Saltergate Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Saltergate Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of Saltergate Infant School.

They welcome visitors warmly. They are keen to talk about what they enjoy about their school. Pupils feel safe.

They know they can speak to adults in school if they have any worries. Leaders are astutely aware of the wider issues affecting the local community. With this in mind, the personal development offer for pupils ensures they know how to keep themselves and others safe.

A positive behaviour policy is in place. This supports the different needs of the pupils who attend the school. The golden rules are age-app...ropriate and set the expectations.

Pupils know and talk about these. They want to try their very best in all they do. Pupils learn in a calm and purposeful way.

At playtimes, pupils enjoy the benefit of a well-planned outdoor space, with a range of activities on offer. They play well together and know that adults are on hand if they need them.

The school has improved attendance by taking appropriate and effective action when pupils' attendance begins to decline.

However, too many pupils still arrive late to school. They miss important learning each morning.

The school has high expectations for its pupils.

Improvements made to the curriculum are starting to have a positive impact on pupils' achievement.

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

The school has reflected on the 2023 published pupil outcomes for phonics and has prioritised the improvement of the early reading curriculum. Adults who teach the phonics programme do so consistently well.

In addition to daily phonics lessons, pupils benefit from 'phonics blast' sessions. Adults identify gaps in pupils' understanding swiftly. The achievement of pupils is improving.

Pupils develop a love for reading. Pupils say teachers are good at telling stories. This inspires them to want to become good readers themselves.

Recently, the school has made changes to the mathematics curriculum to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of all pupils. 'Monday Maths' ensures pupils have regular opportunities to learn wider knowledge in mathematics, such as shape and measures, which is revisited each week. Across the rest of the week, pupils learn the key facts, which they apply when solving problems.

Teachers deliver the lesson content clearly. Pupils know what they are learning and why. Every lesson starts with a 'knowledge check' to help pupils consolidate their mathematical knowledge.

Pupils can talk about their learning in mathematics and use the correct vocabulary.

The school's wider curriculum is well planned to build knowledge progressively from the early years to Year 2. In music, the curriculum starts in pre-school (Discovery Learning), where children have opportunities to explore musical instruments, move to music and sing.

In Years 1 and 2, through a carefully constructed approach, pupils learn to read music and play instruments. Pupils speak confidently about what they have learned. They use the correct terminology and context when talking about tempo, pitch, dynamics and rhythm.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified. Staff work with outside professionals as well as parents to start to build the right support for pupils at the school. However, some pupils with SEND would benefit from further adaptations in order to access the curriculum more effectively.

Discovery Learning is the school's early years provision for children aged two to four years. Children are nurtured within this provision. They learn the expected behaviours of school life.

Children know and follow routines exceptionally well, which helps them to develop their independence and confidence. Even the youngest children take risks, for example when exploring the climbing equipment outside.

Pupils' personal development is prioritised as well as their academic progress.

Pupils take on many responsibilities. They are proud to be subject ambassadors and school councillors. Pupils have the opportunity to pursue their interests in clubs such as choir, craft and the 'razmatazz' club.

These clubs are purposefully designed so that pupils not only develop knowledge and skills, but also grow in self-confidence and have the opportunity to perform to others.

Close working with the federated junior school means that staff benefit from shared subject expertise. Staff appreciate leaders' consideration of their workload and well-being.

They value actions put in place in response to their feedback. Governors are committed to the school and the community. They support and challenge leaders to continue to enact improvements to the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils with SEND do not receive the adaptations that they need to access an ambitious curriculum. Their learning is not always closely matched to their needs.

The school should build on existing adaptations for these pupils, reflecting on what it is that will help them to learn and make progress in accordance with their individual needs. ? Persistent absence at the school is too high for too many pupils, including some who are more disadvantaged. Too many pupils arrive late to school.

This means that these pupils are missing out on too much of their vital education. The school should continue its work with families to secure better rates of attendance by ensuring pupils arrive on time every day.

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 January 2015.

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