Crofton Hammond Infant School

Overview

Crofton Hammond Infant School is described as a welcoming community where pupils are happy, feel safe, and achieve well. The report highlights that staff share a strong determination for every pupil to thrive, fostering confidence, curiosity, and resilience. Leaders are praised for being highly effective and supportive, creating an environment where staff feel valued and committed to working together for the benefit of all pupils.

Strengths

• Early years provision is outstanding, with an “ambitious, exceptionally well designed and highly engaging” curriculum that prepares children well for Year 1.
• Teaching of early reading is “exact and prioritised,” with teachers interacting skilfully to develop reading knowledge and inspire pupils to read for pleasure.
• The school is “highly inclusive,” ensuring pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive well-matched support and participate fully in school life.
• Pupils benefit from a “wide range of interesting opportunities,” including clubs and trips that enrich the curriculum and create memorable experiences.
• Leaders are “acutely aware of staff workload, welfare and talent development,” resulting in staff who feel “valued and very well supported.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders need to refine the curriculum in foundation subjects by identifying “with enough precision the most important knowledge they would like pupils to learn and remember” to ensure teachers are clear about year-by-year progression.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff well trained to recognise signs of harm and leaders ensuring concerns are followed up diligently and recorded meticulously.