Elmwood Infant School

Overview

Elmwood Infant School continues to be a good school, where pupils are described as "happy and proud members" of the community. Leaders maintain high ambitions for achievement, with a strong focus on ensuring all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), succeed across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe due to "warm and nurturing relationships" between staff and pupils, with diversity celebrated throughout the school.
• The curriculum is well-structured, with the school’s "10 super skills" embedded to support pupils as "successful learners".
• Reading is prioritised through "consistently high-quality phonics sessions" and effective tracking to quickly address gaps in knowledge.
• Staff feel "well supported" with manageable workloads, and the governing body effectively holds leaders to account.
• Behaviour expectations are clear, resulting in pupils who are "polite and respectful" and "enthusiastically engaged" in lessons.

Areas to improve

• Leaders’ vision is not fully realised in a few curriculum aspects, where activities are not "sharply focused on the expected learning".
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are "less established" in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• Checks on pupil understanding are not always robust enough, meaning "misconceptions or gaps" are not consistently identified.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."