Ladycross Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Ladycross Infant School. They are happy and feel safe. Many pupils model the school's aims of 'learning, making friends and having fun'.

The school has raised its expectations of the breadth and depth of pupils' learning. It has made improvements to the quality of education. However, many of these positive changes are recent and require time to become fully embedded.

Most pupils follow and understand the school rules of 'ready, respectful, safe'. Pupils get on well together during social times. However, pupils' behaviour in lessons is more variable.

At times, the school does not consistently ensure that pupils maintain the highest stand...ards of behaviour. Pupils' learning can be hindered by low-level disruption.

Pupils make a meaningful contribution to school life.

For instance, some pupils are members of the 'pupil parliament'. Others value their roles as 'friendship ambassadors', ensuring nobody is left out during playtimes. Pupils particularly enjoy looking after the school guinea pigs, Ginger and Little Moon Buddy.

These roles help to develop pupils' understanding of responsibility and care.

There is a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities on offer to pupils. Assemblies, including talks from guest speakers such as engineers, encourage pupils to be aspirational about their futures.

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

The school has made sure that pupils follow a broad curriculum. Learning is progressively ordered in all subjects and builds towards clear aims by the end of key stage 1. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified well.

Bespoke support helps them to be successful in their learning.

Much of the curriculum is new. As a result, pupils' subject knowledge and skills lack depth.

While they talk with enthusiasm about the activities they complete, they are less able to explain their learning. In some subjects, the planned activities do not help pupils achieve the aims of the curriculum consistently. Consequently, pupils' knowledge in these subjects is not secure and they do not deepen their understanding over time.

In some subjects in the wider curriculum, checks on pupils' learning are not used well enough to inform what comes next. Teaching does not always build effectively on what pupils know.

The school ensures that reading is a top priority for the school.

Phonics teaching starts strongly in Reception, where children get off to a flying start. Children are enthusiastic about reading stories. Across the school, the books that pupils read are matched carefully to the sounds that they know.

The school checks pupils' learning in phonics well. It uses this information to identify gaps in pupils' learning. Pupils who need extra help with their reading receive support so that they catch up.

In Nursery, children love listening to stories, singing songs and rhymes. The school helps the children to develop their communication and language skills well. Children in the early years are confident, curious and eager to learn.

Staff care for pupils' well-being. They teach pupils how to be physically and mentally healthy and how to keep themselves safe online. The school adapts its personal, social, health and economic programme according to local issues.

For example, pupils learn about water safety. Pupils make valuable contributions to the local community. They especially enjoy making and donating 'kindness cards' to local residents.

Pupils benefit from attending a wide range of clubs. From karaoke to mindfulness colouring, these provide opportunities to develop pupils' talents and interests.

In early years, in particular, staff help children to develop positive routines and habits.

This creates a focused and cooperative atmosphere for learning. Pupils are enthusiastic about the school's new behaviour system. They strive to earn dots to spend at the 'dot stop'.

However, the behaviour system is not implemented consistently across the school. Low-level disruption hinders pupils' learning in some lessons. Pupils show respect for difference and diversity.

One pupil, echoing the views of others, said: 'No one is an outsider, everyone is welcome here.' While pupils learn about a range of religions and faiths, their knowledge and understanding remain fragile. As a result, they are not prepared fully for life in modern Britain.

Governors are committed to the school. They have developed effective processes to evaluate the school's work. Staff value the consideration given to their workload and well-being.

The school and its governors share the same determination to ensure that pupils thrive both academically and socially.

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 subjects, the pedagogical choices do not fully support pupils to achieve the intended goals of the ambitious curriculum.

In these subjects, pupils do not build a sufficient depth of knowledge or understanding. The school should ensure that suitable pedagogical choices are made so that the clearly sequenced curriculum is delivered effectively. ? The school's checks on pupils' learning in some foundation subjects do not clearly identify what pupils remember.

This means that teaching does not always build on what pupils already know. The school should ensure that checks in these subjects accurately identify what pupils know, so that teachers can use this as a starting point for their teaching and plug any gaps in pupils' learning. ? Expectations of pupils' behaviour for learning are not high enough.

Staff do not apply the school's new behaviour systems consistently. This leads to some pupils' learning being hindered. The school should ensure that its behaviour systems are followed consistently, helping pupils to develop positive and focused attitudes to learning.

• Although pupils learn about a range of faiths and cultures, they struggle to remember what they have learned. Their knowledge of these is not secure. The school should ensure that pupils' experiences and recall of a range of faiths and cultures are further enhanced, so that pupils are fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

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