Onslow Infant School

Overview

Onslow Infant School continues to be a good school, where pupils and staff uphold values of ‘friendship, respect and responsibility’. The report describes a ‘nurturing and welcoming’ environment where pupils feel safe, behave well, and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

Strengths

• Pupils are ‘polite and kind towards each other’, with positive relationships ensuring enjoyable learning and playtimes.
• Leaders prioritise a love of reading, with teachers reading ‘high-quality texts’ regularly and pupils joining in ‘enthusiastically’.
• The early years curriculum is effective in ‘laying strong foundations for children to flourish’ through well-planned activities.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive timely support and are able to ‘learn alongside their peers’.
• Staff workload is considered reasonable by most, and governors ‘understand and fulfil their roles effectively’.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure all staff follow the early reading curriculum as intended, providing necessary training to deliver phonics effectively so pupils learn to read as well as they should.
• In a few subjects, leaders need to refine the curriculum by precisely identifying and sequencing the most important knowledge to help pupils build on previous learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders establishing a ‘strong culture of vigilance’ and comprehensive systems to identify pupils at risk of harm promptly.