Forefield Community Infant and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and feel safe at this school. They gain much new knowledge because the school has high expectations for what they will learn.

Pupils are well prepared for their future learning and ready to take on new challenges.

Pupils learn to act kindly towards other people. They know how to behave themselves.

In classrooms and along corridors, even on a wet and rainy day at school, pupils act sensibly. They are proud and excited to represent their school when they meet with visitors, such as inspectors.

All pupils profit from the impressive range of extra-curricular clubs that the school provides.

Pupils develop their skills in tag rugb...y, archery, dance, hockey and much more. They appreciate the extra opportunities, such as being a school monitor or a physical education champion, to support other pupils.

Staff encourage pupils, for instance, to act like 'perseverance penguin' or be rewarded for 'eagle effort'.

Pupils can become a 'lightning learner' or be recognised for being like 'mindful mystique'. Staff use these and other fictional characters that they have created to help children and pupils to feel good about themselves and to prosper.

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

The school has worked effectively to develop an interesting and worthwhile curriculum in each subject.

It provides pupils with activities and information that inspire and enthuse them about learning. The school ensures that pupils' activities are full of talk and the learning of new words. Pupils also develop their knowledge of the local area of Crosby, including the beach and the Rimrose Valley.

The school acts thoughtfully to meet the needs of pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff identify pupils' individual needs quickly and accurately. They also include each pupil in lessons and in the many activities that the school provides.

This helps pupils to feel valued and respected, and to achieve well.

Mostly, pupils thrive at the school and develop a secure foundation of knowledge on which they can build. However, on occasion, pupils do not understand some of the key information that they need to know.

This is because some of the school's curriculum does not identify clearly enough some of the smaller steps in knowledge that pupils need to learn.

Teachers draw successfully on their expert subject knowledge when delivering the curriculum. Staff spot pupils' mistakes and misconceptions when supporting the learning of pupils, including pupils with SEND.

They adjust their delivery of the school's curriculum in response.

Staff in the Nursery class support children skilfully to become confident talkers and communicators. Teachers and teaching assistants in the Reception Year and in key stage 1 build on this successful work when teaching pupils phonics.

They give pupils who struggle to read the support that they need. This means that pupils master the basics of reading quickly and securely.

Pupils benefit from using the high-quality, well-arranged libraries in their classrooms.

Mostly, teachers use books with pupils in different learning activities successfully. However, at story times, the school is sometimes less clear about the key knowledge that it will teach pupils. This means that some of pupils' learning about different authors and books does not build on what they already know.

The school makes sure that children in the early years learn to talk, cooperate and be active in the well-organised classrooms and outdoor areas. Staff help children to settle with ease when they start at the school. They build warm, supportive relationships with children, who adapt quickly to the school's routines.

Staff give careful attention to supporting pupils with other significant changes, such as their later move to junior school.

Pupils focus their attention on the activities that staff provide. Staff teach lessons without significant distractions.

The school provides pupils with a well-considered programme of activities and opportunities to enrich their wider development. For example, staff introduce pupils carefully to the diverse world of Liverpool and of modern Britain. The school develops pupils' awareness of being a responsible citizen.

Staff teach pupils to respect elderly people, such as by meeting with those living at a local care home. Pupils meet with the coastguard, as part of their learning about sensible behaviour at the beach.

Governors use their skills and knowledge well to support and challenge the work of the school.

They make sure that the school is ready for its long-term future by making key decisions carefully.

The school provides staff with regular access to training, guidance and support that improves their teaching. It acts to ensure that staff have a reasonable workload.

The school works effectively with parents and carers to explain the curriculum, such as through parental workshops about early reading. These opportunities and the wide range of information that parents receive from staff help them to support their children's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some parts of the curriculum, the school has not pinpointed the fundamental knowledge that children and pupils should learn. Sometimes, pupils do not understand what they have previously been taught. The school should identify and teach pupils the essential small bits of knowledge that build into more complex understanding, so that pupils learn more successfully.

• Sometimes, the school does not fully consider the key knowledge that pupils will be taught at story times. This weakness limits some of pupils' knowledge of different authors and their works. The school should identify more clearly the knowledge that pupils will learn through staff's use of books at story times.

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