Brisbane Park Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's vision is to help pupils build up their self-belief. Pupils' positive relationships with caring staff, coupled with the range of experiences that the school provides, helps them to become confident and independent. This helps pupils to feel happy at school.

The school has high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Children in the Reception Year quickly learn the importance of the school rules. Pupils are well mannered and caring.

Those pupils who need extra help in managing their emotions receive effective support from nurturing staff.

The school is ambitious for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupi...ls embrace the learning opportunities that the school provides for them.

They are keen to learn and many pupils achieve well during their time at the school.

Pupils take part in a range of community activities, such as singing to the residents of a local care home. These opportunities build pupils' understanding of empathy and what it means to make a positive contribution to society.

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs that are available to them. These include different sport activities, storytelling club and choir.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious for pupils, including those with SEND.

The school has effective systems in place that identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. Carefully considered support and resources help these pupils to progress well through the curriculum.

The school has set out the key knowledge that pupils should learn in key stage 1.

In the Reception Year, the school has identified much of the important knowledge that staff will teach and the order in which children will learn it. However, there remain a small number of areas where the school has not identified this in sufficient detail. This hinders staff when they design some learning activities, as it is not clear what they should focus on.

As a result, some pupils are not as well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum as they could be.

High-quality training enables many staff to deliver the curriculum effectively across a number of subjects. In most subjects, teachers use assessment information to identify and address any gaps in knowledge that pupils have.

That said, in one or two subjects, some of the activities provided for pupils do not build on what they already know or deepen their knowledge. As a result, in these subjects, some pupils do not learn as well as they could. Nevertheless, across many other subjects, pupils build up a deep body of knowledge and are well prepared for the next stage of education.

The school places a high priority on children in the Reception Year and pupils in key stage 1 developing a secure knowledge of phonics. Staff teach the phonics programme consistently well. They quickly identify and support those pupils who need extra help to keep up with their peers.

Pupils who join the school in key stage 1 and are new to learning English quickly begin to understand the different sounds that letters represent.

Children in the Reception Year develop a love of books. They know and enjoy many stories, rhymes and songs.

Children learn about reading through the well-chosen texts that staff regularly share with them. When pupils begin to learn phonics, they read books that are carefully matched to the sounds that they have learned. This helps them to experience the success of reading independently.

Many pupils are fluent readers by the end of key stage 1.

The school's clear rules and routines help to create calm classrooms in which pupils focus on their learning. This begins in the early years where children listen attentively to staff and learn cooperatively alongside one another.

Previously, some pupils have been absent from school too often. The school has put in place a range of effective strategies that are reducing the number of pupils who are persistently absent.

Pupils experience a range of opportunities that prepare them for life in modern Britain.

Pupils know what to do if they see something online that upsets them. They understand what they should do in order to cross the road safely. Pupils benefit from a range of visits.

These include places of local historical significance, museums and the beach.

Governors support and challenge the school well to improve the quality of education. They work effectively with the school to realise the agreed values.

Staff appreciate the actions taken by the school that keeps paperwork to a minimum and the investment made in developing their teaching expertise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In one or two subjects, some of the activities provided for pupils do not deepen or build on what they already know.

As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge that they need to design activities that connect learning and help pupils to build up a deep body of knowledge. ? In a small number of areas within the early years curriculum, the school has not identified some of the important knowledge that children should learn in readiness for Year 1.

This hinders staff in knowing what learning they should prioritise when designing activities. As a result, some pupils are not as well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum as they could be. The school should finalise their curriculum thinking in these areas of learning.

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