Sitwell Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. Pupils' achievement is outstanding and they make excellent progress during their time in the school.

By the end of Year 2, pupils' attainment is significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics. However, until this year, pupils who are supported by the pupil premium funding, have not made the same excellent progress that other pupils make. Children make an excellent start in the Early Years Foundation Stage because of the outstanding teaching they receive.

The quality of teaching in Key Stage 1 is outstanding. Activities are highly enjoyable and very well planned. All staff have very high expectations of pupils..../>
They work very successfully to ensure tasks are matched carefully to pupils' precise needs. However, teaching assistants are not always used effectively to ensure that no learning time is wasted. Overall, the marking of pupils' work is of a high standard.

Teachers celebrate pupils' efforts and point out how they can improve. However, they pay too little attention to improving pupils' spelling. Pupils are very proud of their school and are actively involved in making improvements through the work of the school council.

Pupils feel safe and behave exceptionally well whilst in school, the playground, the dining hall and on visits. The school is exceptionally well led by the headteacher. She is strongly supported by an effective deputy, senior and subject leadership teams and by all staff.

Team spirit is strong, morale is high and all are committed to continued improvement. The range of enrichment activities provided by the school is superb and contributes significantly to pupils' learning, development and to their above-average attendance. The good governing body increasingly contributes to the success of the school.

The school is continuously striving to improve and there is a very strong focus on checking on how well different groups of pupils are learning so that any who fall behind can be immediately helped to make better progress. The highly successful promotion of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of the school's work. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive, many feeling that, in their words, 'The school does an amazing job.'

Leaders do a great deal to encourage parents from different backgrounds to become involved so that they can support their children's learning effectively.

Information about this school

This is an average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is well-below average.

The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority. The largest groups on roll are Pakistani pupils and pupils of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average.

The proportion of pupils supported at school action is well-below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. There have been some changes of teaching staff since the previous inspection.

Children enter the school from 22 different settings and over 20 different languages are represented. The school holds the Global School Award in recognition of its work to promote diversity. It also holds the Activemark Gold for its work in physical education.

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