Southbourne Infant School

Overview

Southbourne Infant School continues to be a good school, offering a "thriving and inclusive" environment where pupils are "joyful and proud." Leaders are described as "inspirational, dedicated and effective," fostering high staff morale and positive relationships. The curriculum is ambitious, with particular strength in early years, mathematics, and art, though some subjects require further development.

Strengths

• Pupils are "joyful and proud," treating each other with kindness while staff model positive behaviour and support mental health.
• The curriculum is "ambitious for all pupils," with SEND pupils being "well supported so they thrive" through targeted expertise and resources.
• Mathematics teaching is effective, with pupils "joyfully identify[ing] teachers’ pretend ‘mistakes’" and explaining reasoning with mathematical vocabulary.
• Outdoor learning is embedded at the heart of school life, boosting "well-being, environmental awareness and understanding of the world."
• Staff use a consistent approach to phonics, and parents appreciate workshops that help them support reading at home.

Areas to improve

• A few subjects are "not sufficiently well developed," meaning pupils do not learn as well as they could in these areas.
• Additional support for some pupils needing to improve their reading is "not consistently strong," hindering the development of fluency.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.