Eastwick Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Eastwick Infant School continues to be a good school. It has some outstanding features. These are underpinned by the headteacher's unflinching vision for improvement, a nurturing ethos and the emphasis on the role of all staff in promoting extremely positive attitudes towards learning and high aspirations.

The high level of pastoral care, guidance and support and the impact of the 'values education programme' ensure pupils feel really safe, enjoy school and have an excellent understanding of healthy living. This is reflected in their high levels of attendance and excellent behaviour. These features support good learning and contribute to pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural developm...ent.

They show an excellent understanding of local, national and global perspectives through working with their peers in the specially resourced unit, and with other children in the confederation and from Brazil. Pupils play a very active role in the local community and the school council has a strong pupil voice. Relationships and engagement with parents and carers are excellent, as are partnerships with other schools and specialists.

Pupils' excellent personal development and their acquisition of a wide range of skills ensure they are very well prepared for the move to junior school. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make good progress. This is built on well throughout the school, so that pupils leave with overall attainment that is significantly above average and, for a few, high.

Rigorous checks on pupils' progress and measures taken to accelerate progress further in reading, and particularly for girls in mathematics, have enabled the school to reduce the gaps in the rates of progress made by both boys and girls. Attainment in mathematics for girls is now higher; pupils' writing skills, especially that of boys, are improving, but at a slower rate, and attainment is not as high as it is in reading and mathematics. Pupils in the unit generally make good progress in line with their peers, because of good support and specialist teaching.

However, when integrated in mainstream classes, the level of support and teaching is not always as well matched to their specific individual needs and, consequently, on these occasions, their rate of progress slows. Other pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points, because of well-targeted interventions, support, excellent care and guidance. Staff have created a well-resourced, attractive and positive learning environment.

The curriculum motivates and engages pupils' interests and is enriched through many popular after-school clubs, visits and visitors. Teaching is typically good with some exemplary practice. In the strongest lessons, expectations are challenging, pupils are motivated and keen to learn, although this good practice is not always sufficiently widely shared.

In a small minority of lessons, pupils spend too long listening to instructions, limiting their active participation and occasionally, the pace of learning slows and activities do not excite sufficiently to support writing. Leaders have identified this issue and training has been put in place to remedy it. The establishment of a new leadership structure has successfully secured sophisticated and accurate self-evaluation procedures and robust data analysis.

Governors are insightful and vigorous in challenging school performance. The school has built on and consolidated its previous strengths well, including a notable improvement in care, guidance and support, resulting in pupils' excellent personal development. Consequently, it has a good capacity for further improvement.

Information about the school

Eastwick Infant School is larger than most infant schools. Most pupils are White British, although a small number are from other ethnic heritages. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average.

The proportion of those with special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average. The school has a specially resourced provision (unit) for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities for 22 pupils on the school roll. This and a breakfast club and after-school club are managed by the governing body.

The school shares the site with a junior school and is part of a confederation comprised of 11 local schools. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in three separate Reception classes. The school has several awards reflecting its commitment to promoting healthy living and environmental awareness.

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