Alver Valley Infant and Nursery School

Overview

Alver Valley Infant and Nursery School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at its previous inspection, where it was judged Good for overall effectiveness. The school provides a highly ambitious curriculum that inspires pupils, supported by skilled teachers and a nurturing environment that fosters a deep sense of safety and belonging.

Strengths

• The curriculum is described as ‘irresistibly interesting’, with a strong focus on securing fundamental skills in reading and mathematics.
• Pupils receive a ‘very high level of care’, with staff fostering a ‘deep sense of safety and belonging’ and positive behaviour throughout the school.
• Teachers are skilled at checking understanding and addressing misconceptions quickly, ensuring pupils build on existing knowledge.
• Leaders instil a love of reading through engaging approaches, resulting in pupils becoming ‘confident readers’ who learn quickly.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) ‘thrive’ due to early identification of needs and adapted resources.

Areas to improve

• The school has not placed the same emphasis on writing skills as on reading and mathematics, leading to avoidable mistakes in written work.
• Some pupils’ understanding of sentence structure and punctuation is not secure; teachers must provide sufficient knowledge and practice to master these skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.