Printed below are copies of the overall summary extracted from the main Ofsted Inspection (18^th November 2008) and the summary from the Section 23 Denominational Inspection of Religious Education and Collective Worship undertaken in March 2005.

Copies of the full report can be purchased from the school office at a cost of £1.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT ON THE OFSTED WEBSITE.
Note that this will access a "PDF" document and you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to read it. Please contact Susan Girling in the school office if you have any problems.

SUMMARY OF THE MAIN OFSTED REPORT OVERALL EVALUATION

Overall effectiveness of the school Grade: 2
Littleton Infant is a good school. There are outstanding features, notably in pupils' personal development, in the care, guidance and support they receive and in the work of the EYFS. The school is successful in its aim: 'To provide a secure environment in which all teaching and learning is at its best.' Pupils work and play together happily in a secure and harmonious environment. Almost all parents speak highly of the school and make comments such as, 'I love this school, the teachers are very caring and my child's progress is absolutely fantastic.'

As a result of good teaching and learning, pupils of different abilities achieve well. By the end of Year 2 standards in reading, writing and mathematics are above average. This represents good progress from pupils' overall average starting point on entry. The school has particular strengths in teaching reading and mathematics, and the good pace of learning in these areas ensures that all pupils achieve well. In Years 1 and 2 pupils' progress and their achievements are better in reading and mathematics than in writing. The school has identified boys' writing as a particular concern and has put in place strategies to improve this area of its work. This is beginning to pay dividends with improvements seen in the most recent national assessments, as the number of Year 2 pupils attaining the higher Level 3 in writing increased compared with previous years. Staff plan conscientiously in all subjects; they are enthusiastic and make learning fun. Teachers and teaching assistants work together very well as a team. They all have excellent relationships with pupils and give them discerning feedback that helps them to improve their work. Pupils with learning difficulties receive a good level of support and achieve the appropriate small-step learning targets set for them. There is some excellent teaching of reading, as was seen in a Year 1 literacy lesson where staff used a very wide range of approaches to challenge the learning of all pupils. However, this practice is not consistent in all lessons.

Pupils' personal development is a cornerstone of the school's provision and is excellent for all age groups. The school has a very strong commitment to its Christian ethos, but celebrates a wide range of other religious faiths and cultural backgrounds successfully. Consequently, pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Pupils say that they feel safe and thoroughly enjoy their learning. Overall, attendance is good. Through the school council, pupils are closely involved in helping to contribute towards the school community and all are very willing to express their views on a range of issues. Of particular note is the contribution they have made to developing the Green Card system to reward good behaviour and improving the school environment. In this way pupils develop a keen sense of responsibility for making sure that Littleton is a good place to be, and their behaviour is exemplary. Neither staff nor pupils allow any instances of misbehaviour to affect the learning of others. Pupils gain a good appreciation of issues in the wider world and they contribute well to the immediate school community. A good example of this is the way in which older pupils 'buddy' younger ones. In a school assembly pupils showed a high degree of reverence and respect towards others and their values. They were confident to explore their feelings and greatly enjoyed singing 'Kum Ba Yah'. They develop an excellent understanding of the need for a healthy lifestyle through the very wide opportunities for physical development and the high take-up of the healthy lunches. In all their activities pupils pay particular regard to the importance of being safety conscious.

The curriculum is carefully planned to provide pupils with the skills they need to be successful when they move to the next stage of their education. It takes account of individual needs and ensures that every opportunity is used to enhance pupils' personal development. There have been significant improvements in the curriculum since the last inspection, so that there is now systematic development of pupils' key skills of reading, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) across all subjects. However, there is still scope to pay more attention to the development of writing. An outstanding range of enrichment activities plays an important part in ensuring pupils enjoy school. Pupils are particularly impressed with the extensive range of clubs and the provision in music.

The care, guidance and support pupils receive are excellent. There are thorough safety procedures in place and risk assessment procedures fully meet requirements. Staff make sure that all pupils, including those who arrive other than at the usual times, settle quickly and happily into school life and that they feel confident about moving to the next stage of their education. There is comprehensive tracking of pupils' personal and academic progress. This information is extremely well used to organise extra support for pupils as needed. It is also used to set challenging targets for each pupil that help to motivate them in their learning. Parents are partners in their child's education and the school works exceptionally well with them, and with a wide range of outside agencies, to support pupils' development. The school's links with its confederation partners play a significant role in enhancing pupils' learning.

Leadership is good overall. The headteacher leads by example and provides determination to ensure that all pupils reach their potential. Along with the assistant headteacher, she gives a clear sense of direction. Together they have set a climate of strong teamwork among all adults, so that everyone makes an active contribution to school improvement. Recently there have been significant changes in the personnel on the Governing Body. Consequently, many of the new governors are only just beginning to come to terms with what is expected of them. They support the school well and are actively involved in its day-to-day life, but are not yet fully effective in acting as a 'critical friend' to check that the school is performing as well as it can. The school's self-evaluation is accurate and, largely because of the rigorous and discerning monitoring of the headteacher, everyone is very clear about what needs to be done for the school to improve further. Staff development and training are given a high profile and staff approach key developments very enthusiastically. The school's track record shows that it is well placed to improve even further.

Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Grade: 1
There are outstanding features in the EYFS, where very high-quality teaching ensures that children make an extremely good start to their school life. The imaginative way in which staff organise children's learning with very close attention to detail, for example in the outdoor garden centre, means that children are exceptionally well motivated by a wide range of purposeful activities. By the time the children start Year 1, all attain the expected level and the majority exceed this in most areas of learning, notably in their personal development. Leadership is excellent and the introduction of a more focused programme for teaching letters and sounds is helping to make sure that teaching fully challenges children of all abilities, so that they achieve as well in writing as in all other aspects of their learning.

What the school should do to improve further
1. Raise pupils' achievements in writing, particularly that of boys in Years 1 and 2, by ensuring that teaching consistently challenges all pupils.
2. Ensure that governors act more effectively as the school's critical friend, to be certain that the present high levels of performance are sustained.

SUMMARY OF THE SECTION 23 DENOMINATIONAL INSPECTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND COLLECTIVE WORSHIP

INTRODUCTION
The Inspection of Religious Education and Worship took place on one day.

Evidence for the report was provided by:

· Examination of pre-inspection documentation
· Samples of pupils work across all classes
· Observation of RE lessons in two year groups.
· Observation of an act of collective worship
· Discussion with the Headteacher (also RE/PHSE co-ordinator)
· Discussion with the incumbent, Father Philip.
· Observation of playtimes and start of the day.

THE SCHOOL

Littleton school is a one form entry infant school, taking boys and girls from ages 4-7 years of age. It is located in the village of Littleton, on the outskirts of Shepperton. The school is opposite St. Mary Magdalene Church. It was founded over 200 years ago in a room in the Manor House. The school was moved to a purpose built building in 1873. The present building was built in 1970.

The school has four classrooms and a large hall. The fourth classroom was until recently, used by a private nursery. The room is currently used to support lessons in Year 2 which is over the standard number of 30 and therefore has two teachers.

The school serves a wide area: Shepperton, Halliford, Laleham, Sunbury, Chertsey, Ashford and Staines.

There are currently 93 pupils on roll. There is a fairly equal balance of girls and boys. The majority of pupils are white British and there is one pupil who speaks English as an additional language. The socio-economic background of the pupils is mixed. Free-school meals entitlement has doubled in the last year to approximately 15%. There are no pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs. There are currently eight pupils on School Action Plus and six pupils on School action. (11% on SEN register.)

Attainment on entry is broadly average, with some variance with the new intake each year.

The present Headteacher was appointed in 1998.

ADMISSIONS

At present Governors admit 30 pupils to each year group. First priority is given to children with a Statement naming Littleton School, and looked after children. This is followed by children who live in the Parish of Littleton and with siblings in the school, children of families who regularly worship at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Littleton, children who live in the Parish of Littleton, children with siblings in the school who do not live in the Parish of Littleton, Charlton and Ashford and finally children of families who are practising members of other faiths (as vouched for by a priest.)

The Trust Deed was not available.

PROGRESS SINCE THE LAST INSPECTION

The RE and Worship were previously inspected in November 1998 and no recommendations were made other than to continue its work of raising standards in RE, using the excellent practice already in the school as a model for the staff.

The school has made satisfactory progress in this aspect since the previous report. The previous RE teacher who provided the model for excellent teaching in the previous report left the school the following year.

MAIN FINDINGS

The school's Christian ethos is good.

The school's mission statement emphasises the importance of the Christian Faith of the school staff and governors.

Collective worship is well established and embedded in the life of the school.

Relationships between staff, pupils, parents and governors are very good.

The Christian foundation of the school is clearly visible through displays, uniform, newsletters and links with St Mary Magdalene church and FACT (Faith Awareness in Children Trust).

Religious Education is satisfactory with some good elements.

Children behave well and are provided with opportunities to support the development of the school. They take these responsibilities maturely and respond well to their roles.

Provision for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development is good.

What the school should do to improve

Religious Education

Planning: Differentiate activities wherever possible and provide opportunities for a more creative approach to the activities in lessons. This will also produce cross-curricular links e.g. art, DT, ICT.

Recording and assessment: Expect the same level of writing, spelling, punctuation as with any other subject and to mark accordingly; ensure that records of discussions and practical work are kept with the children's folders to provide evidence of weekly RE lessons; develop assessment in RE to include both formative assessment in RE, which directly relates to learning objectives in the scheme of work.

Standards: Formally monitor the teaching and work produced in RE and provide feedback to teachers on strengths and areas for development.
To continue to develop resources, in particular updating books, adding to artefacts and ICT resources.
Collective worship

To provide a format for collective worship which can be followed by all those leading it, in particular the start and ending of the worship, and to clarify the role of the headteacher in this format, in particular with visitors leading worship.

To look at summing up the meaning of the story or worship theme to support the understanding of the pupils. This does not necessarily mean explaining and could be an open-ended prompt.