Wheatfields Infants’ and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school warmly welcomes pupils and their parents and carers every day, with Koby, the school dog, adding a special touch.

Staff's genuine kindness helps children settle quickly into Nursery and Reception. These strong relationships nurture happiness and safety, shaping positive views of the school. The 'Treetops' before- and after-school club ensures that pupils who need an extended day eat healthily, share toys and engage in polite conversation.

Pupils form friendships easily and play confidently. They enjoy a range of activities at playtimes, such as building forts from crates, improving their hand-eye coordination with a cup and ball or swinging on the monkey ba...rs. The 'gold book' motivates them to give their best.

They eagerly anticipate the celebration assemblies, where they and their peers receive recognition for their achievements and efforts, both in and out of school.

This school sets high expectations for pupils' achievement. Pupils learn well through an engaging curriculum, enhanced by trips, workshops and visitors.

For example, they recall vivid details about what life was like for children in Victorian times and have a deep knowledge of artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. They take great pride in producing wonderful artwork inspired by these artists.

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

The school has worked hard to refine its curriculum in recent years.

In key stage 1, it has clarified goals to ensure that teachers have a detailed plan of the concepts, skills and vocabulary pupils need to learn. This supports lesson planning and helps check pupils' understanding. Staff typically explain concepts clearly using precise language and tools.

For example, in mathematics, pupils use equipment for counting and calculation to good effect because staff first demonstrate its use.

The early years curriculum supports many children to achieve well. For example, a strong focus on writing enables more children to use their phonics knowledge to write correctly spelled short sentences.

To build on this success, plans are in place to improve the curriculum further, aligning it more closely with key stage 1. This is because some knowledge and skills that children need to learn in the early years are too broad. Teachers do not have sufficient clarity about exactly what to check that children know and can do and when to check this.

As a result, some children do not develop their understanding as well as they could.

Many pupils achieve highly in reading. Strong support in school and at home facilitates this, ensuring that pupils develop a love of reading.

When pupils struggle to keep up, there are frequent opportunities for them to revise the letter sounds they need to know and practise reading these in an accessible book.

The school works with parents, the trust and the local authority to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff help pupils improve communication and self-regulation, enabling them to join lessons and activities.

When a pupil receives extra teaching, such as in reading or mathematics, staff assess their progress before and after the sessions. The school is also improving how it identifies effective teaching to share best practices and make lessons clearer for pupils who find it hard to infer meaning.

Most pupils work hard.

They follow the school's guiding principles: being ready, respectful and safe. However, there are occasions when pupils are inattentive or impolite. Staff responses vary.

Some use clear commands that pupils follow, while others rely on vague suggestions that are less effective. Leaders are aware of this inconsistency, but their efforts to address it are at an early stage.

The school takes pride in its extensive personal development programme.

Pupils and their parents highly value the range of positive experiences on offer. These experiences create lasting memories and foster a positive view of the school. There is a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.

These include clubs run by external experts and visits to galleries, museums, historical sites and places of worship. There are special visitors to the school who help to broaden pupils' knowledge of the world. Pupils also have age-appropriate opportunities to learn about fundamental British values.

For example, they learn about democracy through the school council and class votes for rewards.

Strong communication and strategic monitoring ensure that trustees and local governors understand the school well. They use this knowledge to check, challenge and praise the work of leaders and staff.

The trust provides valuable networking and professional support. For example, the school appreciates advice on attendance, helping its whole-school attendance levels compare favourably with those of schools nationally.

Parents hold the school in high regard.

For example, they value its flexible before- and after-school childcare, which meets theirs and their children's needs.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In the early years, the component knowledge that children must learn is not clear enough.

Teachers do not have sufficient clarity about what children need to learn and when they need to learn it. This limits the effectiveness of assessments in guiding teaching and ensuring all children achieve their best. The school should refine the curriculum with clear, measurable checkpoints to enable more efficient, timely assessment that better informs teaching.

• There are inconsistencies in how staff respond to instances of inattentive or impolite behaviour. When expectations are not communicated clearly and consistently, some pupils lose focus in lessons and do not always interact respectfully with adults and peers. The school should ensure that all staff apply consistent behaviour management strategies so that expectations are clear and reinforced, securing positive behaviour from all pupils.

Also at this postcode