High Down Infant School

Overview

High Down Infant School is described as an “inclusive and welcoming” environment where pupils enjoy learning and feel safe. The report highlights strong leadership, effective teaching in core subjects, and a calm, orderly atmosphere supported by high staff expectations.

Strengths

• Pupils are “considerate and polite,” demonstrating good behaviour and understanding of school rules from the early years.
• Leaders prioritise reading, ensuring children learn phonics effectively and receive timely support if at risk of falling behind.
• Mathematics teaching uses a “consistent approach” with learning broken into smaller steps, enabling pupils to solve complex problems confidently.
• Staff are “highly valued” and work well as a close team, with leaders ensuring manageable workloads and robust training.
• Effective systems identify and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, allowing them to access a “broad and balanced curriculum.”

Areas to improve

• In some foundation subjects, leaders are unclear about early years learning, meaning Key Stage 1 curricula do not always build on prior knowledge, which “slows pupils’ learning.”
• Pupils are less confident discussing fundamental British values, such as democracy, compared to other topics like different religions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with robust reporting systems and strong collaboration with external agencies to ensure vulnerable pupils receive early help.