Cottesbrooke Infant and Nursery School

Overview

The report describes a "warm and welcoming" school where pupils feel "happy and safe" and staff build strong relationships. While the early years provision meets the expected standard with children making good progress, overall achievement, attendance, and curriculum delivery require attention as pupils do not yet achieve as well as they should.

Strengths

• The early years is "welcoming and nurturing," with staff who "know children well" and help them feel settled quickly.
• Pupils demonstrate positive behaviour, treating each other with "respect and kindness," while bullying is "rare."
• Leaders provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including a dedicated nurture classroom.
• Staff are well-supported regarding workload and wellbeing, and parents appreciate regular communication.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure staff check precisely what pupils know to close learning gaps and improve handwriting skills.
• Trustees need to develop skills to evaluate the impact of actions supporting disadvantaged pupils more rigorously.
• Leaders should analyse attendance data more precisely to accelerate improvements, particularly for persistently absent pupils.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an "open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility" and concerns are actively managed.