Holt Farm Infant School

Overview

Holt Farm Infant School continues to be a good school where pupils enjoy learning and develop curiosity. Leaders have high expectations, and staff build positive relationships, ensuring pupils feel safe, resilient, and well-supported in their education.

Strengths

• Teachers plan "exciting activities across the curriculum" that deepen understanding, such as history days and local trips.
• The curriculum is broken into "small steps" so pupils can build knowledge, with teachers adapting teaching based on what pupils know and remember.
• Reception children quickly develop a "love of reading" through a new phonics scheme and immersion in stories and rhymes.
• Pupils with special educational needs are identified swiftly and receive effective support to access vocabulary and subject-specific knowledge.
• Behaviour is excellent, with bullying being "very rare" and dealt with quickly; pupils treat each other and adults "politely and kindly".

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure the new phonics scheme is fully implemented in Years 1 and 2, as some texts do not yet match pupils’ needs, hindering progress for weaker readers.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders and staff quickly identifying risks and working closely with local services to ensure support is in place.