Upminster Infant School

Overview

Upminster Infant School is described as a “welcoming and nurturing” environment where pupils are “happy and safe.” The report highlights strong relationships between staff and pupils, with children demonstrating values such as “respect, kindness and effort.” Leaders have successfully developed a new curriculum that sets out learning in a “careful sequence,” particularly in mathematics, supporting the school’s ambition for all pupils to achieve highly.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well, are polite, and take on leadership roles such as “play leaders” and “school librarians.”
• Staff are “caring” and know pupils well, fostering confidence and strong relationships.
• The curriculum is well-sequenced, with effective teaching of phonics and vocabulary that prepares children for reading comprehension.
• There is a “notably wide range” of after-school clubs and educational visits that enrich learning and personal development.
• Staff skilfully adapt teaching for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring they can overcome barriers to learning.

Areas to improve

• The curriculum must place greater emphasis on developing “fine motor skills” from Reception onwards to prevent poor pencil grips that slow writing fluency.
• Some pupils are given reading books that are too difficult and do not match the sounds they know; the school must ensure every pupil consistently practises with appropriately matched texts to close knowledge gaps.

Safeguarding

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