Netley Abbey Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Netley Abbey Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive happily at school, looking forward to their day ahead. They communicate with each other positively and develop a love for learning.

Pupils understand the importance of healthy lifestyles. They also take an active part in the local community.

Parents are very positive about the school and the education it provides.

Their children have dedicated and caring adults who support them throughout the school day. This is reflected in pupils' positive attitudes. Adults work with skill, compassion and consistency to enable all pupils to succeed.

They encour...age pupils to be independent. Pupils talk positively about how adults help and support them as individuals.

Pupils really enjoy coming to school.

Classrooms are hubs of learning, active children fill the playground and pupils are sociable at lunchtime. All pupils show politeness and respect for adults and classmates. They behave in a calm and orderly way and are keen to get on with their work in class.

Pupils learn how to identify bullying and know what to do if they see someone being unkind. This helps them to feel safe at school.

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

Leaders have high aspirations for all pupils at the school.

The curriculum has been carefully designed, with a clear priority on reading. Leaders have taken decisive action to put in place a new reading scheme. Leaders want pupils to enjoy reading, which they do.

The school has invested heavily in high-quality texts for pupils to both read and listen to. The 'Reading Treasure Trail' has caught the imagination of the pupils, and this incentive is encouraging a genuine love of reading.

In other subjects, leaders support staff to know what to teach and when.

They have created curriculums that ensure pupils learn progressively. However, this is stronger in some subjects than it is in others. Where this is most effective, leaders have identified the knowledge pupils need to learn with great precision.

Lessons are well organised and pupils use practical resources appropriately. Pupils' work shows that they build on their previous learning. Staff check pupils' understanding of what they have learned diligently.

This process is purposeful in helping teachers to identify what pupils need to learn next.

Staff support pupils with specific needs well, giving careful consideration to make the learning accessible to all. Some pupils need extra support to access the curriculum, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those with particular behavioural needs.

The school supports these pupils effectively, in collaboration with their families.

Pupils' behaviour is strong. Leaders ensure that there is a consistent approach to managing behaviour well across the school.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' behaviour and model this in their own conduct. Pupils' behaviour and conduct in all lessons and around the school are calm and orderly. 'Bucket Filling' celebrates pupils' everyday acts of good behaviour.

Celebration assemblies are a treasured opportunity to highlight all pupils' talents and successes.

Leaders develop pupils' wider experiences well. The personal, social, health and economic education programme comprehensively identifies what pupils should learn.

Opportunities for music, choir and sports are frequent. Cultural visitors include artists, authors and theatre performers, while the school choir performs at the local care home.

Supporting the local community is a key focus of the school.

Pupils consider the needs of others. This includes providing jumpers and coats to families in need, donating items to the local food bank throughout the year and making shoebox donations at Christmas. Early work on understanding future employment is in place, with a 'Careers Week', where a variety of parents or members of the local community come to school to talk to pupils about their jobs.

Governors know their responsibilities, and carry these out effectively. The dedicated staff are very supportive of one another. Elements of their own well-being influence the ethos of the school's work.

For example, 'Appreciation Aardvark' is when someone recognises the work of a colleague who has gone above and beyond to improve the learning experience of pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a robust system in place to support pupils.

Pupils say they are safe and comfortable talking to a trusted adult. Staff maintain clear and detailed records when there are safeguarding concerns. Leaders are also able to show where the school's actions or advice have made the right difference.

Leaders make sure that all adults receive appropriate training. Staff are knowledgeable, as a result. Governors understand their responsibilities for safeguarding, and recruitment processes are robust.

They assure themselves that what is happening is effective. The curriculum includes important safeguarding elements that pupils learn, including online safety.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not yet fully identified the precise knowledge and skills that pupils will learn.

This means pupils' understanding does not consistently build over time as well as it could. Leaders need to continue developing the whole curriculum so it provides the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary for pupils to learn and remember consistently well in all subjects.

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 December 2011.

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