St Mary's Infants' School

Overview

Pupils at St Mary’s Infants’ School are described as “confident, friendly and happy,” benefiting from a “broad and ambitious” curriculum that has seen “significant improvements” since the last inspection. The school is rated as Good across all inspection categories, with leaders demonstrating a clear vision and staff showing commitment to securing the best outcomes for pupils.

Strengths

• Reading is “at the centre of the curriculum,” with early phonics instruction ensuring pupils become “confident and fluent readers.”
• The curriculum is logically ordered into “small, manageable steps,” allowing pupils to build on prior knowledge and “know more, remember more and can do more.”
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported through tailored strategies, enabling them to “progress through the curriculum in line with their peers.”
• Pupils are “generally tolerant and respectful,” understanding school values and knowing how to report concerns, with bullying being “extremely rare.”
• Staff value the consideration given to their “well-being and workload” and share leaders’ high expectations for pupil achievement.

Areas to improve

• Routines to manage behaviour are “not fully embedded,” leading to lost learning time as teachers repeat instructions or remind pupils of expectations.
• Teachers sometimes adopt “unhelpful pedagogical approaches” and do not always use assessment effectively to determine if pupils are ready to progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with staff being “highly vigilant” and quick to report concerns, while leaders work “relentlessly” with external agencies to support vulnerable pupils.