The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Ormesby Village Infant School is a happy and inclusive school. Pupils and parents are confident that you and your staff know the pupils well and take good care of them. Under your able leadership, staff work together as an effective team and share your passion to ensure that every child has a positive experience of school and enjoys learning. You and your team endeavour to ensure that the school’s motto, ‘Learning to Grow, Growing to Learn’, is put into practice each day. Since the previous inspection, you have taken over the headship of the junior school. In doing so, you have ensured that other leaders are well prepared to take on responsibilities in your absence. As a result, Ormesby Infant School continues to flourish. Governors play an important role in maintaining the strength of the school. They know the school well because they visit regularly and meet with you and other staff to discuss aspects of the school’s performance. Governors are supportive of leaders but also challenge them when needed, for example about the dip in the Year 1 phonics assessment outcomes in 2015. Teaching is good because teachers know what pupils can do and what they need to learn next. They plan lessons that pupils told me they enjoy. The previous inspection report identified that pupils needed to take more responsibility for their learning in key stage 1. This has been addressed by teachers providing tasks at differing levels of challenge and encouraging pupils to select the task they feel most confident with. Pupils respond well to this, wanting to move on to harder tasks as their understanding grows. Teachers check that pupils understand what they are doing and provide them with help when needed. However, some of the less able pupils do not make the accelerated progress that they need to in order to reach the standard expected by the end of Year 2. Many of these pupils are provided with good-quality additional support in small groups. However, the link between the work these pupils do in lessons and that given to them through additional support groups is not as close as it should be to make the most of this support. The majority of pupils behave well in lessons and in the playground. They are polite and respectful to adults and to visitors. They are sociable and enjoy working together on tasks. This is because staff make their expectations very clear to pupils throughout the day, reminding them to treat each other and adults with respect, to listen and to help each other. Those pupils who have difficulties with their behaviour are well managed by staff so that learning is not disrupted and so, over time, they are better able to manage their own behaviour. In the Reception classes, children enjoy their learning both indoors and outdoors. The newly developed outdoor area is well used to promote learning, for example developing physical development through the trim trail and knowledge and understanding of the world in the ‘mud kitchen’. Resources are well used to engage children in learning. For example, electronic tablets are greatly enjoyed by children, who independently play mathematical games and games to practise their sounds. Leaders ensure that children settle well into school routines, and that parents know what their child is doing at school through the online learning journeys. A number of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire were complimentary about staff in the early years. One parent commented: ‘My son started Reception in September 2016. He really enjoys school and I couldn’t be happier with the progress he has made already.’ Leaders carefully check on the starting points and progress of each child. They recognise that some children start school with skills in recognising sounds and in early writing which are below what is typical. However, while the development of children’s phonics skills is well catered for, this is less evident in pupils’ writing. Too few opportunities are provided for mark-making and early writing within independent and guided play. Safeguarding is effective. Keeping pupils safe has high priority at Ormesby Village Infant School. Statutory requirements for safeguarding are met. Staff employed by the school are checked appropriately and you scrutinise the record of these checks regularly. Governors who take part in staff interviews are trained so that they know what questions to ask staff prior to employment regarding safeguarding. All staff receive regular 2 training and updates in what to look for that may indicate a child is at risk. For example, training in the ‘Prevent’ duty has ensured that staff know the signs of radicalisation. Staff are confident that leaders will act on their concerns appropriately. Records kept on pupils of concern demonstrate that leaders work with other agencies well, so that swift action is taken to minimise risk to pupils. Leaders are unafraid to challenge if they feel that more needs to be done to help a child at risk. Inspection findings One of my areas to test whether the school remains good was around reading. Outcomes of Year 1 phonics screening checks have fallen from above the national average in the past two years. The proportion of pupils that reached the expected standard in Year 2 reading was disappointing. You recognise that the teaching of reading had not been as effective, partly because of temporary staff appointed in the absence of a teacher who was also the literacy leader during this period. You have addressed this effectively, ensuring that teaching is once again securely good in all classes. This is reflected in the school’s most recent assessments of pupils’ reading, which show a good proportion are at the standard expected in both Years 1 and 2. You have ensured that all current staff are knowledgeable about how to teach phonics, so that sessions are well planned and executed. They include a balance of reading and writing tasks, so that pupils learn sounds, read them within words and sentences and use them in their writing. Consequently, pupils currently in the school are making good progress in reading. Those who did not meet the expected standard at the end of Year 1 are being well supported so that they catch up quickly. We discussed the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities as an area to probe further during the inspection. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well, both in class and through additional support. The progress made by these pupils is very carefully checked by leaders. This includes the progress they make academically and in other areas, such as their social and emotional development where this is their area of need. Additional adults ask careful questions and support learning well. They liaise with class teachers appropriately so that information is well used to plan subsequent work. Pupils enjoy a broad curriculum. They told me that they particularly enjoy computing and physical education lessons. Themed weeks are well used to maintain a high profile for different subjects, for example ‘arts week’ and ‘religious education’ week. Teachers cater for pupils’ differing needs in these subjects, planning work which is more challenging for the most able, and providing support for the less able. As a result, pupils’ work in these subjects is of a good standard. Subject leaders are confident and knowledgeable about their subjects. They have a regular programme of checking on teaching and learning, visiting classes and looking at pupils’ work, which enables them to identify where teaching is strong and where improvements are needed. Leaders acknowledge that systems 3 for assessing pupils’ progress in some subjects are in place but are yet to be fully used to identify where pupils make best progress and where more could be done. In the previous academic year, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils was lower than that of others, so I looked closely at this during the inspection. Leaders have addressed this, meeting with parents to discuss the reasons for absence and carefully tracking attendance. This has been effective, and the attendance of those pupils has improved. Because leaders track attendance carefully, they recognise that some pupils in the Reception classes in the first term of this academic year were absent too frequently. Leaders are working with parents to help them understand the importance of regular school attendance and of establishing good habits of attendance from the very start of school. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: in the Reception classes, opportunities for mark-making and writing in independent play are extended so that pupils make more rapid progress in writing the additional support provided for less-able pupils is more effective, by improving the link between the work they do in intervention groups and the work provided in class. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Norfolk. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Maria Curry Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, meetings were held with you and the school’s deputy headteacher. I met with two governors and with a small number of pupils from Years 1 and 2. I heard a sample of pupils read. I scrutinised a range of documents, including information on pupils’ progress, safeguarding, development planning and the school’s self-evaluation. I visited all classes and evaluated pupils’ work. I evaluated the school’s website and found it to meet requirements on the publication of specified information. I focused particularly on: 4 the quality of teaching of reading and pupils’ progress in reading the progress made by those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities pupils’ achievement in a range of subjects other than English and mathematics steps taken by leaders to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and how the school keeps pupils safe.