Wallisdean Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. The aspirational leadership of the headteacher, together with senior leadership expertise and challenge from governors, has secured outstanding teaching and achievement. Outstanding teaching ensures that all groups of pupils make outstanding progress from their various starting points.

As a result, since the last inspection, pupils have continued to sustain high standards in reading, writing and mathematics every year. This prepares them very well for junior school. A significantly high percentage of the most able pupils reach a level beyond that expected nationally by the end of Year 2.

Pupils who find learning difficult and tho...se who are disadvantaged make excellent progress because of outstanding leadership in this area of the school's work. Weekly reviewing the deployment of adults against the needs of these pupils ensures that they benefit immediately from the expertise and skills of highly trained teaching assistants. Thorough and well-organised procedures in the Early Years Foundation Stage and a warm welcome ensure that children make a very confident start to school.

Despite significant weaknesses in some areas of learning when they join the school, early years children make exceptional progress. The school's work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils are very well cared for and parents fully support this view.

Pupils consistently demonstrate the school's golden rules of 'Be Kind, Think First and Be Polite' and their behaviour is exemplary. They follow the excellent model shown to them by adults, resulting in a high level of mutual trust and respect. A rich and exciting range of subjects means that pupils are keen to learn and they thoroughly enjoy school and all that it offers.

Due to the school's rigorous procedures for dealing with absence, pupils' attendance is improving and is now above average. Many parents expressed to inspectors their very positive views of the school both in the online questionnaire and verbally on both days of the inspection. Strong provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ensures that they develop a secure sense of right and wrong and the skills they need to get along very well together.

Since the last inspection, there has been very good improvement in the provision for pupils' cultural development. Underpinning the success of the school are its values of 'Challenge, Motivation and Independence'. These thread through all its work, encouraging the whole-school community to be the best it possibly can.

Information about this school

Wallisdean Infant School is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils attend from the local area. All children in the Early Years Foundation Stage attend school full time.

All pupils are taught in single-age classes. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is considerably above that found in most schools.

This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after. Most pupils are of White British Heritage. The school offers the facility of a privately run pre-school, breakfast and after school club on the school site but it was not a part of this inspection.

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