Stoke Hill Infant and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to be a part of Stoke Hill. They enjoy coming to school and show positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils move around the school sensibly knowing what is expected of them.

Pupils feel well cared for and know that adults will help them if they have any worries. This is because staff take time to build warm relationships with pupils. This starts in the early years where staff help the youngest children settle well.

Parents and carers praise the school highly for the care the school has for their children.

The school has raised its ambition of what pupils should learn through the design of the curriculum. Pupils have risen to the h...igh expectations staff have of them and typically learn the curriculum well.

By the time they leave Year 2, pupils are well prepared for junior school.

The wider development of pupils is a strength of the school. Pupils appreciate the many opportunities that enrich the curriculum, such as regular trips and visits.

Pupil leadership roles help to develop pupils into responsible citizens. As a result, pupils know that they make a difference to their school. For example, 'wildlife champions' look after the school garden.

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

There have been changes to the leadership structure of the federation. These have resulted in the school identifying areas for improvement. Alongside governors, leaders have an accurate view of the school.

The school rightly identified that the curriculum needed greater ambition and clarity about what pupils should learn and by when. It has considered the knowledge pupils need to know and remember at each stage to prepare them well for their next stage, starting in the early years. This ensures that teachers are clear about what to teach and when to help pupils learn the curriculum well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

These pupils are identified early to ensure they get the support they need.

Staff benefit from regular professional development to develop their expertise. This has strengthened the teaching of the curriculum.

For example, pupils are supported to deepen their knowledge, making links with what they have learned before through tasks that closely match the intended curriculum. However, there is variability in some subjects. On occasions, the work given to pupils does not always meet the high ambition of the curriculum, including in the early years.

Sometimes, teachers are not clear when pupils may need additional support or if they are ready for further challenge. When this happens, it limits what some pupils learn.

The school has prioritised teaching pupils to learn to read.

Staff receive regular professional development training to develop their expertise to teach the phonics programme well. Pupils are given time to practise and apply new sounds with closely matched reading books. The school identifies and supports any pupils who have gaps in their phonic knowledge to help them to keep up.

The school promotes the enjoyment of reading in a variety of ways. Pupils talk fondly of the 'secret story teller' who visits to read books to them.

Pupils write widely and often across the curriculum.

This starts in the early years where many children choose to write independently using a range of media and writing materials. The school supports most pupils to develop their handwriting, spelling and punctuation to build their knowledge over time. However, some pupils who are at the earlier stages of developing these skills are not given all the support they need to secure their knowledge deeply.

They take part in writing tasks that are too challenging for them to achieve success. As a result, these pupils progress less well through the curriculum.

Pupils learn in a calm and orderly setting.

This is because the school has ensured that there are clear expectations to follow. At times, some children in early years do not get all the support they need to develop their personal, social and emotional development (PSED). As a result, they are sometimes not helped well enough to follow the school rules of 'ready, respectful, safe'.

Consequently, these children are less prepared for their next stage.

Pupils are equipped for life in modern Britain as the school teaches them the importance of the fundamental British Values. For example, the focus on mutual respect ensures pupils know that discrimination is wrong and that everyone should be treated fairly.

As a result, pupils show respect for others. Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy both physically and mentally. The school places a high priority on supporting pupils' mental health, such as through '10 a day'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasions, the work given to some pupils does not consistently meet the high ambition of the school's curriculum and at times, is not adapted for pupils' different starting points. As a result, some pupils are not able to deepen their understanding.

The school should ensure that all pupils receive appropriate work that closely matches the high ambition of the curriculum based on what they know and remember to build their knowledge securely over time. ? Some pupils, who are at the early stages of learning to write, are given work that is beyond what they know and can do. This is because they have not yet grasped the basic transcription skills of writing, such as handwriting, spelling and punctuation.

The school should ensure that it provides pupils with the appropriate support they need to secure transcription knowledge in writing that will help them to complete more complex written tasks with success. At times, the school does not help some children in the early years well enough to develop their prime areas of learning, including PSED. This is because adults do not consistently recognise when some children need additional support to deepen their understanding.

The school needs to strengthen the expertise of staff to promote consistently high-quality interactions that help children to develop their knowledge in these areas to be better prepared for their next stage

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