Ludlow Infant Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ludlow Infant Academy continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Beverley Corbin. This school is part of Hamwic Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Robert Farmer, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Alice Wrighton.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are put at the heart of this school, where leaders insist on getting it right for every child. The school's values of 'learn, inspire, achieve' are central to everything the school does.

Pupils relish learning. They enjoy the work they do because it is interesting... and challenges them. They relish the experiences that help to bring their learning to life, such as visits to a farm, an art gallery and the fire brigade.

Pupils are happy, confident and feel safe. There is no place for bullying in this school. Pupils, parents and the school are clear that it does not happen.

Pupils also learn how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Staff thoughtfully help pupils to develop their resilience and independence. This helps pupils to achieve well.

Pupils' behaviour is incredibly positive. Pupils play well together on the playground, using the equipment considerately. In lessons, pupils listen and learn well.

They are cooperative and polite and share equipment to help them learn more. There is no low-level disruption in lessons because pupils understand and follow the school's 'Super Seven' learning behaviours. Pupils know how adults support them to behave well.

They feel proud when the school shares their good work and behaviour with their parents.

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

Reading has high priority here. Pupils are confident readers who read with increasing fluency.

Reading is a core part of the school day, where pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure. Children in the early years begin learning phonics straight away. Pupils' knowledge of sounds and letters develops quickly, building their confidence in exploring texts and stories.

The school has ensured that all adults are well trained to teach phonics. Staff know how to check what the pupils know and can do, so adults can swiftly intervene to ensure any pupils who fall behind catch up quickly. All pupils read daily in school, and the books they read are precisely matched to the sounds they know.

Pupils love hearing stories and joining in with the daily story time.Pupils learn well, developing the knowledge they need for the next stage of their education. This is because leaders have planned an interesting curriculum around the important knowledge they want pupils to learn.

There are deliberate opportunities for pupils to revisit this knowledge. Pupils call this 'sticky knowledge'. Older pupils say that when they revisit topics it helps them remember securely what has been learned.

However, in some lessons, the activities selected by staff do not always help pupils learn the intended knowledge as well as they could. An example of this is the teaching of some of the identified key subject vocabulary. As a result, some pupils do not always use the correct key vocabulary across the full curriculum.

Pupils are confident learners who know what actions they need to take to be successful. An example of this can be seen in mathematics lessons. Each day, pupils value watching adults model how to work through problems first.

Pupils then practise in pairs and groups before the teacher skilfully moves them on to more complex tasks when they are ready.Younger pupils keenly describe and retell stories. Adults model good word choices when they are talking about characters.

As a result, children have imaginative conversations about the stories they are reading and use the words they have learned in their own writing.Pupils with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from a personalised curriculum, tailored to meet their needs. These pupils are making progress, as they are skilfully supported by adults and have personalised learning plans.

Leaders have worked with specialists to develop this provision and continue to monitor its impact.Attendance is a high priority for the school. Robust and rigorous monitoring processes are in place.

The school is knowledgeable about the barriers to good attendance that some families face. There is a sharp focus on making sure pupils and families receive the support they need to secure good attendance.Pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences.

Older pupils appreciate the opportunity to be lunch monitors. They enjoy the clubs and trips, as well as the experts who visit their school to tell them more about their jobs. The school has designed a curriculum that supports personal development and growth.

Pupils can explain with confidence how they can keep themselves healthy.Staff value how leaders at all levels support them every day. They find the 'open door' policy and the opportunities they receive for training and development particularly helpful.

Staff feel that this support helps them to continue to develop the provision in ensuring pupils benefit from a very positive education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, activities do not consistently help some pupils to learn and apply subject-specific vocabulary.

As a result, these pupils are not deepening their understanding as much as they could. The school needs to continue to support staff in developing the curriculum securely and consistently in every subject.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2018.