Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School.

They are excited to learn new information. They are polite, well mannered and care deeply for each other. They are kind and welcoming to visitors and new pupils that join the school.

Pupils behave well in lessons, at social times and in the popular breakfast club. They concentrate fully on their learning and produce high-quality work. Pupils enjoy the opportunities provided through the 'Seven Musts of Focus-Trust', such as visiting London, completing a first-aid course and planning a charity event.

They trust staff to look after them and help them if they have any worries.

Pupils gain m...any skills through a wide range of extra activities, such as the engineering club and the sign language club. Pupils particularly appreciate the school's reading-rich environment, which inspires them to read widely.

They take on leadership roles enthusiastically. For instance, older pupils enjoy helping younger pupils at lunchtimes. The school organises educational visits and meetings with visitors carefully to deepen pupils' knowledge in different subjects.

Mostly, children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 achieve well. This is because the school has high expectations for all its pupils. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

The school has set out an ambitious curriculum for all its pupils, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, the school has thought carefully about the knowledge that children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 should learn, and when this should be taught. However, in a few subjects, the curriculum is less clear about what teachers should teach and the order in which this should happen.

This sometimes hinders pupils from building their knowledge securely over time.

Pupils typically achieve well. However, in 2024, their attainment in writing by the end of Year 6 was below the national average.

The school has responded swiftly to this dip in published data. It has revised the English curriculum and made changes to the way reading and writing are taught. Pupils benefit from effective modelling of spoken and written language.

Pupils currently in the school are supported well to build their writing knowledge and skills.

Learning to read is one of the school's top priorities. Starting in the Nursery class, children learn selected rhymes, poems and songs.

They begin to learn from the carefully selected phonics programme as soon as they enter the Reception Year. The school ensures that its staff are experts in teaching phonics. Staff give those pupils who find reading difficult extra support that helps them to catch up.

In 2024, the school welcomed a number of pupils into Year 1 that had not previously been in school or had been taught in England. The school worked effectively with these pupils to give them the help that they needed to catch up with the phonics programme. This strategy has been successful.

By the end of Year 2, the majority of pupils achieve the phonics screening check. Staff share many books with pupils to develop their vocabulary, understanding of stories and love of reading. Pupils enjoy reading a range of types of books, including some complex traditional stories.

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make a confident start to their time in school. Teachers and teaching assistants effectively model how to speak and listen. Children build a secure knowledge of important vocabulary.

Staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND swiftly and accurately. These pupils receive expert support in school. Staff adapt how they teach the curriculum so that pupils with SEND take part in lessons successfully.

Pupils with SEND achieve well.

Pupils behave very well in and around school. They are polite and well mannered.

The school does all that it can to ensure that pupils attend school and are on time. As a result of this work, pupils' attendance has improved noticeably. The school praises and rewards pupils for their efforts in attending regularly.

It makes sure that additional support is given to individual families when pupils' attendance needs to improve.

Pupils benefit from a carefully constructed personal, social, health and economic education curriculum. They understand how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally.

They know how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Pupils have a strong understanding of fundamental British values. They are taught about the importance of respecting others and celebrating diversity.

Pupils learn in an age-appropriate way about different families and what constitutes healthy relationships.

Trustees and members of the local governing body know the school very well. They offer high-quality support and challenge to the school.

The school provides effective support for staff, including a range of professional development opportunities to help them refine their teaching, while ensuring that the workload required is manageable. This creates a culture in which staff feel increasingly well supported to strengthen and enjoy their work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the curriculum lacks precision around what important content pupils need to learn and when they need to be taught it. This sometimes affects how well the curriculum in these subjects is implemented and how well pupils build their knowledge.The school should ensure that, in these subjects, the curriculum makes it clear what should be taught so that pupils' knowledge builds securely over time.