Haddenham Community Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

As many parents note, pupils thrive at the school.

There is a strong community feeling around the school, to which pupils are an integral part. Pupils are happy to come to school and benefit from the genuinely warm and caring relationships they have with staff. Inclusivity permeates throughout the environment, and all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), trust that adults in the school will always support them.

Pupils show mutual respect, and bullying is rare within the school. They have secure knowledge of what bullying is and how they can access support if it does happen. Pupils behave well throughout the school day.
...>
They are purposeful in lessons and have genuine enthusiasm to learn. Breaktimes are positive and calm, and pupils share and play well with each other.

Pupils live up to the high expectations that staff have for their behaviour and learning.

They understand and value these expectations and have confidence that teachers want what is best for them. Some pupils have improved a lot since joining the school. Staff give all pupils, including those with SEND, the support they need to engage and achieve well.

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

Leaders have planned a well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum throughout the school. They have taken effective decisions about what pupils will learn and when. Leaders' vision for what pupils will be able to achieve beyond their time at the school drives these decisions.

The curriculum within Reception is aspirational and prepares children well for learning in Year 1. Leaders have recently implemented a new phonics scheme. They have been tenacious in making sure that this is in place and that teachers are delivering it well.

In most subjects across the school, all pupils, including those with SEND, progress well through the curriculum. However, some curriculum areas and leaders within the school, including in Reception, are new. These leaders are still embedding their curriculum area consistently well.

Where this is the case, staff are not yet fully trained to ensure that pupils are learning as well as they could.

Teachers from Reception onwards use assessment well in all lessons to spot when pupils may have fallen behind. When this happens, they put in place additional activities to help pupils catch up.

In phonics lessons, staff check how well pupils are reading and give them rapid support if needed. As a result, pupils become confident and fluent readers.

Leaders have high expectations for how pupils will behave.

Mutual respect and kindness are clear to see in classrooms. From Reception and beyond, pupils' attitudes towards their learning and towards others are positive. In a small number of lessons, low-level disruption occurs.

In these lessons, staff are quick to respond, and any negative impact on learning is low. Pupils attend the school regularly. Leaders support families well where attendance has been a concern.

However, persistent absence of the most vulnerable pupils is too high. Due to this, not all pupils are benefitting from school as well as they could.

Inclusion is a priority in this school.

Pupils with SEND are very well supported. Staff are highly skilled in the work they do to ensure that pupils with SEND are fully involved in school life. Leaders also have a sharp focus on the well-being and mental health of all pupils.

They put in place well-being weeks throughout the year, where pupils and their families learn how to keep mentally healthy. The personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum is well planned. It provides pupils with the knowledge they need to make appropriate choices to keep themselves healthy, happy and safe.

The curriculum also teaches pupils about protected characteristics and different cultures and communities. Due to this, they understand the importance of equalities and respecting difference in others.

Leaders and governors of this school do not stand still.

There is a culture of development and improvement throughout. Leaders have absolute awareness of the areas the school needs to work on and are determined to create the best provision for their pupils. The vision for the school inspires staff.

They show great pride in working for the school and serving the community. While recruitment challenges have impacted workload, leaders have prioritised the well-being of staff.Governors meet all statutory duties.

They care a great amount about what pupils in this school will achieve. Their vision goes beyond the academic and focuses on what pupils need in order to become positive members of society. Governors and school leaders work together well to ensure that the pupils are at the heart of all they do.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding within the school. Leaders ensure that staff have the knowledge to spot if pupils or their families need help.

Safeguarding leaders take a robust approach to record keeping. When concerns are raised, the right action is taken and at the right time. As such, pupils and their families are well supported by the school and external agencies.

Governors have secure oversight of safeguarding practices.

The PSHE curriculum teaches pupils how to recognise potential risks and keep themselves safe. They have knowledge about online safety and how to be safe within the community.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Persistent absence of the most vulnerable pupils is too high. These pupils do not fully benefit from all that the school has to offer. Leaders should carefully consider what additional strategies and support these pupils and their families need to help them to further improve attendance.

• Some middle leaders are new to their roles, and their vision is not yet fully realised. Consequently, in a small number of subjects, some staff do not have the subject knowledge required to implement the curriculum consistently. Leaders should ensure that ongoing development, support and challenge enables those leaders to have a positive impact on the implementation of their subject.

• Changes to the curriculum within Reception are recent, and leaders have not yet fully implemented these changes within the classroom. As a result, some activities are less well designed than others, and children do not always learn as well as they could. Leaders must ensure that planned activities within Reception match the ambitious intended outcomes of the curriculum.

Also at this postcode