Baddow Hall Infant School

Overview

Pupils are described as happy, kind, and respectful, feeling safe and supported by caring staff. The school provides a well-designed curriculum that fosters enthusiasm for learning, with particular success in early reading and support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Staff are “caring and nurturing,” helping children learn routines quickly and feel secure.
• The school works “tirelessly” to ensure pupils with SEND receive “precise support,” including the introduction of a “nurture space” for intensive help.
• Teachers are “skilled at teaching the school’s phonics programme,” enabling children to become “confident, fluent readers” who enjoy stories.
• Pupils develop strong personal skills through “wider experiences” that encourage curiosity, resilience, and respect for different cultures.
• Attendance is tracked with “rigour,” and the school works closely with outside agencies to support families.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, staff do not check that pupils are using modelled vocabulary, meaning pupils “often find it hard to recall subject-specific vocabulary.”
• The school does not always check how well pupils have remembered previous learning, causing them to “struggle to build on this” and retain knowledge long-term.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”