St Andrew's Church of England Infant School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms that St Andrew’s Church of England Infant School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The school provides a “welcoming and inclusive environment” where pupils feel “happy, safe and valued,” supported by “respectful relationships” between staff and children. Leadership is described as having “real strength at all levels,” ensuring the school continues to move “from strength to strength.”

Strengths

• The curriculum is “well constructed, interesting and ambitious,” with pupils learning knowledge in a “logical order.”
• Pupils become “prolific and fluent readers” through a “very high priority” on reading, with expert staff ensuring phonics skills are developed securely.
• Staff “skilfully adapt the delivery of the curriculum” to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring they “achieve well.”
• Children in the early years demonstrate “high levels of independence” and are “curious about their learning.”
• The school develops pupils’ character effectively through extra-curricular activities, such as “outdoor learning,” which helps develop “resilience, resourcefulness and a deep sense of responsibility.”

Areas to improve

• The school should ensure a “consistent and effective approach to teaching early handwriting skills,” as variation in teaching means some pupils do not secure accurate letter formation well enough.
• Staff need to better “identify and address misconceptions” in pupils’ knowledge, as gaps are not always addressed effectively enough, preventing pupils from learning as well as they could.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”