Puttenham CofE Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and families love this nurturing school. From the minute they join, pupils thrive in the caring environment. Children in the early years get off to the best possible start.

Staff make good use of both indoor and outdoor learning areas. They provide pupils of all ages with a plethora of opportunities to learn vital skills and knowledge.

The Christian values of the school underpin many aspects of school life.

Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils support each other. Some take on responsibilities such as playground buddies, helping to organise activities and making sure no one is lonely or worried.

Pupils are confident that bullying does not happen at t...heir school. They know staff would help them sort it out immediately if it did.

Leaders and governors share ambitious aspirations for pupils.

Parents value the commitment staff demonstrate, one parent, typical of many, told inspectors that the school has 'given our daughter the most wonderful start to her education.'

The personal development of pupils is a strength of the school. Leaders take every opportunity to extend the curriculum beyond the academic to support pupils' interests and talents.

Older pupils benefit from taking part in the young leader award. Through this they learn about character development and personal responsibility.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is challenging and caters for the needs of all pupils at the school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Subject leaders and teachers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Leaders identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly. Staff receive appropriate training to support these pupils.

As a result, they thrive in lessons alongside their peers. Much of the curriculum development work completed recently, focused on core subjects, such as English and mathematics. This work is not yet fully embedded across all foundation subjects.

Staff use assessment effectively in most subjects to help them understand what pupils have learned and remember from the curriculum.

Reading is a high priority of the school. Children learn to read from the minute they join Reception.

Staff are experts in teaching phonics. They deliver lessons in a methodical way. The books pupils read are closely matched to the sounds that they know.

Staff check pupils' learning of phonics systematically. Staff make all reading activities engaging, including during assemblies, through the 'open the book' project. This is where leaders and volunteers act out stories from the Bible to help pupils understand and engage with reading.

Positive relationships characterise this school. Pupils learn clear and consistent routines from the minute they join the school. This helps everyone to behave exceptionally well.

Children learn to cooperate and share. Older pupils look after younger children in the playground. They play well together and take turns supporting each other on the climbing equipment if needed.

Pupils relish taking responsibility for setting up for assembly.

The curriculum in Reception is rich and varied and prepares pupils exceptionally well for their learning in Year 1. Children thrive in the vibrant and purposeful environment.

They love learning. Behaviour in Reception is exemplary. Children learn in a vocabulary-rich environment.

Staff take every opportunity to build on previous learning. Staff in the early years skilfully identify misconceptions and gaps in learning. They provide support to help children learn at every opportunity.

Leaders and staff are deeply committed to extending learning beyond the academic. Opportunities to promote personal development are embedded in the school's curriculum. Thoughtfully planned trips and visits, relevant to the topic of the term, enhance pupils' learning.

Some activities support mental health and well-being, for example all pupils learn yoga to support the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Pupils study personal, social and health education in an age-appropriate way. The 'Guildford in Bloom' competition is known as a 'Seed of an idea that exploded into a wonderful project'.

Gardening permeates every aspect of the curriculum. Volunteers and pupils grow together through tending the school allotment. Pupils learn about where their food comes from and recently ate some of their own produce in their Jubilee celebrations.

Pupils learn what it is like to grow up in modern Britain throughout the curriculum. Clubs are popular and help to nurture interests and talents.

Governors provide excellent support and challenge for leaders and staff.

Along with leaders, governors share a strong and ambitious vision for the school. Governors are thoughtful in their approach. Staff are very proud to work at the school.

They care for each other. Staff value the support that leaders give them to do the best possible job they can for their school community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a deeply embedded culture of safeguarding. Leaders, including governors, are meticulous in the way they keep children safe. All staff know how to spot a potential concern and know to report it immediately.

Leaders follow up any concerns in a timely manner. Strong relationships, with families and outside agencies, mean that leaders secure help swiftly and effectively.

From the minute they join the school, pupils feel safe.

They have trusted adults they can talk to if they are worried. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in personal, social and health education. They learn about age-appropriate online safety and how to keep physically and mentally healthy.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, leaders' curriculum thinking is not as well refined or sufficiently embedded as it is in the core subjects. This means that the curriculum is not having as much impact as it could. Leaders should ensure that their new curricula are fully refined and embedded, so that pupils know and remember more in all subjects.