Kirk Sandall Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has been through recent changes to leadership and governance. Staff say the new trust is bringing increased training opportunities and a greater sense of purpose.

Leaders realise there is much to do to ensure that all pupils learn to read as soon as they should. Most pupils enjoy the topic-based curriculum, which makes links between pupils' learning in different subjects. However, pupils with lower prior attainment, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not always supported well enough.

Staff do not have equally high expectations for all pupils. This means that some are not fully involved in their learning and, at ti...mes, they switch off. The gap widens between the most and least able pupils.

Pupils show respect for each other and are well mannered. Adults create a nurturing environment built on positive relationships. Pupils say they feel safe and are comfortable to approach staff with any concerns.

They trust adults to deal with any rare incidents of bullying swiftly and effectively.Pupils develop important skills for life. They enjoy responsibilities, such as supporting the headteacher with planning and delivering assemblies.

They learn to overcome difficulties, such as with their 'marvellous mistakes' in mathematics. They enjoy yoga sessions which support their mental well-being.

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

Standards have declined since the last inspection of the predecessor school.

Joining the multi-academy trust in September 2019 has created greater capacity to support the school's development. A newly formed governing body is now in place. Leaders and governors have raised the expectations of staff and pupils.

Middle leaders are being supported to be able to check the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning. These measures are in the early stages. It is too early to see the impact on pupils' achievement.

Leaders know that reading is an urgent priority for improvement. The phonics programme is not effective enough. Staff have not had the training they need to implement it with enough expertise to meet the needs of all pupils.

Staff do not always make the best activity choices or use of resources to make sure that pupils get enough practice in each phonics session. The books that pupils use to practise reading are not always matched to their phonics knowledge. Staff encourage pupils to revert to other strategies, such as guessing from the picture, when they come across words containing sounds they have not been taught.

Pupils who struggle to learn to read, including those with SEND, are not being supported effectively. They are not reading with the accuracy needed to help them become fluent readers. This is hindering them from being able to access the full curriculum.

Leaders want to instil a love of reading in pupils. They make sure that books are a central part of pupils' learning in the early years and key stage 1. For example, in Year 1, the current topic is centred around the Paddington story.

Pupils talked about this with enthusiasm, explaining where Paddington came from and how he was a stowaway. However, too often, story times are interrupted by discussion and introduction of new vocabulary. Several pupils give up as they lose the thread of the story and do not have any ideas to contribute.

The curriculum for mathematics is developing well. Leaders and staff have received training in the school's approach. Pupils build on their prior learning in carefully sequenced units of work.

They spend lots of time developing fluency in the basic number facts they need to perform more complex calculations. Teachers use ongoing assessment well to identify aspects of pupils' learning which need further consolidation.

In subjects other than English and mathematics, leaders are working on developing the curriculum.

Pupils' personal development is considered well. However, in both the early years and key stage 1, leaders' plans for many subjects do not identify the important things that pupils need to learn and remember. For example, in science, the specific names of trees, plants and animals and their young, which pupils should know, are not identified.

While pupils learn about seasonal changes, they have not secured the understanding they need to be able to recognise signs of springtime.Pupils with SEND are not always supported as well as they should be. Some pupils, and in particular boys and those who are disadvantaged or those with SEND, do not spend enough time participating in lessons.

This means they do not secure their basic skills well enough. Teaching strategies are often better suited to the most able pupils who can readily build on their existing knowledge. Others, who have less background knowledge to draw upon, are left unable to access their learning.

Pupils behave sensibly in lessons and as they move around school. They are caring and supportive of each other.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a vigilant culture of safeguarding. Staff receive the training they need to be able to recognise and report any signs of concern. Leaders respond effectively.

They make sure that pupils are safe and get the help and support they need.

Leaders' regular 'one-minute guides' provide helpful reminders to staff about pertinent issues. This makes sure that safeguarding remains high profile.

Leaders also use the curriculum to address the safeguarding issues which pupils are sometimes exposed to in the local area.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The teaching of early reading needs urgent improvement. Some pupils are not developing reading accuracy quickly enough.

This means they struggle to access the wider curriculum. Leaders should review the whole English curriculum. They should pay particular attention to the experience of pupils with lower prior attainment, including those with SEND, so that all pupils learn to read with fluency as soon as they should.

Leaders should make sure that the approach to teaching phonics is consistent and that all aspects of the national curriculum for word reading are in place. Pupils who fall behind the pace of the programme should receive additional, targeted support to help them keep up. All staff who teach phonics should be trained so that they have the expertise to implement the school's programme effectively.

Leaders should review story time to make sure all pupils are immersed in poems, rhymes, stories and non-fiction. They should make sure that there is a structured approach to helping all pupils develop an understanding of key vocabulary which staff have identified as important. .

Leadership of the foundation subjects and science is in an early stage of development. Leaders must ensure that curriculum plans, for early years and key stage 1, identify the important knowledge and understanding which pupils should gain. Knowledge should be sequenced effectively so that pupils learn the necessary components to help them achieve the expected end points.

Subject leaders should develop their ability to make checks on how well the intended curriculum is being implemented. They should pay particular attention to how well pupils with lower prior attainment are accessing their learning and securing their understanding. Staff should have high expectations of pupils' learning behaviours so that all pupils fully participate in lessons and are successful in their learning.

. Governance arrangements are very new. The trust should make sure that leaders are well supported and increasingly held to account for improving pupils' outcomes.