The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You provide calm and considered leadership at Furze Platt Infant School. You are supported ably by your talented deputy headteacher, who provides demonstrable expertise in supporting you improve the school further. Your evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is accurate and based upon your insightful monitoring of pupils’ achievements, and of teaching and learning. Consequently, you know what the school does well and where further enhancements could improve outcomes for pupils. You put this knowledge to good use to produce ambitious plans for the future. Governors fulfil their statutory obligations to a high standard and support school leaders well. Importantly, they analyse progress information rigorously and use their good knowledge to challenge leaders effectively. Everyone at Furze Platt Infant School has the highest aspirations for all pupils. Pupils say they enjoy school because learning is fun. They are proud of the contributions they make to school life. One school councillor told me she enjoys ‘helping making the school a better place’. Pupils’ behaviour in class is typically good because teachers plan work that challenges and enthrals pupils in equal measure. Parents are supportive and many commented upon the good progress their children make. One parent stated, echoing the views of many: ‘Throughout the school there is a positive learning environment. The staff are nurturing, supportive and incredibly enthusiastic which spreads through to the children.’ However, a few parents commented that they would like even more information about the progress that their children make. You have tackled very successfully the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Middle leaders have considerable impact on school improvement, and are able to talk confidently about their work on developing the curriculum further. High expectations for disadvantaged pupils ensure that the pupils in this group typically achieve well from their different starting points. A few now exceed expectations for their ages. You have also successfully developed your strategy for providing pupils with feedback on their learning. Helpfully, your new policy is applied consistently by staff throughout the school. Current pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are achieving well. The curriculum is carefully planned to provide exciting learning that inspires pupils to learn. As a result, many pupils exceed expectations for their ages. Some teaching at Furze Platt Infant School is exemplary and leaders are rightly ambitious for the majority of teaching to be of this high standard. Additionally, leaders are aware that more of the most able disadvantaged pupils can achieve at the highest standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Safeguarding is effective. You have developed a strong safeguarding culture at Furze Platt Infant School. For instance, when employing new staff and volunteers you ensure that all appropriate checks are made to ensure their suitability to work with children. You log this information accurately on the school’s single central record of checks on staff. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You provide a suitable range of professional development opportunities to ensure that staff know what actions to take to protect children from harm. For instance, you have recently provided high-quality training on child sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation. You work very closely with other child-protection officers from the local authority. This ensures that vulnerable pupils receive the extra care that helps to keep them safe. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. For example, in Year 2, pupils explained the steps they take to use the internet safely. Pupils know they must keep passwords secure, and know not to reveal any information that might identify them to strangers when working or playing online. Inspection findings During the inspection we evaluated leaders’ work to ensure that disadvantaged pupils, particularly those who are most able, achieve well throughout the school. We also scrutinised pupils’ achievements across the wider curriculum. Finally, we evaluated leaders’ actions to support vulnerable pupils to achieve well. You ensure that teachers tailor learning appropriately to the needs of disadvantaged pupils. For example, in science in Year 2, the most able disadvantaged pupils were grappling with particularly challenging science investigations, designed to develop their higher levels of understanding. Similarly, in Year 1, these pupils receive additional support to help them achieve strongly in writing. You have adapted well your systems for assessing and monitoring pupils’ achievements. This enables you to identify more precisely, and put into place, the additional support that the most able disadvantaged pupils need in order to make rapid progress in English and mathematics. However, your work to ensure that most-able disadvantaged pupils achieve highly across the curriculum is still developing, and more can be achieved to ensure that this group of pupils excel from their starting points. You have developed an exciting, and appropriately broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils’ learning in both history and the creative arts is particularly vibrant. Year 2’s recent study of the Great Fire of London resulted in some highquality historical writing, and some well-crafted three-dimensional models of Tudor houses. Learning across the curriculum is brought to life for all pupils, for example with a variety of relevant school visitors. When pupils recently met representatives from the police, the ambulance service and the fire brigade, they learned across a range of subjects. As a result, pupils developed a strong understanding of who keeps them safe, and what actions to take in an emergency. Leaders provide the necessary resources and expertise to help support vulnerable pupils’ needs and well-being. For instance, learning is adapted very well in the newly created learning space for vulnerable pupils. It provides a calm setting in which staff set clear expectations, develop well-planned lessons and provide lots of praise. As a result, the pupils in this group learn and achieve effectively. You ensure that any vulnerable pupils are identified quickly. Your special educational needs coordinator is highly skilled in assessing carefully these pupils’ requirements, and putting into place the extra help they need to make good progress from their starting points. Consequently, vulnerable pupils are supported effectively to achieve well. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: disadvantaged pupils, and particularly those who are most able, achieve the highest standards in reading, writing and mathematics ensure that all teaching is as effective as the best. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Windsor and Maidenhead. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Dom Cook Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection Together with you and your deputy headteacher, I observed learning across the school. I spoke to pupils and examined their work, and progress in their books. Meetings were held with you, senior leaders, and middle leaders from across the school. I met with four governors, including the chair of the governing body. I took into account views of 104 parents, including written responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire. I also analysed 14 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey, and 38 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. A range of documents was reviewed, including: the school’s development plan; leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness; the school’s single central record of recruitment checks made on staff; records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance; and the work of governors.