Woolston Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Woolston Infant School

Following my visit to the school on 3 July 2018, 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 November 2014. 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 a clear vision for the school. Together with leaders, you are determined that Woolston should provide pupils and their families with memorable learning experiences.

This vision drives the ethos of the school, as a happy, harmonious p...lace in which pupils are excited by their learning. Partnership with parents is a key component of this vision. Parents enjoy the regular sharing assemblies and helping on the frequent trips out in the local community.

These visits underpin the classroom learning for pupils effectively. Parents appreciate the caring nature of the school and staff's high levels of commitment to pupils. One parent, who responded to the Ofsted survey, Parent View, succinctly summed up the views of many in describing the school as, 'A good well-rounded school at the heart of the local community'.

Community links are further developed through whole-school art days involving local artists and the popular Caribbean Carnival, featuring a drumming group from the junior school. Staff, parents and pupils show trust, confidence and their full support for the leadership team. Staff lead a range of subjects effectively.

They are enabled to do this through carefully selected, appropriate professional development. Systems are in place for tracking pupils' progress across the range of curriculum areas. This supports the effective evaluation of subjects.

This evaluation is further enhanced by including pupils' perspectives on their learning. Pupils enjoy coming to school and attendance figures are high. They know that their views are valued and that they are listened to, particularly if they have worries.

They are encouraged to resolve smaller issues by themselves but know that support from adults is there if they need it. Pupils value the help they get from their teachers. Pupils' views about their learning are regularly sought.

This approach is also adopted by governors, so the school council creates an annual report for the governing body. Careful attention to detail, for example by ensuring each pupil has a hoop inside which they get changed for PE, ensures that pupils feel safe and respected. Consequently, they flourish and love coming to school.

Pupils enjoy the rich curriculum opportunities provided through outdoor learning, such as planting sunflowers following a study of the work of Vincent Van Gogh and learning from well-planned visits and the use of visitors. Standards and expectations are high in reading, writing and mathematics. Most current pupils are attaining well in relation to the age-related expectations and the greater-depth standards.

Most current pupils are making strong progress from their starting points. Together with leaders, you have taken effective action to address the improvement areas from the last inspection. You are not complacent, however; you acknowledge that in certain areas, such as the identification of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, systems require refining.

At the start of the inspection, some of the information and policies that should have been available on the school's website were not in place; however, leaders acted swiftly to rectify this. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

All appropriate recruitment and background checks are completed before adults can work with pupils in school. Record-keeping is meticulous. Comprehensive risk assessments ensure that safety is at the centre of your many trips and outings.

These are shared with both pupils and parent helpers. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and are aware of what to do if they have worries about a pupil. Concerns are reported, carefully recorded and acted on in a timely fashion.

The school works effectively with a wide range of other agencies to support pupils and their families. Governors complete regular checks on the school's safeguarding practice to ensure everything complies with current regulations. All staff are vigilant and ensure the welfare of pupils.

Because you know your pupils so well, any change that could indicate a concern about a pupil's well-being or safety is quickly noticed and explored. Families who occasionally need a little additional support are appreciative of the time and care from staff. Pupils have an excellent knowledge of how to keep themselves safe.

They benefit from involvement in regular curriculum activities focused on safety, such as those on e-safety. Inspection findings ? During the inspection, we looked closely together at the provision for disadvantaged pupils. In the end of key stage assessments in 2017, outcomes at the end of Year 2 were not strong for disadvantaged pupils.

However, current disadvantaged pupils in key stage 1 are making strong progress from their starting points. This is in line with or, in some areas, stronger than that of other pupils. This means that the attainment gaps are closing in most year groups and subjects.

• Current attainment at the end of the Reception Year for disadvantaged children is not strong. This has been affected by a high degree of mobility for this group this year. However, disadvantaged children's progress from their starting points is strong.

This is particularly evident in the development of their communication skills as a result of effective support. ? We also looked at the identification of, and provision for, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Provision is extensive and wide-ranging.

Plans are in place to further develop the school's nurture provision. In classrooms, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are supported well so that they are happy, included and making strong progress from their starting points. Their strong progress from starting points is also reflected in the work in their books.

• Some effective training has helped to broaden and deepen staff's skills in relation to meeting the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Staff work well together to share and review information. The special educational needs coordinator has worked closely with outreach and other support services to ensure that the provision for pupils is strong.

She has a clear plan for development, which will be further strengthened when she embarks on the National Award for SEN Coordination. ? Leaders acknowledge the need to refine the identification processes for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. This, in turn, will facilitate more accurate monitoring.

It is difficult currently to use pupils' assessment information to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision for this group. This is because the identification of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is not as sharp as it needs to be. ? We looked at the curriculum provision for pupils.

This is an area of strength across the school. Pupils enjoy the rich curriculum opportunities provided by exciting learning topics such as 'Pirates' and learn from well-planned visits and the use of visitors. These are employed effectively to support learning in English and mathematics, in addition to developing subject-specific skills well.

• Art, design and technology and physical education (PE) are particularly well developed across the school. A range of detailed and well-observed art work adorns the school. PE training has supported staff effectively in the development of their skills.

As a result, pupils exhibit impressive skills, participation levels and enjoyment. ? We looked together at the development of mathematical skills for the most able children in Reception Year. Published information shows that no child has exceeded the early learning goal in mathematics over time.

However, this does not match with information held by senior leaders. Senior leaders acknowledge their responsibility to check published information to ensure that it is an accurate reflection of pupils' outcomes. ? Early years provides a number-rich environment.

This supports children effectively as they explore mathematical concepts. Children's learning records demonstrate a range of appropriate and well-linked activities to develop and extend their mathematical understanding. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the processes for identification and consequent evaluation of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are refined ? all required information is available and kept up to date on the school's website.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Southampton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Deborah Gordon Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection I met with you, members of the governing body, staff, and a representative of the local authority.

I reviewed documentation including: information about pupils' achievement; the school improvement plan; and safeguarding checks, policies and procedures. Together, we visited classes across the school. In lessons, I observed pupils learning, looked at their books and spoke to pupils about their work.

I had a meeting with pupils to gather their views of the school. I took into account the views of parents I met on the playground, and considered 31 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View, including 18 free-text comments. I also considered the school's own survey information.

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