South View Infant and Nursery School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms the school remains ‘good’, though evidence suggests a graded inspection might yield a lower judgement. Pupils are described as ‘happy’ with ‘high behaviour expectations’ and strong personal development, yet many are not acquiring core literacy and numeracy skills quickly enough. The report highlights significant challenges in teaching reading and writing, which are hindering pupils’ readiness for future academic stages.

Strengths

• Staff form ‘highly effective relationships’ with pupils, fostering a culture where children are ‘very accepting of others’ and polite.
• The curriculum for personal development is ‘uniquely written’ to meet pupils’ lives, supporting good behaviour and character.
• Specially resourced provisions for pupils with SEND are ‘making a real difference’, with skilled staff delivering well-planned personalised activities.
• The environment is used effectively to help children ‘socialise and interact’ and develop independence, particularly in the early years.

Areas to improve

• The phonics programme is ‘not working successfully’, with staff lacking expertise and pupils reading books that do not align with their known sounds.
• Pupils’ writing skills are underdeveloped, with many not meeting year-group expectations, creating a barrier to progress across the curriculum.
• Staff sometimes select activities that are ‘not ambitious enough’, preventing pupils from developing detailed knowledge in various subjects.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.