Freegrounds Infant School

Overview

Freegrounds Infant School continues to be a good school, described as a "warm and vibrant" environment where pupils are "safe and happy." Leaders embed 'Rights of the Child' values throughout school life, fostering a strong sense of equality and inclusion. The curriculum is ambitious, with reading at its centre, and staff maintain high expectations for behaviour and achievement.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, confident, and enjoy learning, with "calm and well organised" playtimes and a wide range of enrichment opportunities.
• The curriculum is "ambitious and well designed," ensuring pupils develop "deep, long-term knowledge" and strong foundations for key stage 2.
• Staff use "ambitious vocabulary" in early years, and the new phonics programme helps children gain confidence in reading quickly.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are "warm and productive," with a strong sense of teamwork and high staff morale.
• The personal, social and health education programme effectively prepares pupils for life in modern Britain, teaching them about valuing difference and keeping safe.

Areas to improve

• In a minority of subjects, leaders have not precisely identified the specific knowledge and vocabulary pupils should learn, hindering effective checking of learning.
• Some staff require additional training to strengthen their subject knowledge in delivering the early reading curriculum successfully.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with clear systems to identify pupils needing support and thorough recruitment checks.