Plaistow Hill Primary and Nursery School

Overview

The report confirms that Plaistow Hill Infant and Nursery School “continues to be a good school.” Pupils are described as “happy” and “confident,” benefiting from an “interesting curriculum” and staff who are “kind, calm and encouraging.” The school fosters positive relationships, with bullying being “very rare” and quickly resolved.

Strengths

• Children in early years, including two-year-olds, “settle quickly” and “flourish in an environment of genuine warmth and care.”
• The curriculum is “organised well,” with subject leaders identifying “precise knowledge” and using thorough assessment procedures.
• Staff provide “expert support” for reading, ensuring children read regularly across a “wide range of genres.”
• Pupils with special educational needs receive “specialist teaching to meet their individual needs,” ensuring they “achieve success.”
• Parents praise the staff’s work in supporting pupils’ “social and emotional well-being.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure a “high-quality writing curriculum” is in place so pupils apply spelling rules correctly in extended writing, as misconceptions currently persist.
• Leaders need to refine curriculum aspects, such as the use of knowledge organisers in history, to ensure knowledge “sticks as well as leaders intend.”
• Teachers must use assessment insights to make “suitable adaptations to the curriculum” to help pupils remember important concepts.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that staff are vigilant, receive regular training, and follow robust procedures to keep pupils safe.