Peel Common Infant School and Nursery Unit

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now.

The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the schools' kind and caring staff. Most pupils enjoy their learning and know that staff will help them if they have a problem.

Most parents and carers acknowledge the work of the school, while nonetheless highlighting the challenges caused by frequent changes in staffing.

The school offers ...extra-curricular activities such as dance, gymnastics and sports which pupils enjoy attending. While enrichment activities are quite limited, pupils love visits to museums and the farm.

Pupils broadly achieve well in subjects such as mathematics and English. The school has prioritised these subjects. However, the quality of education across other subjects is sometimes less strong.

Children in early years make a positive start to their education. They are happy and settled.

Staff expect pupils to behave well.

Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and encouraging. This helps pupils to focus during lessons. They learn respect and kindness.

The school is usually a calm, orderly place. Occasionally, a very small minority of pupils do not behave as the school expects. This can interrupt learning.

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

The curriculum is not consistently well designed in all subjects. In some subjects, such as mathematics, the curriculum has been carefully sequenced to build on what pupils already know. In early years, children have ample opportunity to practise numbers.

In key stage 1, pupils gain confidence in fractions and simple calculations. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who are supported to achieve success. Staff adapt activities and use extra resources to make sure that pupils with SEND can understand and remember their learning.

However, in some subjects, the curriculum has not been designed precisely enough. This means that pupils do not develop their knowledge as well as they should. Staff do not have high enough expectations of pupils' work.

While pupils enjoy the activities that they do, the knowledge and skills that they need to learn have not been clearly identified. Staff are not able to check what pupils know or address any misconceptions. Pupils are not always well-prepared for the next stage in their learning.

The school has prioritised reading. Pupils view reading as important, and they make regular use of the well-stocked library. The school's phonics programme is becoming well established.

From nursery, children start to learn simple sounds. This sets them up well to become confident readers. Staff teach the phonics programme consistently well.

Pupils' achievement in reading has improved, with older pupils becoming increasingly fluent readers. However, the school does not currently provide extra help to pupils who struggle to read. This means that they do not catch up as quickly as they should.

Almost all pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Very occasionally, pupils may lack focus during lessons. They give up easily if work is hard.

Adults help get them back on track. The school has appropriate routines in place. This is especially the case in the nursery and early years where children are well supported to develop independence and self-care.

Here, children play together harmoniously, sharing toys and taking turns. In key stage 1, a small minority of pupils, often with SEND, struggle to follow the school's expectations for behaviour. This disrupts other pupils' learning.

The school does not currently have the expertise necessary to address these pupils' needs effectively.

The school's personal development curriculum has not fully recovered following the pandemic. The school has recently increased the amount of extra-curricular activities that it offers.

Pupils make good use of these. Helpful pastoral support is provided when pupils need it. Pupils are taught about relationships, feelings and ways to stay safe but they do not always remember their learning.

They have a limited understanding of diversity and different ways of life. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to take on meaningful responsibility or make a positive contribution to the school.

Staff work as a cohesive team.

They are committed to the school and its pupils. Staff feel that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being. Leaders, including governors would like to provide a higher quality education than is currently the case.

The governing body has limited capacity because it has struggled to recruit more members. Despite this, governors understand the school's priorities and support leaders to address these. The school is also regularly supported by the local authority.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school ensures that recruitment processes are well-managed and that all necessary checks on staff are in place. Staff and governors have regular safeguarding training and updates.

Governors make checks on safeguarding processes. The school understands the context of pupils and their families. It works with external partners to make sure children are kept safe.

Staff understand the process for reporting any concerns, however small, that they may have about a pupil. However, sometimes reporting lacks precision and attention to detail. In addition, the school does not always ensure that safeguarding records are updated and actioned in a sufficiently timely way.

The school was able to address these concerns during the inspection.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum, in some subjects, is not designed with enough precision. Teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils' work.

Pupils undertake activities without the exact knowledge, skills and vocabulary having been identified. This means that pupils do not learn and achieve as well as they should in some subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum across subjects is designed as precisely as in the strongest and that teachers have equally high expectations across subjects.

• Pupils who struggle to read do not receive extra support to catch up. This means that weaker readers' gaps in phonic knowledge are not addressed effectively. Leaders should ensure that extra support is provided for pupils who find reading difficult.

• A very small minority of pupils, often with SEND, do not behave well. This causes disruption to the learning of other pupils. There is currently not sufficient expertise in the school to manage these high behavioural needs.

School leaders should ensure that adults working with pupils with complex needs are trained appropriately. ? The programme for pupils' wider development is narrow. Pupils do not have opportunities to make a meaningful contribution to the life of the school or learn about diversity or other ways of life.

Leaders should broaden the personal development curriculum. ? There are occasional weaknesses in the reporting and recording of safeguarding concerns. Sometimes, the school does not give sufficiently precise details and does not ensure that safeguarding records are updated and actioned swiftly.

This may lead to a child not receiving the correct support at the right time. Leaders and governors should ensure that all staff report concerns in sufficient detail and that record keeping is timely and thorough.

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 November 2014.

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