Minet Infant and Nursery School

Overview

Minet Infant and Nursery School continues to be a good school, described as a "happy and welcoming" environment where pupils feel well cared for. Leaders maintain high expectations, fostering a culture where pupils behave well in lessons and demonstrate "enthusiasm for their learning." The school provides a broad, balanced curriculum with strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Pupils are kept safe and know there are "lots of staff who look after them," with every child able to name a specific "trusted adult."
• A "strong culture of reading" is evident, with early reading prioritised through a systematic phonics programme that helps most pupils learn to read fluently.
• Pupils with SEND are "accurately identified and very well supported," with suitable adaptations enabling them to study the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.
• Staff have "high expectations for pupils’ behaviour," creating a "calm and mostly purposeful learning environment" in classrooms.
• The school has "significantly improved pupils’ attendance rates" this year through clear systems to check regular attendance.

Areas to improve

• In some foundation subjects, teaching does not fully implement curriculum aims, leading to gaps in pupils’ "knowledge, skills and vocabulary."
• In Reception, staff sometimes fail to identify children’s misconceptions precisely, meaning some children with language difficulties are not fully ready for Year 1.
• More work is needed to improve pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.