Queen Mary Avenue Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at school. They feel safe and know that there is a trusted adult they can go to if they are worried about something.

Caring and positive relationships between staff and pupils are evident across the school. This contributes towards the school's warm and friendly atmosphere.

The school's aim for all pupils to 'dream big, shine bright' is consistently promoted by leaders and staff.

Pupils contribute well to the life of the school. They carry out roles, such as library and assembly monitors, with maturity. School councillors play an active part in sharing their ideas with leaders.

Recently, they have helped to select new resource...s for the early years playground and interviewed applicants for new jobs at the school.

The school supports parents and carers well to ensure that pupils attend school. Most pupils attend school regularly.

However, a small but significant group of pupils miss too much school. These pupils do not do as well in their learning. They have gaps in their knowledge.

Some find it difficult to build strong relationships with their peers. Pupils with high levels of attendance, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils at the school, including those with SEND.

Leaders have carefully considered what children must learn in the early years. They have ensured that the key stage 1 curriculum builds on this. For example, in science, there is a strong emphasis on what pupils must know and the scientific skills that pupils should develop.

The school provides regular opportunities, from Nursery to Year 2, for pupils to use equipment to support investigations. During the inspection, children in the early years used magnifying glasses to examine the parts of a plant. Adults skilfully supported them to use vocabulary, such as stem, roots and petals, to describe what they observed.

In a small number of subjects, the school has not defined what it wants pupils to know precisely enough. Where this is the case, teachers are uncertain of the curriculum content to be taught and in what order. This makes it hard for pupils to learn effectively.

Leaders are in the process of making the necessary changes to these curriculum subjects. They make effective use of the more established subjects as a framework for this development.

The school has ensured a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics.

Adults teach phonics sessions with confidence. Most pupils, including those with SEND and/or who are disadvantaged, leave the school with a confident grasp of phonics. Pupils begin to develop an enjoyment of reading.

They read books that are matched to their phonics knowledge. Pupils like to select books they can share with an adult. Pupils who are confident in their reading read books with increased independence.

The school has not established a consistent approach to support pupils to develop fluency in their reading. Some pupils do not develop reading fluency as quickly as they might.

The school provides effective support for pupils with SEND.

Small group and one-to-one time with an adult provide focused teaching to pupils. These sessions are used appropriately to ensure that pupils do not fall behind in their learning. Adults know pupils well.

Staff foster positive relationships. This enables them to adapt activities to meet the needs of pupils.

The early years classrooms and outside areas are attractive spaces for children to explore their learning.

Adults promote the use of language and communication effectively. They model how to speak and interact with other people well. This builds children's confidence to interact with their peers.

Children enjoy sharing what they have learned and created with adults and visitors.

The school's personal, social and health education curriculum enables pupils to develop an age-appropriate understanding of how to keep physically and mentally healthy. Pupils demonstrate an impressive knowledge of online safety.

Lessons and assemblies enrich pupils' thinking about different faiths. They encourage pupils to treat others well. Purposeful activities, such as fund raising for charities, enable pupils to contribute to the wider community.

Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, oversee the development of the school effectively. They hear from subject leaders, review curriculum audits and correlate this information with what they know about standards in the school. Leaders use the information they gather to evaluate pupils' achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.

Systems to check what pupils know and remember in foundation subjects are not fully embedded. It is difficult to identify gaps in pupils' learning in these subjects. Staff value the support they receive from leaders.

It helps staff to manage their workload effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not established a consistent approach to develop pupils' fluency in reading.

Some pupils do not read fluently. This reduces the impact of the school's reading curriculum. The school should further develop strategies to support pupils' fluency in their reading.

• In some foundation subjects, the important knowledge that pupils must learn has not been broken down sufficiently. Curriculum plans in recently revised subjects lack the precision required to support non-specialist teachers. The school should continue to refine these curriculum plans so that teachers know what pupils must learn.