Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Someries are very happy and love to learn.

Younger children are inspired to explore and learn in the exciting environments in the early childhood education centre. Pupils in key stage 1 build well on this strong start, learning important knowledge and skills needed for future learning. They grow in confidence and want to learn even more.

All pupils achieve highly. They are very well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

Staff have high expectations for every pupil.

The 'my big voice' sessions help pup...ils to discuss how to behave. Pupils learn how to make friends and be responsible for their actions. They support one another in the classroom and play kindly on the playground.

Pupils know how to voice concerns, which helps ensure they are safe and free from bullying.

Pupils are very well behaved. They work exceptionally well together.

Pupils are highly motivated and keen to learn. They show focus and interest in all the tasks they complete.

Parents are very keen for their children to attend this school.

This is due to the high levels of care that staff give to every pupil. Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe.

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

Leaders have formed their curriculum around 'learning threads'.

These help teachers understand what pupils learn from the Nursery Year to Year 2. Leaders are ambitious for what all pupils can achieve. They have planned every curriculum area with precision.

In all subjects, knowledge is broken down and organised into small learning steps. This helps pupils to make connections with previous learning and understand more complex ideas. Pupils learn, through thoughtfully planned sequences of lessons, the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their learning tasks.

Teachers are quick to spot those pupils who misunderstand. Teachers offer the prompts pupils need to keep up with their learning. Whether looking at their work or talking to them about their learning, pupils demonstrate their understanding very well.

All pupils achieve highly.

The learning environment in the early years is exceptional. All staff share the same high ambitions for what children can achieve.

Leaders' carefully constructed curriculum ensures that adults plan purposeful learning activities. Every learning opportunity captures children's interest and inspires them. This helps children try hard consistently, even when they find things difficult.

Staff develop children's communication and language skills through carefully planned learning opportunities. Children are highly engaged and all, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve very well across all areas of the curriculum.

Leaders are meticulous in ensuring that all pupils learn to read.

Reading has the highest priority. Teachers check regularly on pupils' reading. They make sure that pupils get any help they need so that they keep up.

Teachers match reading books closely to pupils' phonics knowledge. This ensures that pupils become fluent, accurate and very confident readers. Pupils read a wide variety of exciting and interesting stories.

Pupils apply what they have learned from reading these stories, and their phonics knowledge, in their written work, which is of a high quality.

Pupils with SEND access and benefit from the same well-planned curriculum that helps all pupils to achieve well. Staff provide extra help to those pupils who need it.

Staff are very knowledgeable about how to inspire pupils and support the learning of pupils with SEND. This helps pupils with SEND to make very strong progress.

Children in the early years quickly adapt to routines and expectations of how to behave.

This sets up highly positive attitudes to learning. In lessons, pupils are attentive and concentrate fully. No learning time is lost.

Pupils behave exceptionally well at playtimes and lunchtime.

Leaders provide many opportunities for pupils to develop and flourish. Through the thoughtfully constructed personal development and diversity programme, pupils learn about different religions, cultures and why they should respect difference.

Pupils have opportunities to share their thoughts and views, and they know these will be respected. Pupils relish opportunities to take part in a wide range of hobbies, which help them develop and pursue their interests.

Leaders make sure that teachers have high-quality professional development.

Teachers have the knowledge and expertise needed to teach all subjects confidently and well. Leaders and staff have shared ideas and visions which are put into action every day and in every lesson. Governors understand the strengths of the school and have the same high ambitions for pupils' outcomes.

Leaders and governors make sure that staff are supported with their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders know the local risks pupils and families face.

Using staff meetings and e-mail bulletins, leaders keep staff training up to date. This ensures staff remain vigilant, spotting pupils at risk of harm and reporting this to leaders. Leaders maintain detailed records of any concerns.

These provide the evidence that ensures external agencies act quickly to help pupils.

At school, pupils learn how to keep safe. For example, learning the 'pants rule' about safe touching.

Leaders, including governors, carefully oversee the recruitment of staff and volunteers. They ensure adults in school are safe to be there.

Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding.

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 outstanding in February 2017.

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