Carr Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Carr Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school at the very heart of its community. Leaders have ensured that relationships between the staff and families are strong. This sense of partnership impacts positively on pupils.

Staff model the behaviours and attitudes they want pupils to have and pupils respond enthusiastically to these high expectations. Pupils work hard in their lessons and are keen to talk about their learning.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about how staff keep their children safe.

Pupils are safe and talk about how they feel cared for by adults. They know that adults are the...re to help them. Staff support pupils to be independent.

This includes the youngest pupils in school, who put their own cups and cutlery away after their lunch. All pupils show politeness and respect for the staff who support them. Pupils are taught how to identify bullying and whom to report it to if they see it.

However, they say that bullying does not happen.

Pupils behave in a calm and orderly way. Adults talk to pupils with respect, kindness and a deep sense of care.

Pupils speak to each other in the way in which adults speak to them. Staff work with skill and compassion to help pupils manage their behaviour.

Trips, visitors and other experiences support and enrich what pupils are taught.

For example, pupils had a visit from the fire service to talk about how fire spreads in order to build on their knowledge of the Great Fire of London. Subject leaders are in the early stages of developing assessment in the wider curriculum. The new phonics curriculum is still in its infancy.

Leaders are aware of the need to embed their new approach quickly, so that all pupils receive precise and focused teaching.

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

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. They have made significant improvements to the curriculum in a short space of time.

The curriculum is well sequenced. This helps pupils build on their existing knowledge over time. For example, in geography, pupils learn about the different continents.

They then learn about bridges in different parts of the world, revisiting the continents in which these have been built. In some lessons, teachers do not accurately check what pupils know and can remember. This means that there are some gaps in pupils' knowledge that are not picked up and addressed as quickly as they could be.

Leaders understand the importance of teaching pupils to read. Leaders have introduced a new phonics curriculum and this is taught from when children enter the school in Reception. The phonics curriculum is in the process of becoming fully embedded.

There are occasions in lessons when teachers do not precisely model or assess some aspects of the teaching of reading. Assessment systems are in place to identify and support pupils who need extra support with their reading. Leaders are aware of the importance of all staff who deliver these support sessions being experts in early reading.

They are putting in further training to ensure that all adults are able to deliver early reading effectively. A love of reading is promoted across the school. Pupils talk about books enthusiastically.

Reading corners in classrooms are attractive and enticing for pupils.

The identification of, and support for, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are a priority. Pupils with SEND are given targeted support that is well matched to their needs.

Leaders and teachers make sure that the impact of this support is measured, so that they know whether it is making a difference to the pupils. Leaders have shown tenacity in making sure that external agencies are used well to support pupils who have the most extreme needs.

Leaders develop pupils' character well.

The caring and nurturing ethos of the school contributes to this development. Pupils are taught the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe. This includes learning the correct names for body parts and how to stay safe when online.

Pupils have a strong sense of how to identify, report and challenge bullying. Pupils talk with maturity and understanding about same-sex families, people with disabilities and others with protected characteristics. They understand how some people are discriminated against and can also explain why this is wrong and what to do about it.

Staff feel well supported by leaders. They report how leaders at all levels are considerate of their workload and well-being. Governors are committed to the school and its community.

They understand the strengths of their school and the areas that need further development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding.

All staff know what to be alert to. They know the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect. Systems are in place to identify and support pupils at risk of harm.

Strong relationships between staff and families allow for an understanding of different family circumstances and any support or help these families might need. Leaders make sure that all staff have had the training they need to understand risks to pupils and families.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some aspects of the teaching of phonics are not as well embedded as they could be.

As a result, in phonics lessons, some pupils do not have precise methods of segmenting and blending modelled to them. This increases the risk of pupils developing misconceptions that may go unaddressed because teachers are not always sure which parts of words pupils are finding tricky to read. Leaders should ensure that the new approach to phonics is embedded with total consistency, so that all key elements are modelled with precision by all adults.

• Assessment is not consistently and systematically used in lessons to check the understanding of pupils. It is not used well to identify and address any misconceptions or gaps in pupils' knowledge. This means that gaps in learning for some pupils who are working below the level of their peers are not identified or closed as quickly as they could be.

Leaders should ensure that there are clear assessment strategies in place for teachers to use during lessons. This will help them to identify the gaps in knowledge or misconceptions and to address these quickly.

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 a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2017.

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