Long Ditton Infant and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Long Ditton Infant and Nursery is a good school. It has made good improvements since the last inspection and there are now some outstanding elements to its work.

Outstanding care, guidance and support make a valuable contribution to pupils' personal development. Strong partnerships have been established with parents and carers. Parents are supportive and are very pleased with the care and education provided.

Typical comments included, 'Good school where children feel protected and nurtured', 'Fantastic school' and 'We chose this school because of its good reputation'. Pupils achieve well because of good teaching and a varied curriculum. By the end of Year 2, attainment is high in reading, wri...ting and mathematics.

Pupils are therefore well prepared for their next school. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage get off to a good start. They make outstanding progress in their personal development and good progress in other areas of learning.

Pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the more able, make good progress in Years 1 and 2. Good assessment and well-focused teaching of reading and writing contribute to this. Investigative and practical approaches in mathematics enable pupils to acquire and apply numeracy skills well.

Teachers share the purpose of lessons effectively with the class. Explanations, demonstrations and instructions promote learning well. Tasks are usually suitably matched to pupils' needs, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics.

However, there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, and learning can decline to satisfactory levels in a small minority of lessons when tasks are not challenging enough and when pupils are not sufficiently involved in their learning. Pupils feel extremely safe at school because of the positive atmosphere and the first-rate attention to safeguarding. They show an excellent understanding of how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Behaviour is good overall in lessons and around the school. Community cohesion is promoted well and pupils benefit from initiatives such as International Week and a partnership with a primary school in Malawi. They make good contributions to the school and to the wider community.

The headteacher provides good leadership and direction. She and the staff are firmly committed to all pupils doing their best. Self-evaluation is accurate in most aspects of the school's work.

The findings are used well to inform improvement planning. Some key leaders are new to their posts. There are clear plans to develop their roles, but they are not fully involved in monitoring, evaluating and improving performance.

Since the last inspection pupils' attainment has risen from above average to high. Boys and less able pupils are now making good progress because of the action taken by the school. Care, guidance and support have improved from good to outstanding.

The school demonstrates a good capacity for further development.

Information about the school

This is an average-sized school. About two thirds of the pupils are from a White British heritage.

Other pupils are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average. These needs and disabilities include moderate learning, speech, language and communication difficulties.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. There is Early Years Foundation Stage provision for 52 part-time children in Nursery and 60 full-time children in Reception. An onsite breakfast club is managed by a private organisation and was not part of the inspection.

Also at this postcode