St John's CofE Aided Infant School

Overview

St John’s CofE Aided Infant School is judged ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, maintaining high standards since its previous ‘Outstanding’ rating. The report describes a supportive environment where pupils feel safe and behave positively, underpinned by the school’s vision of ‘Let your light shine’. Leaders have designed a well-sequenced curriculum that effectively meets the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Strengths

• The curriculum is ‘well designed’ with key content carefully sequenced, enabling pupils to ‘apply ideas from their learning to other contexts’.
• Staff maintain ‘high expectations’ for behaviour, resulting in a ‘calm and productive’ atmosphere where pupils are confident incidents of unkindness are dealt with effectively.
• Reading is a priority; the phonics scheme is ‘implemented effectively’ with ‘well-established routines’, ensuring pupils learn to secure new sounds and read matched books.
• The school is ‘inclusive’, with leaders accurately identifying additional needs and working with external agencies to ensure pupils with SEND access the full curriculum.
• Pupils’ personal development is nurtured through the curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities, fostering an ‘age-appropriate understanding’ of health and relationships.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure all staff implement the mathematics curriculum consistently, as ‘minor inconsistencies’ mean pupils’ understanding is ‘not as secure as it could be’.
• Leaders need to refine assessment systems in foundation subjects so staff know pupils’ starting points, as evidence of prior learning is not always used to ‘shape future learning’.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are ‘effective’, with trained staff confident in identifying risks and making timely referrals to external agencies.