The Orchard Infant School

Overview

The Orchard Infant School is described as a place where pupils feel "safe, valued and happy to belong." The report highlights a "warm, caring and inclusive" environment where leaders maintain high expectations, resulting in strong outcomes for attendance, behaviour, and inclusion. While most areas meet a strong standard, curriculum oversight and early years interactions require further development.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well, with outcomes in the Year 1 phonics check "significantly above national averages" and secure foundations in reading, writing, and mathematics.
• Attendance is "consistently high" with persistent absence rates "significantly below national averages," supported by proactive monitoring and effective support for barriers.
• The school fosters an inclusive ethos where pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive "highly effective tailored support" and are fully integrated into school life.
• Personal development is prioritised through a "well-established and carefully sequenced programme" of PSHE education, helping pupils understand safety, British values, and how to resolve disagreements positively.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should "further develop their systems to check how well all subjects are being taught" to ensure an astute understanding of improvement priorities across the whole curriculum.
• Leaders should "improve consistency in the early years" by ensuring staff maximise the impact of high-quality interactions to deepen children's learning during independent activities.

Safeguarding

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