Parsons Down Infant School

Overview

Parsons Down Infant School continues to be a good school, where pupils are described as “happy and secure” and “at the centre of all that the school does.” The inspection confirms that relationships are strong, underpinned by the mantra to “be safe, be kind, be respectful,” and that achievement is improving across all areas of learning.

Strengths

• Young children make an “excellent start to school,” settling quickly with staff who are “sensitive to children’s individual needs.”
• The early years foundation curriculum is “very well sequenced,” focusing on learning through play and supported by a “well-resourced and purposeful outside area.”
• Reading is a priority, with phonics taught effectively so that pupils are “ready for the challenges of Years 1 and 2” and develop a “love of reading.”
• Staff well-being is supported, as leaders “appreciate the support they receive” and are consulted on workload, contributing to their “overall well-being.”
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with pupils taught how to keep themselves and others safe in various contexts.

Areas to improve

• The school should ensure pupils have more opportunities to apply their mathematics knowledge to “problem-solving and reasoning tasks” to deepen understanding.
• In some foundation subjects, the knowledge and vocabulary are not “precisely identified,” leading to gaps; the school must ensure this is “accurately identified and clearly sequenced.”

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”