstrates a growing vocabulary, the use of complex sentences and a range of punctuation. Pupils are able to write for different purposes.

For example, Year 2 pupils were writing a letter; they explained to me that they were pretending to be the wolf writing to say sorry to Red Riding Hood. Books are neatly presented and handwriting is well formed. Over time, work shows that considerable progress has been made.

• Assessments are made at regular intervals and are analysed in detail to identify trends and patterns for individuals and groups. Where appropriate, additional support is provided and its impact is evaluated carefully. The school improvement plan outlines actions to support and monitor the achievement of different groups, for example those who speak English as an additional language and disadvantaged pupils.

• Leaders are quick to adjust teaching strategies to meet the needs of pupils and do not continue with programmes of learning that are not effective. They are mindful that the wider curriculum can support pupils' learning by extending their range of experiences in a variety of subjects. Events, visits and visitors form part of each unit of work, and 'browsing boxes' contain a selection of high-quality texts to extend and enrich pupils' reading.

• The introduction of Forest School has extended the opportunities for outdoor learning and had a positive impact on pupils' enthusiasm and motivation. We accompanied some of the younger children to their lesson and observed them enjoying the new experiences. Two children told me about minibeasts they had found and explained about safety rules while in the fire circle and woodland area.

• Pupils have the opportunity to showcase their work regularly and share their successes with parents and other visitors to the school. They learn to present their work in different ways for a real audience and this initiative also provides a further opportunity for parents to be involved in their children's learning. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? recent improvements in standards are maintained in all subjects and there is a consistently high proportion of pupils achieving expected standards for their age ? an increasing proportion of pupils achieve at greater depth, particularly in writing.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Nottinghamshire County Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Jane Salt Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I carried out a learning walk with you, visiting all classes.

We also observed learning in the Forest School. I reviewed a sample of pupils' books to consider the standard of work and the progress being made. I heard some pupils read and talked to a group of pupils about their school experiences.

I held meetings with you and other staff members to discuss different aspects of the school's work including safeguarding, assessment, teaching strategies and the curriculum. I also met with members of the governing body. I reviewed a range of the school's documentation including the school's self-evaluation, assessment information and the school improvement plan.

I took into account 43 responses to Parent View, Ofsted's online survey, and spoke to some parents informally at the beginning of the school day. There were 19 responses to the online staff survey. There were no responses to the online pupil survey.

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