South Farnborough Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a caring and kind community, where everyone is valued. Pupils are happy, well looked after and safe.

From Reception Year, pupils are happy and inquisitive learners, who enjoy the broad range of learning activities. From the early years, children learn to work independently and be kind to others.

Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and nurturing.

Pupils are confident that adults will help them if they have any worries or concerns. The school is highly ambitious for all pupils to achieve well, within its 'living and learning in harmony' approach that underpins the curriculum. Pupils rise to these aspirations and are keen to do th...eir best.

Staff support all pupils to access the ambitious curriculum so that pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Displays in the classroom and around the school celebrate pupils' achievements across the curriculum.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

As a result, behaviour is positive across the school. Pupils work and play together well on the playground in a joyful and engaging manner. Staff encourage pupils to take on responsibilities such as school councillors.

This helps pupils to develop their leadership skills.

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

The school recently reviewed and refined the ambitious curriculum. It outlines the essential knowledge that pupils should learn over time.

The well-considered changes link to the school's `harmony' curriculum principles. Some of these adaptations are very new, and teachers are still getting used to delivering them. The school has not yet had enough time to evaluate these recent changes.

The school rightly continues to strengthen curriculum leadership so it becomes sharp and precise across all subjects, enabling staff to evaluate fully the impact on pupils' learning.

Staff have ambitious expectations for all pupils, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff swiftly identify pupils with SEND and provide a range of effective support.

Teachers present new information clearly. The well-sequenced curriculum supports pupils' learning through a range of well-chosen teaching activities. However, occasionally, some chosen teaching strategies are less effective in helping pupils to deepen their knowledge.

This means that, sometimes, the delivery of the curriculum does not ensure that pupils achieve as well as they could.

Teachers check pupils' understanding in lessons to help them embed and recall knowledge. This also supports pupils to make connections across different aspects of their learning.

However, the school's work in understanding how pupils learn over time is not as effective. This is because the school's systems for identifying gaps precisely in pupils' knowledge across the curriculum and over time are underdeveloped. As a result, it hinders staff from making the necessary changes to future learning to ensure that the curriculum fully meets pupils' needs.

Reading is prioritised as the gateway to pupils' success across the curriculum. Children learn phonics from Reception. They benefit from effective phonics teaching in the early years and across the school.

Staff address misconceptions as they happen. Staff check regularly to ensure that the books pupils read match their phonics stage. Pupils who fall behind are identified quickly and receive additional support straight away.

They develop a love of stories and can talk about their favourite books. Pupils have many opportunities for choosing books, including in the classroom and the school library. They enjoy using the school's reading shed, which contains donated books for pupils to read and swap.

As a result, pupils become confident, fluent and avid readers.

In the early years, children benefit from caring relationships and well-established routines. Children are engaged and curious learners who develop confidence and independence, especially when learning in the outdoor area.

For example, children worked cooperatively to make a tunnel on stands for their toy cars to travel through. Staff support children effectively to develop their language and communication skills. Children's oracy skills are improved as they listen to highly engaging stories read by adults.

The school's personal development programme broadens pupils' experiences. Pupils behave well, both in lessons and around the school. They have positive attitudes to learning and follow the appropriate routines.

Pupils know the school's values and understand what respect and cooperation mean. They raise money for charities and make donations to a local food bank to help think about others' needs. Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships.

The school provides a range of activities, including after-school clubs, to help promote pupils' interests and talents. There are opportunities for children to participate in a wide range of trips and benefit from visits from people within the community to the school. These help to broaden their cultural development and understanding of the world beyond the classroom.

The school is committed and determined to continuous improvement for the benefit of all pupils. Parents are supportive of the school. Those responsible for governance have an insightful understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.

Staff appreciate the actions taken by the school to ensure they are supported with a range of training to enhance their skills and expertise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Assessment arrangements are not developed sufficiently across all subjects.

This means that the school does not understand precisely how well pupils are learning the curriculum over time. The school should strengthen the assessment arrangements so it has more clarity about the impact the curriculum is having on deepening pupils' knowledge. Staff should use this information to address gaps in learning swiftly.

• Occasionally, teachers do not design tasks that support pupils to learn the intended curriculum effectively. This means that some pupils do not gain as much knowledge as they could. The school needs to deepen teachers' expertise to ensure that they can support pupils consistently to progress securely through the curriculum, including in the early years.

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