Marshchapel Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Marshchapel Infant School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Marshchapel Infant School is at the centre of its local community. It has built very special and strong relationships with pupils and its families.

Pupils thrive because of the high expectations staff have of them. They want to do their best. Pupils show pride in their work and confidently talk about their learning.

Staff know the pupils well and provide precise help. Therefore, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), get the support that they need to succeed.

Pupils ...enjoy a range of extra-curricular opportunities.

These include theatre visits, visiting a fishing trawler and shopping at a local store. Alongside regular after-school activities, developing positive character traits is an important part of the school's work. As a result, the school develops pupils' character and confidence well.

This is evident in how pupils behave and work together.

Pupils are very proud of their school and describe it as a 'place with special friends'. Pupils play well together and enjoy their social time.

Pupils are respectful to each other and adults alike. They all say that they feel safe and have a trusted adult that they can talk to if they have a worry. Behaviour across the school is excellent.

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

Pupils practise their phonics with well-matched reading books and writing tasks. This helps them to become confident readers. They rapidly identify when pupils are at risk of falling behind with their reading.

Teachers provide extra support to make sure that all pupils can keep up. Pupils enjoy their visits to the school library and can name their favourite authors. They learn to read well and access a wide range of texts.

Since the last inspection, the school has refined and developed the curriculum. It is well-sequenced and built into carefully considered topics. The school has identified the important knowledge that it wants the pupils to learn.

This ensures that pupils, including those with SEND, can access the curriculum fully. Staff adapt the curriculum carefully to ensure that all pupils can access the learning. Typically, they design activities so that pupils practise their new skills.

However, on some occasions, pupils' work does not always match the learning aims as closely as it could. Teachers do not always ensure that learning activities are closely matched to what pupils need to learn.

The school has prioritised the teaching of mathematical knowledge.

Pupils quickly secure maths concepts and skills. Teachers regularly check pupils' understanding before moving on. When they spot a misconception, teachers put extra resources or help in place.

For example, adults use cubes to support pupils to group numbers or break calculations down into smaller steps. This helps pupils to understand and secure new ideas.

Children in the early years get off to a strong start.

The environment is bright and welcoming and set out to ensure that children develop their independence. The curriculum supports their personal and social skills, such as sharing toys and working together. Children's listening skills are strengthened with regular stories and rhymes.

The school's personal development offer is a strength of the school. Pupils know the value of leading a healthy lifestyle with the 'right exercise and right food'. It is an inclusive school.

Pupils know the importance of 'treating everyone the same' and that bullying is not tolerated. They learn about a range of world faiths and describe the key features, such as recalling the story of the Ramayana. Pupils learn about inspiring people from history, such as Rosa Parks, and describe how she made the world a better place.

The school ensures that the pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

The school has put careful plans in place to support pupils to transition to the next phase of their education, such as regular visits to the local junior school. Leaders have a sharp focus on attendance.

As a result, it has improved for all pupils with carefully constructed personalised plans.

Governors know and understand their statutory duties well. They support and challenge the leadership of the school to ensure that they remain focused on school improvement.

Staff feel very proud to work at the school and be part of the 'Marshchapel family'. They feel that leaders and governors support their workload and well-being. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

They value how the school 'makes learning fun' and 'goes above and beyond' for the pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, the learning activities do not support pupils in achieving the curriculum intentions.

When this happens, pupils do not acquire some important knowledge. The school should ensure that activities support pupils more effectively in learning what they need to know. This is so they can achieve as well as they can.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness on 5 and 6 March 2019.