Penbridge Infant School

Overview

Penbridge Infant School & Nursery continues to be a good school, where pupils are happy and enjoy attending this welcoming environment. Leaders maintain high expectations for every child, fostering a culture where pupils are keen to do well and consider the school ‘like a family’. The curriculum is generally well-designed, with careful attention paid to early reading and the specific needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Strengths

• Pupils settle quickly into routines, with even the youngest children feeling safe and secure in caring relationships with staff.
• The curriculum is developed in a step-by-step way, enabling pupils to build carefully on existing knowledge, with effective assessment and recaps to ensure long-term retention.
• Early reading skills are carefully developed through a well-structured phonics programme, enabling pupils, including those with SEND, to become keen readers.
• Parents and carers report that the school informs them well about their child’s learning, such as through topic overviews showing key vocabulary.
• The specially resourced provision offers a well-designed, personalised curriculum that carefully meets individual needs, including therapies and sensory experiences.

Areas to improve

• The mathematics curriculum between early years and key stage 1 is not well sequenced, meaning pupils do not develop their early mathematical understanding in a logical way.
• Leaders in the early years need to decide on end points to ensure seamless continuity of learning from early years to key stage 1.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff receiving frequent training and welfare concerns being handled quickly.