Nether Green Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Nether Green Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. The attendance of pupils is good.

Staff expectations of behaviour are high, and pupils meet these expectations. Pupils are welcoming to visitors and are proud to talk about how good their school is.

All staff work hard to meet the needs of every child, however diverse those needs are.

This is a caring, nurturing and inclusive school. Parents' responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire were overwhelmingly positive.

Expectations of what pupils can achieve are high.

Curriculums are well planned to help pupils reach these ...expectations. Leaders ensure that pupils have lots of opportunities to learn more about the world in which they live. Visitors come into school, such as police officers, fire fighters and dentists, to help pupils learn about people who help them and how to look after themselves and others.

The youngest children willingly help their friends with buttons when getting changed independently for physical education lessons.

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

Leaders plan opportunities to help pupils to become valuable members of British society. Trips for pupils are organised so that they enhance the learning in the classroom.

This includes visiting a nearby castle and botanical gardens. Pupils have endless opportunities to find new interests in all aspects of learning. Pupils celebrate World Music Day.

This year, a visiting professional violinist performed 'Peter in the Wolf'. This visit linked with learning in lessons. Pupils get endless opportunities to grow and shine, such as in their termly concerts and clubs, including the choir.

Parents comment positively about the number of after-school clubs available. Leaders ensure that these clubs are accessible for all.

Pupils in school have access to books all day and every day.

A well-equipped library and class libraries mean that pupils can choose from a wide range of books, both fiction and non-fiction. Teachers focus on authors, such as Julia Donaldson and Eric Carle, to widen children's experiences and to promote a love of reading. Phonics is well taught.

Excellent routines are established as soon as children start school. This helps them to become confident readers, communicators and mathematicians. Those pupils who need it are given extra support to help them become confident and fluent readers.

Leaders have planned curriculums so that pupils develop knowledge over time. Great care is taken to ensure that what pupils have learned before helps them to understand new learning. Subject leaders are knowledgeable.

They are continually thinking of ways to improve teaching and learning. Pupils remember what they have learned. Younger children learn in a well-organised learning environment where adult interactions are highly valuable.

They speak enthusiastically about their learning. Older pupils talk about how they learn about the past through sources such as 'The Diary of Samuel Pepys'. Subject leaders provide highly detailed guidance for class teachers to outline the important knowledge and vocabulary they want pupils to learn.

On some occasions, teaching activities do not enable pupils to secure intended knowledge as well as they could.

Staff benefit from effective training and support, which helps them to carry out their roles effectively. Leaders consider their workload and well-being and treat them with respect.

Pupils and younger children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn alongside their peers in the classroom or in the newly established Butterflies room. All adults take great care to meet the sometimes very diverse needs of pupils with SEND. Relationships are strong, and adults know pupils with SEND well.

Pupils make the small steps in progress that they need through the curriculum. On occasion, the needs of some pupils with more complex needs are not met as well as they could be. Leaders are continuing to explore strategies to be able to meet the needs of pupils with SEND further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are some occasions where the activities that pupils are set in lessons do not enable them to learn the intended knowledge as well as they could. The school should work with staff to enhance the implementation of the curriculum further so that the tasks pupils experience help them to learn consistently well.

• On occasion, the needs of some pupils with more complex needs are not met as well as they could be. The school should continue to build the expertise of staff and explore further support strategies so that the needs of these pupils are better met over time.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2013.