St Stephen's Infant School

Overview

St Stephen’s Infant School is described as a “warm and vibrant community” where pupils feel safe, valued, and proud of their achievements. The report highlights a “well thought out” curriculum that encourages exploration, alongside effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Strengths

• Pupils benefit from a “genuine interest taken by all to understand pupils as individuals,” resulting in high emotional well-being and positive relationships.
• The curriculum “builds on learning progressively,” with clear identification of key knowledge and vocabulary across subjects.
• Phonics teaching is accurate, with pupils reading books “well-matched to the sounds they have learned.”
• Staff provide “effective and bespoke support” for pupils with SEND, helping them become independent learners.
• A positive rewards culture, including “Pebble in the Pot” and “Top Banana” stickers, helps keep pupils motivated.

Areas to improve

• In some recently developed foundation subjects, staff do not always design tasks that enable pupils to “build knowledge systematically.”
• Some staff may not “identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge quickly enough,” meaning some pupils do not learn the intended curriculum as well as they could.
• Leaders should continue to support teachers in implementing the curriculum effectively in all areas.

Safeguarding

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