Catherington Church of England Infant School

Overview

The inspection found that the school provides a ‘Good’ quality of education, with ‘Outstanding’ early years provision. Pupils make an ‘exceptional start’ to their school lives, developing strong relationships and achieving well in core subjects like reading and mathematics. The school fosters a positive, inclusive community where staff have high expectations and parents are overwhelmingly supportive.

Strengths

• Early years provision is ‘Outstanding’, with children developing knowledge and skills ‘exceptionally effectively’.
• Phonics and early reading are a key strength, with staff having ‘excellent phonics knowledge’ and providing close support for those needing extra help.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, ‘achieve well’ in reading and mathematics by the end of key stage 1.
• Behaviour is ‘calm and purposeful’, with pupils feeling ‘very safe’ and empowered to manage their own emotions.
• Leaders are ‘meticulous’ in supporting attendance, and staff benefit from a ‘strong sense of teamwork’.

Areas to improve

• In some wider curriculum subjects, activities do not always promote ‘deeper understanding’, meaning some pupils are not building on prior knowledge as securely as they could.
• Assessment information in the wider curriculum is not always ‘precise enough’, leading to gaps in subject-specific knowledge for some pupils.

Safeguarding

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