Fairfield Infant School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 November 2023

As one parent commented: 'The school gives off such a lovely vibe and the encouragement from staff is faultless.' This is evident from the moment pupils arrive. Staff greet them at the classroom door with a friendly smile. Pupils are pleased to see both adults and their classmates, anticipating the day ahead. They quickly settle into the morning tasks designed to reinforce learning or practise skills. Staff sensitively scoop up anyone who does not settle easily, offering care and support in equal measure. These well-established routines, from Reception upwards, set the scene for purposeful learning and positive behaviour, inside and outside the classrooms, throughout the day. All staff understand that strong support for pupils' personal development from the word go is essential for them to be successful learners. Staff take the time to understand the challenges that some pupils face. They go out of their way to make sure that all pupils are in the right frame of mind to benefit from learning. Learning animals, including 'wise owl', 'spinning spider' and 'persevering penguin', encourage the attributes pupils need to, for example, think carefully, make links in their learning and be resilient. Pupils work hard and retain important information across different subjects.

What the school should improve

• There is some variability in the clarity of the pathway from learning in early years to Year 1. The intended learning is not as clear in a couple of subjects in key stage 1 as it is for most. This means that, sometimes, the progression of pupils' knowledge and skills is not as well defined as it could be. The school should continue its work to review and refine the curriculum, developing the role of foundation subject leaders further and re-establishing governors' oversight of individual subjects.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)