Overchurch Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Overchurch is a good school. It provides outstanding care, guidance and support. Parents and carers greatly value the excellent partnerships the school has with them that support their children's learning so well.

Pupils make good progress, especially so in reading, as a result of good teaching and a thoughtfully constructed curriculum that meets their needs and interests well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make the same good progress as their classmates as a result of the very effective support they and their families receive. Pupils' behaviour and their personal development are good.

They willingly take on responsibility in helping the school to make decisions th...rough the school council and the 'Planet Patrollers or as Play Leaders. Frequent opportunities to work together to solve problems and to explain their ideas prepare them well for the next stage in their education, increase their confidence and develop their respect for one another's views. Pupils' enjoyment of school is reflected in their above average attendance and in their enthusiastic response to learning through themes which engage their interest.

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make satisfactory progress from their broadly average starting points. They respond enthusiastically to adult-led activities and make good progress in these sessions. Enthusiasm wanes and progress slows when both follow-up and play activities lack excitement or do not build directly on preceding learning activities.

The quality of leadership and management is good. The headteacher and deputy headteacher, provide very clear direction, based on regular monitoring of the school's work. Curricular developments have pupils' enjoyment and achievement at their heart.

Governors are very supportive and act effectively to challenge the school. Recent staff changes have led to amendments in the leadership and management structure. The ensuing closer teamwork is leading to greater consistency in teaching in Key Stage 1.

Monitoring the quality of learning across the Early Years Foundation Stage has been less effective and some inconsistencies in learning and the quality of improvement planning remain. In this area, leadership roles and responsibilities are not clear enough and improvement planning is not as sharp as the rest of the school. Since the last inspection high standards in reading have been maintained.

Attainment in writing and mathematics has improved to above average, as has attendance. Better use of assessment has led to more effective challenge for higher attainers. These improvements provide clear indications of the school's good capacity to improve further.

Information about the school

Overchurch Infant School is a larger than average-sized infant school. It has a Nursery class and also takes pupils from a large number of other pre-school settings. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.

The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is lower than average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for a free school meal is low, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Since the last inspection there have been significant changes in staff.

The school has a variety of awards, including Healthy Schools status, Artsmark, Activemark and Eco Award. Little Robins Day Nursery shares the same site but is not managed by the school's governing body. It was inspected separately and the report is on the Ofsted website.

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