Heathfields Infant Academy

Overview

Heathfields Infant Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. The report describes a school where pupils are "happy and safe," well-behaved, and achieve well, particularly in reading. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, and the trust provides effective support to ensure staff have the resources they need.

Strengths

• Pupils are "well-behaved" and learn to "recognise and manage their feelings," creating an environment where they are "ready to learn."
• Reading is a high priority from Reception; staff are "highly skilled in teaching phonics," ensuring pupils read with "confidence and fluency."
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) "achieve well" and receive "effective support" to access the curriculum.
• The school’s "rigorous and relentless work" to overcome barriers to attendance is "highly successful," with most pupils attending regularly.
• Children in the early years are "well prepared for the next stage of their education," developing strong language and early mathematical understanding.

Areas to improve

• Teachers do not consistently build on prior learning in mathematics, meaning some pupils "struggle to remember important mathematical knowledge."
• Misconceptions in pupils’ work are not always identified or addressed swiftly enough, leading to "gaps in their knowledge."

Safeguarding

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