Talavera Infant School

Overview

Talavera Infant School continues to be a good school, offering a "warm welcome" and an inclusive ethos described by one parent as feeling like ‘a home away from home’. Leaders maintain "very highest ambitions" for pupil success while fostering a caring culture that supports the specific needs of the community, including those with parents in the armed services.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a "constantly purposeful" school day where they "like learning" and behave well, with "hardly any incidents of bullying".
• Reading is the "top priority"; staff are "experts in developing pupils’ language and vocabulary" and confidently teach phonics, ensuring most Reception children can read and spell familiar words by summer.
• Teachers use assessment effectively in mathematics to identify and address knowledge gaps, using practical apparatus to support thinking.
• The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to appreciate different cultures and stay safe, with staff receiving "useful training" to keep children protected.
• Staff enjoy working at the school, finding workloads "manageable" with ready support from leaders.

Areas to improve

• Leaders need to clarify the "most important knowledge" pupils must learn and remember in each subject, as some content is too extensive for the cohort.
• Staff must implement supportive pedagogies to develop pupils’ talk "with consistency" to help them articulate and deepen their understanding.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders acting quickly on concerns and working effectively with parents and agencies to support vulnerable pupils.