Cavendish Close Infant School

Overview

Cavendish Close Infant School is described as a “nurturing and caring school” where pupils are happy, feel safe, and trust adults. The inspection confirms that the school continues to be good, with leaders maintaining high expectations for behaviour and an ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge “layer by layer.”

Strengths

• Pupils are “happy” and feel secure, noting that “everyone is kind” and that bullying is not a concern.
• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is identified as a “strength of the school,” ensuring full inclusion.
• The curriculum is well-designed, with subject leaders providing “practice guidance” and teachers demonstrating “good subject knowledge.”
• Reading is a clear priority, supported by a “well-organised programme” of phonics teaching and carefully matched books.
• Mathematics teaching is consistent, with teachers explaining concepts well and using practical resources to support learning.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must develop a “consistent approach” to checking that pupils remember prior learning across the entire curriculum, as this is currently not systematic.
• A “consistent and effective assessment system” must be developed for foundation subjects (other than English, mathematics, and science) to identify gaps in learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with staff receiving regular training and being alert to changes in pupil behaviour that might indicate concerns.