St Jude’s CofE Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming place, where pupils are happy and feel safe. The school prides itself on knowing each pupil well.

Pupils know they have trusted adults they can speak to if they have any worries. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

However, some aspects of the curriculum are not implemented effectively enough, meaning that many pupils are not prepared for the next stage of their education as well as they should be. There are some examples of more recent improvements, but outcomes at the end of ke...y stage 1 in 2023 were too low, especially in writing and mathematics.

Pupils benefit from a thoughtful curriculum that is enriched with meaningful experiences, such as visiting the local area where the Magna Carta was signed.

These kinds of activities broaden pupils' experiences and enhance their learning within the curriculum. Pupils enjoy becoming part of their supportive local community. They learn how to do this through strong links with the local church and through taking part in projects which teach life skills while helping others.

This helps them to feel responsible and confident.

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

The curriculum is ambitious. It is structured well across a broad range of subjects.

This begins in the early years, where the curriculum reflects children's starting points and fosters their interests. There is a sharp focus on developing children's language development and communication. This also helps staff to identify potential SEND needs early.

Children are well prepared for their future learning in Year 1.

Throughout the school, teachers provide well-chosen resources and materials to help pupils, including those with SEND, to access learning. Phonics is generally taught well.

The books provided for early readers are carefully matched to pupils' stages of learning. Weaker readers have regular catch-up sessions to practise key sounds and words. This helps them to develop confidence with reading.

Despite this vital work to the curriculum, there is still more to be done to make sure pupils achieve consistently well across the school. In many subjects, including writing, teachers do not design ambitious enough tasks that are closely matched to the curriculum aims. The work given to pupils does not help them to learn as well as they should.

Teachers' use of assessment is not always effective. In subjects such as mathematics and reading, teachers gather a clear picture of pupils' knowledge. However, in other subjects, teachers do not check precisely whether pupils understand or remember the essential learning.

As a result, pupils' mistakes are not always noticed or addressed. This means that their learning is slowed.Pupils have positive attitudes towards each other and towards their learning.

Leaders take time to teach pupils how to behave respectfully and politely. Children in early years learn clear routines as soon as they join the school. They take turns and share equipment well.

Staff encourage pupils to try hard and keep going when they find things challenging. This helps them to build their self-confidence and independence. Attendance is steadily improving, thanks to the school's efforts to identify the barriers for those pupils not regularly attending and putting in place effective actions.

The school provides pupils with a strong moral compass. Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong. They are knowledgeable about online safety and physical health.

The school provides pupils with meaningful experiences to help prepare them to be safe in later life. These include popular weekly swimming lessons, which help pupils to stay safe in their local area. The school ensures that pupils gain an understanding of life beyond the school community.

Religious and cultural events are celebrated. Through carefully selected books and events, such as the international week, pupils gain great insight into diversity and inclusion in the wider world.

Governors meet their statutory responsibilities and support the school effectively.

They understand the school's strengths and know what needs to improve further. Staff feel that leaders at all levels are taking active steps to improve their workload so they can focus their efforts in the classroom. Although pupils' achievement is not yet good enough, the school has identified the right priorities and are taking the right actions to tackle them.

Leaders at all levels, including governors, are passionate and committed to the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Often, pupils' work is not sufficiently focused on the most important content that they need to learn.

This means that pupils do not consistently build their understanding over time. The school should ensure that staff design ambitious tasks to support pupils to learn the essential knowledge and skills, including in writing. ? Assessment is underdeveloped.

Staff are inconsistent in checking pupils' understanding and this slows pupils' learning. The school should support staff to accurately check pupils' progress through the curriculum. Staff should use this information to inform future teaching to help pupils achieve consistently highly.

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