Bushfield Road Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are kind, polite and respectful.

They are enthusiastic and positive about their learning. They move around school calmly and there are strong routines in place to support this. Pupils look for opportunities to help each other.

Pupils feel safe. They know who to report any worries to and know that concerns will be dealt with by adults in school. Pupils who need extra help with behaviour are supported effectively.

Pupils understand what bullying is but they are confident that it does not happen. There is a sense of community within the school.

Children in the early years do not get a good start to their education.

The ...curriculum that children learn is not clear or ambitious enough so that they are as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of their education.

Leaders care about the pupils and families linked to the school. They want to give pupils the best.

However, the curriculum is not carefully enough considered or constructed to give pupils the chance to build their knowledge and understanding over time. Leaders do not have a clear picture of the overall quality of the curriculum and its impact on pupils. Reading is prioritised but the focus on ensuring that the lowest attaining readers are supported to catch up with their peers is not sharp enough.

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

Pupils are taught to read from the beginning of Reception. The school follows its own phonics curriculum. Staff have received training to teach the programme.

The books that pupils read match the sounds they are taught. However, the lowest attaining pupils do not receive the targeted and timely support they need to become fluent readers. Pupils enjoy regular story time and are exposed to a wide range of different stories.

The knowledge leaders want pupils to learn in wider curriculum subjects, such as history, is not clear. Learning is sometimes based on the activities pupils should complete rather than a consideration of how planned activities support pupils to acquire more knowledge.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified and supported.

Leaders, including leaders of SEND, do not have a clear oversight of their areas of responsibility and how well these are being delivered. There are inconsistencies in teaching across the school that leaders are unaware of. These inconsistencies have a direct effect on the experiences of pupils in their learning.

Leaders build positive relationships with parents of children in the early years. Children enjoy coming to school. They feel happy and safe.

Some recent improvements to the early years provision in nursery are making a difference. For example, there has been a focus on supporting staff to use more ambitious vocabulary with children. However, the early years curriculum and the vocabulary leaders want staff to use with children is not clearly defined or understood by staff across the early years.

The interactions between staff and children in classrooms vary in quality. Leaders have identified that developing high-quality vocabulary and supporting pupils with their speech and language is a priority. This priority is not reflected within the environment and provision that pupils experience.

Pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of their education.

Pupils develop a clear sense of right and wrong. They understand how to keep themselves safe online and how to keep mentally and physical healthy.

They know that it is OK to be different. Leaders use external agencies to support the school's work on important issues such as safe touch, consent, privacy, and different types of families. Leaders have not consulted with parents on the content of the school's relationships and sex education (RSE) policy.

Governors hold leaders to account for the spending of additional funding, such as the sport premium and pupil premium. They receive information from school leaders about the impact and quality of the curriculum. However, this information does not identify the areas of the school's performance that governors should focus on.

The systems for allowing leaders to check on how well their subjects are being taught are not well developed. Teachers do not have enough detail about what pupils need to be learning and when. Governors are beginning to challenge leaders on the quality of education pupils receive.

The depth and precision of this challenge are limited because of the lack of detailed information governors receive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There are clear systems in place for identifying families and pupils requiring support.

Leaders ensure that staff receive training to understand the local safeguarding risks. Staff understand the systems for reporting safeguarding concerns. Leaders use external agencies when pupils and families need more support.

Leaders show tenacity if they feel a family needs more support from external agencies but is not receiving it. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe online. Governors understand how they contribute to a culture of safeguarding within school.

Leaders build strong relationships with families. This contributes to a culture of safeguarding in school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The lowest attaining readers are not supported as well as they could be.

Leaders have not developed appropriate systems to assess or determine in detail the specific gaps pupils have in their phonics knowledge. As a result, the children who need the most support with reading do not receive the precise support they need. The systems and processes for leaders, including leaders of SEND, to monitor and evaluate the impact of their work are not well defined or established.

As a result, leaders at all levels do not have enough detail or information about the impact of their work on children's learning to bring about improvements for pupils. Leaders should ensure that middle leaders have systems, processes and time to oversee and monitor their areas of responsibility and use this information to inform school improvement. ? In wider curriculum subjects such as history, the important knowledge and vocabulary leaders wish for pupils to learn is not clearly defined.

As a result, there are inconsistencies across classes as to how the curriculum is interpreted and taught. Leaders should ensure that the knowledge and vocabulary pupils need in each subject is clear so that teachers can use this to inform their planning and provide pupils with the opportunities to build their knowledge over time. ? Leaders have not consulted with parents and carers on the school's RSE policy.

As a result, parents are not well informed on the content of this element of the curriculum. Parents have not had the opportunity to feed back to leaders. Leaders should ensure that they consult with parents urgently about the school's RSE policy and take note of their comments and feedback when refining and adapting the policy prior to implementation.

• The early years curriculum and the adult interactions when supporting children do not help children as well as they could. As a result, children are not sufficiently prepared for the next stage of their education. Leaders should ensure that the early years curriculum and the interactions staff have with children are well considered so that children are ready for the next stage of their education based on their starting points.