Ashbrook Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They appreciate the support they get from their teachers and other staff. Parents and carers feel their children are well looked after.

A comment from one parent, which was typical of many, was: 'Ashbrook Infants is a lovely, caring and nurturing school.'

The motto 'we care, we learn, we have fun' is central to the work of the school. However, while some leaders have high expectations for pupils at the school, not all pupils achieve as well as they could.

This also applies to the wider areas of school life, in particular opportunities to promote pupils' personal development. Pupils and parents say they would like more clubs and... activities beyond the classroom.

Pupils say they feel safe in school.

They know that should bullying happen, adults will deal with it. One pupil said: 'Adults do their best to keep us safe in school.' Pupils play well together and are respectful and tolerant of each other.

Most pupils behave well. However, on occasions, some teachers' expectations for all pupils' behaviour are not high enough. Learning is not always well planned, which can lead to low-level disruption.

This affects learning.

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

Learning to read is a priority. Staff are well trained in the teaching of phonics.

However, not all books match the needs of all pupils. The library has developed pupils' excitement for reading. Pupils are very proud of their space and its new books.

Teachers make reading fun. One pupil said: 'I love reading a lot. I love story time when my teacher reads to me.'



There is a sequenced curriculum. Nevertheless, there is scope for the curriculum to be even more ambitious and extend learning further for some pupils. In some subjects, leaders check if their curriculum is being delivered well.

When it is, pupils talk enthusiastically about what they have learned and created. For example, in art, pupils talk eagerly about how they applied their sketching knowledge in the images they created of the three little pigs. However, in some subjects the planned curriculum is not being delivered as consistently well as in others.

This means there are gaps in some pupils' knowledge, and they cannot remember some of the curriculum content that they have been taught.

Children settle well in the nursery and early years. Adults quickly establish routines to ensure that classrooms are calm spaces.

However, not all children make as much progress as they could. In some areas of the curriculum, plans are too vague and lack detail. This means teachers cannot easily check what children know or remember.

Expectations for what children can do are not always high enough. While children work independently and collaboratively, activities are not always linked to past and future learning. Relationships between adults and children are respectful.

Parents are well informed. One parent said: 'Transition was smooth and easy for my child. She enjoys going to school every day.'



Leaders want all pupils to achieve well. This includes the most disadvantaged and those who have a special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most cases, teachers make adaptations to ensure that pupils with SEND are suitably supported.

However, systems for the early identification of pupils with SEND, and also the review processes for these pupils, are not rigorous enough. Support is not always sharply focused because identified targets are too vague.

Pupils believe behaviour is good in school.

They recognise rules are there to help everyone learn more. Pupils get on well together. They are respectful to each other and to adults.

Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend regularly. However, leaders do not provide sufficient support for staff in order to deal with some challenging behaviour. Some staff lack the necessary training to deal with some pupils' behaviour.

Pupils are tolerant of each other. They learn to recognise the importance of being different. One pupil said: 'It doesn't matter if people look different or are different.

It matters if they are nice or mean.'

Leaders ensure that pupils learn the importance of good mental health. The nurture support for pupils enables them to explore their emotions and understand them.

However, since the three national lockdowns, the range of opportunities for pupils' talents and interests to be developed and nurtured is not wide enough. Pupils have limited access to extra-curricular clubs.

Senior leaders are mindful of staff workload.

One member of staff stated: 'Leaders do everything in their power to reduce workload as much as possible.' However, some staff have too many responsibilities. This makes it hard to undertake some roles well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff receive regular training. They check that staff understand how to spot signs of potential abuse.

Reporting of any incidents is rigorous and robust. Record-keeping is effective. Leaders make regular checks on these records.

They are vigilant to possible patterns or trends. Regular safeguarding meetings ensure that staff have the knowledge to keep all pupils safe. Leaders are tenacious in ensuring that external agencies provide the support pupils need.

Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They know what bullying is. They know how to keep themselves safe online and in the community.

The school's nurture provision provides pupils with a safe space.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have designed and implemented a curriculum that matches the scope of the national curriculum. For some pupils, it is not ambitious enough.

There is scope for the curriculum to be even more ambitious and extend learning further for some pupils. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is as ambitious as it can be for all pupils. ? Not all staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

As a consequence, low-level disruption occurs in some classes, and it is not always addressed quickly enough. Leaders need to ensure that all staff consistently deal with low-level disruption. ? In the early years, not all children make as much progress as they could.

Long-term curriculum thinking lacks the necessary detail for teachers to make meaningful checks on what children know and remember of the curriculum. This means teachers do not always identify where there are gaps in learning or how to address them. Leaders should ensure that there is greater detail within the early years curriculum so that staff can identify specifically what children know and can do.

• Systems for the early identification of pupils with SEND, and also the review processes for these pupils, are not rigorous enough. As a consequence, the needs of some pupils with SEND are not clearly communicated efficiently and some do not receive the support they need quickly enough. Leaders should ensure that pupils' needs are quickly identified, that this information is efficiently communicated, and that teachers swiftly respond to pupils' needs.

• The range of opportunities for pupils' talents and interests to be developed and nurtured is not wide enough. As a consequence, some pupils' experiences for personal development are limited. Leaders need to ensure that the school provides further opportunities for pupils to engage with extra-curricular activity and that the most disadvantaged pupils consistently benefit from this.

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