Elmsleigh Infant & Nursery School

Overview

Elmsleigh Infant & Nursery School is described as a “calm and purposeful place to learn” where pupils are “happy” and “well-mannered.” The report highlights that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, “achieve well” within an “ambitious and coherent curriculum.”

Strengths

• The school has “strong systems in place to identify and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND),” including a well-adapted resource unit.
• An “effective reading programme” ensures children become “competent early readers,” with many gaining a “secure knowledge of phonics.”
• Pupils demonstrate “highly positive attitudes to learning” and take pride in leadership roles such as “kindness captains.”
• Attendance is monitored closely, with “swift and decisive action” taken to improve it, resulting in improving attendance rates.
• Pastoral support is a strength, helping pupils develop resilience and a strong understanding of how to stay safe, including online.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, staff do not always “identify or resolve promptly the gaps and misconceptions” in pupils’ learning, causing some to move on before they are ready.
• The school lacks a “carefully planned range of experiences to develop pupils’ talents and interests,” meaning wider curriculum opportunities are currently limited.

Safeguarding

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