Bounds Green Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive in this nurturing and supportive school. They benefit from positive and caring relationships with adults and other pupils. Leaders have high expectations for pupils' behaviour, based on the school values of 'challenge, value and nurture'.

These are intertwined throughout the curriculum. Pupils feel safe here, knowing they have five named adults who will listen and help them if they have a worry.

The school develops pupils' knowledge and confidence through a rich curriculum and thoughtfully planned wider experiences.

Pupils excel in all aspects of their learning. This is because the school has very high academic ambitions for all pupils, includin...g those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are rightly proud of the excellent quality of work they produce in different subjects.

They are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education.

The school promotes responsibility and independence in pupils, starting from early years. For example, Reception children participate in weekly voting to choose the book they wish to read and select their preferred theme for the role-play area.

Older pupils represent their peers as part of the school council. Pupils' ideas have driven changes such as different choices on the lunch menu. Through these activities, pupils learn to understand the importance of democracy and how it works.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has designed a rigorous and ambitious curriculum. The knowledge and skills that leaders expect pupils to secure are clearly identified and logically sequenced. As a result, pupils develop a deep body of knowledge in different subjects and are confident when discussing their learning.

For example, children in Reception learn to recognise different plants and grow them from seeds. By Year 2, pupils build on this foundation and are able to identify the conditions needed for mature plants to stay healthy. Similarly, in history, pupils are taught to use common vocabulary associated with the passing of time, such as source or chronology.

They apply these terms when learning about significant people and events such as Guy Fawkes, Florence Nightingale or the Great Fire of London.

The curriculum is designed around books, which bring subjects to life and develop pupils' vocabulary and language. Children are immersed in stories in early years.

For example, they are encouraged to retell stories in various ways such as through props, writing or looking for clues in the environment. Staff are well trained in the agreed phonics programme, teaching and modelling sounds with precision. Pupils practise reading with books that are consistently well matched to the sounds that they know.

Regular assessment allows staff to identify and address any gaps in pupils' phonics knowledge. As a result, pupils are obtaining the phonics knowledge that they need to become accurate and fluent readers.

A love of reading is embedded throughout the curriculum.

Pupils read widely and often, enjoying visits to the school library and listening to stories. Pupils speak with confidence and enthusiasm about their favourite books and authors.

Pupils with SEND are swiftly identified.

The school works well with external agencies and specialists to establish the right type of support based on pupils' needs. This information is communicated with staff, who make appropriate adaptations to tasks and activities across subjects. This means that pupils with SEND are very well supported to access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers wherever possible.

The programme for wider enrichment is extensive. There are carefully planned educational trips and workshops, which include visits to London landmarks, places of worship and the local bookshop to listen to an author read a story. Different themes run throughout the year, including a healthy living month where pupils have the opportunity to participate in activities such as yoga and dancing.

The pupil voice is actively encouraged to enhance the curriculum further. They are encouraged to suggest changes, which are then implemented by leaders such as planning alternative after-school clubs.

Pupils behave exceptionally well around the school.

This is because expectations are clear and consistently applied. From the early years, children learn to show a focused attitude towards their learning. They follow routines and instructions.

Staff help children grow in confidence and independence, ensuring they are ready for the next stage in their learning. The school has effective systems in place to support families to ensure that their children attend school regularly and on time.

Staff appreciate the support that they receive from the school to develop professionally and to manage their workload and well-being.

Leaders and those responsible for governance have a detailed and accurate understanding of the school's effectiveness. They are ambitious for pupils and keen to develop the excellent provision on offer even further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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