The Minster Nursery and Infants Church of England Academy

Overview

The school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. It is described as a ‘safe and caring place to learn’ where pupils are ‘eager and happy to start their day’ and rise to high aspirations. The report confirms that the school continues to provide a high-quality education, with strong leadership and a positive culture supporting pupil well-being and achievement.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well, conducting themselves in a ‘CALM’ way and demonstrating kindness and good manners.
• The curriculum is ‘ambitious’ with knowledge and skills building ‘systematically over time’, particularly in reading and mathematics.
• Staff deliver the phonics programme ‘consistently’, ensuring children develop ‘strong phonic knowledge’ from early years.
• The school works effectively to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), helping them access the ‘same ambitious curriculum as their peers’.
• Leaders and staff value the ‘love and care’ at the core of strong teamwork, with changes to processes resulting in a ‘reduction to their workload’.

Areas to improve

• The provision in the early years setting is ‘variable’, meaning children do not always secure strong foundations in all areas of learning; the school must ensure curriculum thinking considers all areas sequentially.
• Some teaching lacks the expertise required to cater for the full range of pupils’ learning needs, particularly for pupils with SEND; staff must develop expertise in adapting tasks appropriately.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.