Pickering Community Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at this welcoming and inclusive school. Staff build nurturing relationships with pupils.

Pupils benefit from opportunities to be leaders, including being part of the school's 'Eco-Council'. Pupils are active in planting vegetables and looking after the school grounds. Pupils appreciate the many clubs that they can attend.

Staff help pupils to become resilient and confident learners. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

Pupils typically behave well in lessons and enjoy their learning.

Breaktimes are a highlight for the pupils. Pupils love to talk about their play area. They enjoy the wealth of play... equipment they use, which includes crates, a mud kitchen, and a digging area.

These areas develop their interests and skills.

Pupils experience lots of exciting visits as part of the curriculum. For example, some pupils visit Whitby to develop their understanding of the coast.

The school has high expectations for pupils. Most pupils in key stage 1 achieve well. However, the quality of education that children receive in the early years is not good enough.

This means that some children are not as ready for the next stage of their education as they need to be.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has a cohesive, thematic curriculum.

The curriculum is enhanced through a range of well-planned experiences. The school maps out the key knowledge that pupils need. In many subjects, pupils successfully recall what they have learned.

For example, in physical education, pupils talk confidently about the skills they need in order to play different sports. However, in some subjects, the school does not sequence learning effectively. Where this is the case, pupils struggle to build knowledge securely over time.

This means some pupils develop misconceptions and find it difficult to remember what they have been taught.

Previously, outcomes in early reading were significantly below those of pupils nationally. The school has addressed the issues it had with the teaching of early reading.

Staff teach phonics with precision and consistency. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. Children in the early years make rapid progress in reading.

The school regularly checks pupils' phonics knowledge. The school ensures pupils get the extra help they need to catch up quickly. Some aspects of the teaching of reading beyond phonics are not fully developed.

This means that some pupils do not build their confidence and fluency as well as they could.

In the early years curriculum, the school has identified some of the knowledge they want children to know and remember. However, the school is not implementing the early years curriculum as effectively, or consistently, as it needs to.

For example, the school misses opportunities to have high-quality discussions with children. Too often, children do not learn to follow routines as well as they could Outcomes at the end of early years are too low. Some children are not as well prepared for key stage 1 as they should be.

The personal development curriculum is a strength of the school. For example, pupils learn how to play safely with others and develop their independence. One pupil said, 'I like it because you can play how you like with the equipment as long as you are sensible and safe.'

Pupils benefit from the leadership roles they take on. Pupils learn how to stay safe. They know what a safe relationship is and how to get help if they need it.

The majority of pupils behave well. Pupils walk around school in a calm and orderly way. Pupils feel safe in school and they know they can talk to a trusted adult if they have any concerns.

Pupils attend school well. In lessons, pupils generally work hard. They focus on their learning and enjoy coming to school.

Leaders and governors are aspirational for pupils. They want the children to be the very best they can be. The school involves parents in their child's learning.

For example, the school runs reading workshops for parents. Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively. They understand their responsibilities.

Governors know the school well. They are involved with the life of the school. They have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and also the areas that need to develop.

Staff describe the school as 'a family'. Staff are proud to work at this school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum in the early years is inconsistently implemented. This means that children in the early years do not achieve as highly as they could and they are not as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they need to be. The school should ensure that children in early years benefit from a carefully implemented early years curriculum.

As part of this work, the school should review the training it provides for staff to help staff understand how to implement the curriculum effectively and consistently. ? Some aspects of the teaching of reading, beyond phonics, are not as developed as they could be. The school should further develop its sequenced approach to reading so that more pupils develop their fluency and a wider love of reading.

• In some wider curriculum subjects, the curriculum is not as coherently sequenced as it needs to be. This means that pupils do not build their knowledge and skills securely over time. The school needs to ensure that the curriculum is sequenced and implemented effectively to ensure that, in all subjects, pupils learn the knowledge they need for their next stage of education.

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