Barnes Farm Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils achieve well, whatever their starting points, and reach above average standards by the end of Year 2. Pupils learn well because teachers provide interesting and exciting lessons that fire their imagination.

Pupils make excellent progress in reading. Pupils of all abilities have very well developed phonics skills (letters and the sounds they make). Children in the Reception year make rapid progress because teaching is consistently good and sometimes outstanding.

Marking in English is very detailed and helps pupils understand how they can improve their work. Pupils enjoy school, behave well and are kept extremely safe. Attendance le...vels are above average.

Leaders are ambitious for the pupils to succeed and work exceptionally well with staff to identify and tackle areas for improvement. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school, interested in what goes on and support their children's learning at home conscientiously. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Progress in writing and mathematics, while good, is not as brisk as it is in reading.

Pupils are not always clear about how to improve their work in mathematics because : teachers' comments are not as helpful as they are in English. Pupils do not always use their phonics skills to help them improve their writing. Teaching assistants do not always recognise that pupils need extra help to understand what they are learning.

Information about this school

The school is slightly larger than the average-sized primary school. Most of pupils come from White British backgrounds. A small proportion of pupils comes from minority ethnic backgrounds, a few of whom speak English as an additional language.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is well below the national average.

In this school, this relates to those who are known to be eligible for free school meals. There are three classes in each year group. A very small number of children are taught at the Grow Project at Newlands Spring Primary School for part of the week.

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