North Baddesley Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

North Baddesley Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's vision of 'Growing Together - Learning for Life' is well embedded.

This ambitious motto captures the school's nurturing ethos for both pupils' academic and pastoral development. The values of 'respect, resilience and independence' entwine to create a genuine community feel in the school. Leaders recognise the importance of building strong relationships, both between pupils and with adults.

All staff are focused on improving the lives of pupils.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They engage in their learning well and support each other in class.

Sc...hool trips are much loved by pupils. For example, children in Reception Year recall buying a bus ticket and taking a trip around the local area, which they know so well. Pupils also look forward to the whole-school pantomime trip each Christmas.

The phrase 'Ready, Respectful, Safe' is repeatedly used by all members of staff to set the behaviour standard. All pupils benefit from this consistent approach, which members of staff model daily. Pupils' behaviour and conduct, both inside and outside the school, is good.

Leaders are mindful of bullying, but there is currently no evidence of this. When instances of unkindness do happen, pupils are confident that staff will help.

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

Leaders have ambitiously grown the school to now include a Nursery Year.

They are rapidly developing an exciting curriculum for all four year groups at the school. All subjects detail the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils learn. In the strongest subjects, the curriculum is split into clear areas of learning and spans across all year groups, although this is not the case for all subjects yet.

Leaders' academic priority is for all pupils to enjoy and understand what they read. The phonics scheme is delivered with fidelity. Pupils have reading books that build their confidence in decoding words and understanding their meaning.

While the aim is for all pupils to keep up with the scheme, teachers identify pupils who are struggling to read and give them valuable support to catch up.

Lessons in all subjects are well organised. Teachers' questioning of individual pupils enables staff to check how well pupils are learning.

For example, 'Carpet Club' is a flexible teaching strategy where pupils have more adult support if they need it. Trips and resources enhance pupils' learning. For example, Year 2 pupils recall key facts about nineteenth-century palaeontologist Mary Anning after a beach study searching for fossils helped to embed their learning.

Some subject curriculums are not sequenced with clarity. This means pupils do not always learn as much knowledge as they could. For example, in mathematics, one scheme is used in the early years foundation stage and another in key stage 1.

A variety of schemes are also used in the personal, social and health (PSHE) curriculum. While pupils receive good PSHE teaching and useful lessons, learning does not always build on what pupils have learned before.

Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well.

Leaders are outward thinking and welcome expertise from other professionals. Leaders' expectations are high for pupils with SEND. They ensure that the provision is personalised no matter how complex the pupils' needs are.

Staff show genuine care in their support of pupils with SEND while ensuring they make strong academic progress at the same time.

Leaders ensure there is a clear, nurturing ethos. All staff have a positive approach to managing pupils' behaviour.

Staff use consistent strategies, when needed, to support pupils. Pupils understand and appreciate these routines, which enables them to return to their lessons as quickly as possible.

Pupils develop an early understanding of the wider world.

They learn to respect differences in the way people live. A dedicated early careers day promotes learning about the different jobs people do and the skills they need. Pupils develop wider interests through a range of clubs, and they appreciate the opportunities given.

However, while more disadvantaged pupils are taking part in clubs than has previously been the case, leaders recognise that there is further work to do to raise their levels of participation.

Parents are very positive about the school and the experiences their children receive. Staff appreciate leaders' efforts to support their workload and well-being.

This creates a cohesive community, where pupils start their school journey with confidence and success. As one parent commented, 'The school goes above and beyond. The ethos starts with the headteacher and goes through everyone we deal with.

They all understand the importance of true inclusion and make sure it is lived and breathed. We couldn't wish more from a school.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a clear, strong safeguarding culture, which is adopted by all staff. Training is thorough and regularly updated. This helps staff to identify when there may be a concern.

Record-keeping is detailed and appropriately actioned. Referrals to wider agencies, including children's services, is timely. Governors take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and work diligently to assure themselves of the safety of pupils and staff.

Staff and volunteers are appropriately checked before working with children.

The school has mapped out its wider safeguarding curriculum to ensure safeguarding is routinely covered in lessons, including online safety, at age-appropriate levels.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all subjects have a clear sequence of key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils will learn from the Nursery Year through to Year 2.

This means teachers are unable to fully track pupils' learning across all ages at the school. Leaders need to ensure that the key knowledge and skills to be learned are thoughtfully sequenced in all subjects and in all year groups.

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 on 4 and 5 July 2017.