St Joseph's Catholic Infant School

Overview

The inspection found that St Joseph's Catholic Infant School operates at a "strong standard" across all evaluated areas, including achievement, attendance, behaviour, curriculum, and leadership. Leaders have established a "values-led culture" that promotes kindness and high expectations, resulting in pupils who are "well prepared for the next stage of their education."

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well, with phonics outcomes "in line with, or above, national averages" and work showing "secure progression" in writing and mathematics.
• Attendance is "consistently above national averages," supported by leaders who balance sensitivity with a clear message that "absence is not accepted unless there are exceptional reasons."
• The curriculum is "ambitious" and "carefully sequenced," with a high priority on reading and language from Nursery, using "shared approaches" and "repetition" to support memory.
• Early years provision is "purposeful and responsive," helping children become "confident, independent learners" through "purposeful play" and clear routines.
• Inclusion is effective, with staff removing barriers to learning and providing "highly effective support" for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure that "consistently high outcomes, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are sustained."

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an "open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility" and concerns are "actively identified, acted upon and managed."