Newdigate CofE Endowed Aided Infant School

Overview

Newdigate CofE Endowed Aided Infant School continues to be a good school, driven by a strong Christian ethos where pupils feel part of a ‘family’. Children are happy, settle well through excellent induction procedures, and benefit from high expectations that foster positive attitudes to learning and strong relationships.

Strengths

• The school’s ‘ambitious curriculum’ is designed to inspire a love of learning, with topics carefully chosen to capture pupils’ imagination.
• Reading is a high priority; phonics is ‘very well taught’ by skilled staff, and a structured approach ensures pupils are confident and develop a love of reading.
• Mathematics is a strength, with a structured teaching approach enabling all pupils to achieve well and use correct mathematical terms to explain answers.
• Staff demonstrate ‘high levels of care’ and professional expertise, adapting tasks for those who find learning difficult and intervening swiftly if pupils fall behind.
• The school promotes wider development through an ‘Is it OK?’ culture, empowering pupils to make good decisions and speak out if unhappy.

Areas to improve

• In a few foundation subjects, the school has not identified the content pupils need to learn precisely enough, preventing some from building on existing knowledge effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.