Henry Bradley Infant School

Overview

Pupils describe the school as a ‘happy’ environment where they feel ‘safe and secure’ and ‘love coming’ to school. The report highlights a ‘united team’ of staff who deliver a ‘carefully designed curriculum’ that effectively meets pupils’ needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Overall, the school is judged to be ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, with leaders having successfully addressed weaknesses noted in previous inspections.

Strengths

• Staff are ‘kind and caring’, fostering a culture where pupils are eager to ‘Reach for the stars’ and take pride in their achievements.
• The curriculum is delivered effectively, with skilled teachers ensuring pupils learn to read and understand mathematics ‘without delay’.
• Early years provision is strong, with staff helping children catch up on language and communication so they are ready for phonics from the ‘first week in the Reception Year’.
• Pupils behave well, are ‘kind, respectful and cooperative’, and demonstrate good attention spans without disrupting lessons.
• Leaders use funding well to support disadvantaged pupils and have established ‘reliable systems to record what pupils know’.

Areas to improve

• The school should provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to form their handwriting correctly and use full sentences, as pandemic-related impacts on fine motor skills and communication have resulted in writing attainment ‘not being as high as it needs to be’.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.