Springfields First School

Overview

Springfields First School is described as a "happy place for children to learn" where pupils feel they "belong" and are "well prepared for the next stage of their education." The inspection found that leaders have carefully designed a curriculum where knowledge "builds logically over time," resulting in good progress for most pupils. The school maintains high staff morale and provides a "caring and safe environment" integral to the local community.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes, adhering to the behaviour code ‘Ready – Safe – Respect’, which creates "calm and orderly" classrooms.
• Reading is a priority; the approach to teaching phonics is "well organised and successful," ensuring most pupils are "fluent readers" by Year 3.
• Teachers provide "useful explanations" and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively, ensuring they access the full curriculum.
• Staff regularly check pupil knowledge and address misconceptions, helping children remember "key content that leaders expect them to know."
• Leaders provide a pastoral care programme that helps pupils "understand and manage their emotions," making a "positive difference."

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure the curriculum is "suitably specific in all subjects," as the content is not precisely set out in a small number of areas, which "limits pupils learning."
• In a few subjects, checks on pupil knowledge are "not always precise," making it difficult for teachers to identify what pupils remember.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a "positive safeguarding culture" where staff take "swift action" on concerns and pupils know how to keep safe.