Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school.

They play and learn together extremely well. Relationships between pupils and adults are strong. Pupils are polite, well mannered and get on well with one another.

Bullying is rare. They know that if it does happen, or if they fall out with friends, adults will help them to sort things out.'

Eric the elephant' plays a key role in pupils' time in school.

Pupils delight in collecting tokens when they display one of Eric's characteristics of effort, respect, independence and communication. Pupils know how to show the...se characteristics and are rightly proud when their class wins Eric for the week when they have collected the most tokens.

Pupils' behaviour is calm and purposeful.

Clear routines and adults' high expectations of pupils mean that the school is a very happy and calm environment. If pupils become upset or need time to relax, the Calm Cubby in the playground provides a quiet space. Pupils can recognise their feelings and know what to do if, for example, they feel angry or sad.

Pupils know about, and celebrate, the differences between themselves and others. Through assemblies, pupils develop a secure understanding about people who have different views and beliefs to them.

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

Leaders have a steely determination that all pupils will thrive.

They have created a culture where all adults share this vision. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) experience an ambitious curriculum and learn well.

From the start of their time in Reception, children experience a rich range of books, stories and poems.

Reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils know the better they become at reading, the more they can read and learn about different subjects. Teachers are expert in teaching reading because they have received detailed training.

Most pupils learn to read with confidence and fluency. Those who need extra help with reading receive effective additional support to help them catch up.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge in the subjects they teach.

They skilfully implement the curriculum. Teachers explain concepts clearly and identify quickly if pupils are making mistakes. Pupils remember, apply and practise their new knowledge well.

Adults make effective adaptations to activities if needed, to support pupils with SEND. They learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

Leaders have precisely identified the important vocabulary pupils need to know and remember in different subjects.

This becomes more complex as they move through the school. Pupils use their growing vocabulary to explain their thinking, such as by pupils in Year 1 describing how they know given numbers are larger or smaller than other numbers. Similarly, in history pupils in Year 2 can confidently use chronological language when placing events on a timeline.

Behaviour routines are clear and well established. From the start of their time in school, children in Reception learn to be kind, to listen carefully to adults and try their best. This continues through the school.

As a result, lessons are rarely disturbed.

Children in the new Nursery class are well cared for, happy and enjoy taking part in a variety of activities. The needs of two-year-olds are well met.

Although children learn well, leaders rightly recognise that there is more work to do to improve the Nursery curriculum. They have started to make changes to ensure that the curriculum lays out precisely the knowledge and skills children need to know, remember and be able to do. As the school only took on the Nursery class in September 2022, this work is in the early stages.

There are many and varied opportunities for pupils to widen their experiences. Clubs, such as breakdance, dodgeball and badminton, provide sporting opportunities for pupils. Pupils are proud to represent their school in local competitions, including the recent cross-country inter-school event.

Members of the school council have responsibility to help arrange lunchtime clubs. School councillors are proud to serve in these roles.

Governors have an accurate understanding of the school.

They know what is working well and what can be even better. They provide effective support for leaders but do not shy away from asking challenging questions when needed. They carry out their roles with great diligence and commitment to the school.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They receive high-quality training to help them continually improve their practice. Senior leaders think carefully about staff workload when making changes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a culture of vigilance. Adults know exactly what to do if they have a concern about the welfare of a pupil.

They are well trained, and their knowledge is kept up to date. Governors make regular checks to ensure that leaders are doing all they can to keep pupils safe. When pupils need additional support, leaders are quick to provide this.

Pupils know what they can do to stay safe when they are in public places, such as not run near roads. They have an age-appropriate understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet because adults teach them well.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In the nursery class, there is not yet sufficient clarity about the specific knowledge and skills children need to know, remember and be able to do in the different areas of learning.

Leaders recognise that the curriculum is not as aspirational as they want it to be. Leaders should ensure that they complete the work they have started, to design and implement the Nursery curriculum to help children develop a rich and detailed understanding across all areas of learning by the time they start Reception.

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

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2012.