Marchwood Church of England Infant School

Overview

Marchwood Church of England Infant School continues to be a good school, where pupils enjoy attending and feel safe within a caring community. Leaders have developed a broad and ambitious curriculum that helps pupils build knowledge over time, particularly in reading. However, the report notes that teaching clarity in some subjects, such as mathematics, requires improvement to ensure deeper learning.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, kind, and considerate, demonstrating the school’s values of "love, courage and hope" while feeling secure and included.
• Leaders have prioritised reading, implementing a carefully sequenced phonics curriculum that helps pupils read with "fluency and confidence."
• Staff are skilled at identifying pupils falling behind in reading and providing targeted support to help them catch up quickly.
• The school has a clear behaviour system applied consistently, with pupils keen to show "ready, respectful and safe" behaviour.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the full curriculum alongside peers and make progress against individual targets.

Areas to improve

• Staff do not always present and explain new concepts well enough in subjects such as mathematics, meaning pupils’ learning is not as deep as it could be.
• Leaders should ensure all teachers receive the necessary training so that the curriculum is implemented as intended across all subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a strong culture where staff are alert to signs of abuse and tenacious in working with external agencies to help pupils.