Ashbrook Infant School

Overview

The report describes a school with a nurturing ethos where pupils feel safe and enjoy attending, supported by a ‘Good’ early years provision. However, inconsistencies in curriculum delivery, behaviour management, and governance oversight mean the school’s vision is not fully realised, resulting in ‘Requires improvement’ judgements across most key areas.

Strengths

• The early years provision is ‘Good’, offering a ‘calm and purposeful environment’ that promotes language development and independence.
• Pupils feel safe, have ‘positive and supportive’ relationships with staff, and ‘enjoy coming to school’.
• Most pupils can read by the time they leave, with staff providing close support to those with gaps in early reading knowledge.
• The school is inclusive, identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) promptly and adapting the curriculum to meet their needs.
• Staff are proud of their work, and the governing body considers staff well-being and seeks views from parents.

Areas to improve

• Governors must establish ‘consistent, effective and robust systems’ to check improvements, as current oversight is not rigorous enough.
• The school must implement ‘timely and accurate checks’ on curriculum learning to ensure pupils retain key knowledge and are prepared for future stages.
• Behaviour systems need to be implemented consistently so that staff expectations of conduct are ‘consistently high’.
• The school should ensure pupils develop a ‘secure understanding’ of diversity and British values to prepare them for life beyond school.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.