Springwood Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Springwood Infant School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy to come to school every day. They know their teachers will look after them and make the lessons interesting. Pupils work well in class and play very well together outside.

Pupils are kind and caring towards each other. Pupils demonstrate the school's values in how they behave throughout the day. These are to stay safe, treat each other with respect, try your best and be proud.

The school is very inclusive and welcomes pupils with a wide variety of needs and from different backgrounds. Staff go above and beyond to make school a successful experience for every...one. This includes for pupils with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils show great patience and empathy to make sure everyone is included.

The curriculum is ambitious in all subjects. The 'Springwood Family Offer' tells pupils what wider experiences they will receive during their time at the school.

Pupils take part in a variety of clubs and trips. This includes an adventurous two-night residential trip in Year 2 to an outdoor study centre in the New Forest.

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

The school implements an engaging curriculum.

Pupils learn key knowledge, skills and vocabulary in every subject. The school has thought carefully about how to teach important aspects of each subject. This starts in the Reception Year, where pupils achieve well and quickly settle into school routines.

The school prioritises reading. The relatively new scheme is becoming embedded, meaning most pupils are learning to read well. Staff teach phonics with fidelity to the scheme, so pupils learn the sounds they need in a consistent way.

Teachers check this learning carefully to ensure that pupils have books they can read fluently. All adults want pupils to have a love of reading. A wide range of texts are read by teachers to pupils, who listen eagerly.

Pupils also enjoy choosing books from the well-stocked library.Teachers have good subject knowledge in all other curriculum areas. In mathematics, lessons are well organised and delivered in a way that allows all pupils to learn effectively.

As a result, pupils engage very well in their mathematical learning. Teachers check meticulously how well pupils learn the mathematics curriculum. They use this information to highlight any gaps in pupils' learning and make timely adjustments.

In other subjects, such as religious education (RE), geography and art, teachers deliver lessons that follow the curriculum. However, teachers are not as sharp in their checking of pupils' learning in wider curriculum subjects. As a result, gaps develop in some pupils' learning, which are not fully addressed.

The provision for pupils with SEND is very strong. Individual support plans recognise the strengths and specific areas in which pupils with SEND need additional support. Classroom staff then provide the help pupils need effectively.

Parents of pupils with SEND recognise that the provision their children receive is well considered by school staff. The school provides the same care and consistency for pupils who sometimes struggle with their behaviour, making sure these pupils have every opportunity to be successful. These successful approaches mean there is little low-level disruption to pupils' learning in lessons.

The school takes its responsibilities around relationships and health education seriously. It deals with sensitive issues with care. Pupils are able to show their early leadership skills through the school's 'Equalities and Rights Advocates'.

This is a group of pupils who help others to avoid making wrong choices. 'Eco-Warriors' encourage behaviours that help to protect the environment. The school organises many worthwhile curriculum trips, including to the SeaCity Museum and Arundel Castle.

While most of the clubs pupils can participate in are sports related, the school is widening the range of activities. The school choir, which performs in church or at the summer fayre, is popular with pupils. The school also supports a range of charities.

These help pupils not to just raise money but to gain a wider sense of the problems other people face in their lives.

Governors at the school are ambitious and want all pupils to get as much from their time at school as they can. Staff are overwhelmingly happy to work at the school.

Parents recognise the efforts staff make. One parent, for example, commented, 'The staff are amazing. They are so welcoming, inclusive and like a family.

I cannot recommend the school enough.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, processes are not fully in place for staff to systematically check what pupils have learned and can remember.

As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers check what pupils have learned and use this information to adapt the curriculum so that all pupils develop and embed a detailed knowledge in all areas of the curriculum.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2018.

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