Stoughton Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school develops warm and nurturing relationships between staff and pupils.

The school values are extremely well understood by pupils. As a result, they are kind, considerate and keen to engage in learning activities.

The school has high expectations for all pupils at the school.

Consequently, they achieve well. In the early years, children are exceptionally well supported to work independently with a high degree of success. Pupils enjoy many opportunities to celebrate their successes and improvements.

They know that staff notice their efforts to be the 'best that they can be'. They also appreciate the range of extra-curricular activities and lea...dership activities that they can engage in.

Bullying and unkindness are not tolerated at Stoughton Infants School.

The school values underpin how pupils interact with each other and the adults who work with them. As a result, pupils trust that adults will deal with any concerns that they might have quickly and effectively.

The school is a positive pillar of strength and stability for many families.

As one parent said, 'This is a fantastic school where my child feels safe and happy. I couldn't recommend this school enough to new parents and will be sad to leave.'

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

Nursery and Reception provide all children with a superb start to their education.

Children are well supported to develop their language, reading and movement skills as well as their social development. Knowledgeable staff provide clear and careful guidance and practice opportunities for all children to achieve success. Children benefit from being engaged in high-quality talk with adults along with activities that require them to exercise their curiosity and independence.

Careful tracking of children's development helps staff to make timely adjustments to their teaching, so that learning time is maximised. As a result, children not only enjoy their learning, but they develop important foundational knowledge quickly and effectively.

Reading is a key priority at the school.

There are high expectations for all pupils to develop into fluent readers who enjoy a range of texts. Struggling readers are provided with effective support to help them develop confidence and accuracy in reading.

Subject leaders are knowledgeable and staff have secure subject knowledge across the breadth of the curriculum.

As a result, they are well supported to teach carefully selected content in an appropriate order. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified swiftly and provided with appropriate support to access the curriculum. Across the school, in lessons, pupils are provided with clear opportunities to practice independently or in small groups.

Where this is most effective, staff routinely check pupils' understanding. As a result, the activities that pupils engage in are well matched to what they know and can do. However, this is not yet fully consistent across the school.

As a result, in some lessons, not all pupils are given the precise support and feedback that they need to achieve consistently well.

The school has high expectations of pupil behaviour, and they appropriately support all pupils to demonstrate positive learning behaviours. Consequently, pupils learn in calm and purposeful environments.

Caring relationships that leaders have developed with families have helped the school to maintain high attendance. Where pupils' attendance does not meet leaders' high expectations, they work tirelessly to provide appropriate support and take quick action to reduce barriers to attendance. Leaders use a strategy called 'The Pledge' to provide highly effective additional support for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This support includes working closely with local organisations to increase opportunities for all.

All pupils benefit from an excellent personal, social, health education curriculum that sensitively teaches important knowledge about healthy relationships and safety. As a result, pupils speak confidently about how to stay safe, how to be a good friend and what respect and diversity looks like in their school.

The school uses assemblies and thoughtfully planned theme days to deepen pupils' understanding. These opportunities enable pupils to revisit important messages over time. As a result of this high-quality provision, all pupils are extremely well supported to develop their broader character and embody the school values.

Staff and parents are overwhelmingly proud of their school. The school community benefits from leaders' thoughtful approaches to managing workload and well-being. Local governors and the trust understand the school's strengths and priorities for further improvement well.

The trust provides extensive opportunities for continuing professional development that are highly valued by all staff. The routine training and support through trust network meetings also help staff to share effective practice and stay abreast of developments in education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, teachers do not respond quickly enough to pupils' misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge. This means that some activities are not matched appropriately to pupils' level of understanding and precise support is not consistently provided in a timely manner. The school needs to ensure that staff routinely check pupils' understanding and use this information to inform subsequent teaching.

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