Bursledon Church of England Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Bursledon Church of England Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They say their teachers are kind and care for them. The school values, 'love, respect, aspire', teach pupils to be kind to one another and to be the best they can be.

Pupils learn to embrace diversity and make sure to include everyone. As one child said, 'It does not matter if you are different, everyone is happy here.'

Pupils learn how to be a good friend.

Bullying is rare. Leaders and staff have high expectations about how all pupils behave. Pupils understand these expectations and behave well.

They make sure they ...make 'green choices' and avoid making 'red choices'. Classrooms buzz with eager learning. Staff deal with any low-level disruption quickly, with no fuss.

Leaders investigate any behaviour incidents well. They quickly spot any pupil who needs extra help in learning how to behave and manage their emotions. Staff understand pupils' triggers and give the right support.

The vast majority of parents and carers are positive about the school. They appreciate the workshops that help them understand how their children are learning. One parent wrote, summing up the views of many, 'The school is a wonderfully nurturing, warm, kind environment.'



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

Leaders make sure that pupils 'learn to read' and 'love to read'. Daily story time captivates pupils. Reception children love joining in with repeated words and phrases in known stories.

Teachers support children's language development well. Children flourish in the early years. They learn to think for themselves and ask the right questions.

As soon as children join Reception, they learn the sounds letters make. Very quickly children learn to blend these sounds together to make words. Staff are well trained and confident in teaching phonics.

Pupils read books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. Teachers make good use of information from pupils' phonics assessments. Pupils get the extra help they need to keep up as staff know exactly what to focus on.

Pupils enjoy mathematics. Their work shows that teachers know the steps in learning that pupils need to understand. Teachers explain new ideas clearly.

They know what misconceptions pupils may have and look out for them. Following national lockdowns due to COVID-19, teachers considered carefully any gaps in pupils' understanding. Teachers ensure that pupils have the foundations secure, ready for the next stage in their education.

Leaders are working on clarifying what teachers must teach in some foundation subjects for early years to Year 2. They have not finished yet. Leaders have not yet fully identified the core concepts that pupils need to learn.

This means that sometimes teachers are not precisely sure what to focus on. Pupils do not always develop and remember their learning fully. For example, in geography, pupils can only recall limited details of some locations that they have studied.

Sometimes, assessment does not tie closely enough to the curriculum to check the depth of pupils' understanding. Leaders have a clear vision and effective plans in place to improve this.Staff identify swiftly those pupils who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders have recently reviewed the provision these pupils receive. They have raised teachers' expectations of pupils with SEND and coached staff into better understanding how to adapt learning for this group of pupils. In English and mathematics, this has worked effectively and pupils with SEND learn well.

This is not as consistently successful in the foundation subjects.Leaders make sure they broaden pupils' experiences and deepen learning through an extensive range of trips, visitors and enrichment days. Pupils cherish these memories.

They love recording them in their 'Burlesdon passport'.Pupils like helping their community, such as through fundraising for local charities. They enjoy the leadership roles they have in the federation.

Currently, school council are working with their Member of Parliament to improve road safety in the local area.The current leadership team have a drive and determination that pupils will achieve well. There have been many changes recently to improve teaching and learning in a short space of time.

These changes are successful and making a difference to pupils. Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics. Staff appreciate the professional development they get to improve their skill set.

A small number of teachers voiced concerns about workload. Leaders and governors know that there is more to do to support teachers further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. They are well trained. Leaders make sure that staff receive regular safeguarding updates.

This keeps their knowledge current.

Staff are vigilant. They know how to log any worries they have.

Leaders follow up on any concerns swiftly and thoroughly. There is strong communication between the staff responsible for safeguarding.

Leaders make sure that pupils learn about keeping safe.

For example, pupils know not to share their name, address and date of birth online.

At the start of the inspection, some safeguarding checks on staff and governors were missing. This was quickly rectified during the inspection.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some foundation subjects. This hinders teachers from focusing on the right concepts to make sure that pupils learn and remember key content over time. It is clear from leaders' actions that they are in the process of bringing this about.

For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied. Leaders should continue with their plans to ensure that pupils' learning, from early years to Year 2, is coherently sequenced, with key knowledge identified. ? Not all staff consistently use their recent training to take account of the needs of pupils with SEND in foundation subjects.

This means that these pupils do not always learn as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers always have high expectations for these pupils and the expertise to best deliver their learning.

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

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2013.

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