Askern Moss Road Infant Academy

Overview: Askern Moss Road Infant Academy is a good school where pupils are proud of their school and enjoy their lessons. The school has a strong partnership culture, with opportunities for pupils to participate in inter-school sporting events and develop their talents through various clubs.

Strengths:

• Pupils are eager to learn and behave well, respecting others and feeling happy and safe.
• The early years curriculum is based on high-quality texts, with nursery children making rapid progress in all areas of learning.
• The curriculum for early reading and phonics improves as pupils move through key stage 1, with most pupils able to read as well as they should for their age by the end of Year 2.
• Leaders have established effective assessment arrangements in all curriculum subjects, and teachers are pleased with their workload.
• The attendance officer works closely with parents to improve attendance rates, and staff adapt the curriculum well to meet the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Pupils’ good health is promoted through a commercial bike-riding scheme, and their social skills are developed through visits to a local day centre.

Areas to improve:

• The quality of education in early years is inconsistent, with the curriculum not implemented at the required pace or with sufficient ambition in Reception Year.
• The rate of persistent absence is high, with some pupils missing out on their full statutory entitlement to education and not achieving as well as they should for their age.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders making all necessary safeguarding checks when recruiting staff, and designated safeguarding leads working well with other professionals to keep pupils safe.