Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 January 2025

The school's values of respect, aspiration and belonging are beginning to shine through. The school has rightly prioritised developing the curriculum and improving pupils' behaviour. Staff want pupils to reach high standards in their work. A new curriculum is starting to improve pupils' learning, including in the early years. However, gaps in pupils' learning remain, as over time, pupils have not studied a suitably ambitious curriculum. As a result, pupils have not consistently deepened their knowledge, which limits their ability to achieve as well as they should across the school. Behaviour at the school is good. Pupils are happy and safe. Staff help pupils with any worries they may have. Relationships between pupils and adults are positive. Staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. These are enacted consistently across the school. Everyone says that school is much calmer now. One staff member understandably described the recent improvements at the school as a 'sea change'. Pupils enjoy being part of a diverse community. Everyone is treated equally. Pupils enjoy the leadership roles on offer. They are familiar with the fundamental British values, including the meaning of democracy. There is a range of extra-curricular opportunities on offer to pupils and this continues to develop.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, including early reading, the curriculum is not delivered as effectively as leaders intend. As a result, not all pupils, including those in the early years, achieve as well as they should. The school should continue to strengthen its approach to curriculum delivery to ensure all pupils develop a strong body of knowledge over time across all subjects.
• Sometimes, the activities used to deliver the curriculum are not consistently effective, including in the early years. Consequently, some pupils do not learn all that they should or deepen their knowledge effectively, including pupils who could have more challenging work. The school should ensure that its curriculum design and delivery consistently support all pupils in acquiring knowledge they are capable of over time.
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough, while others do not arrive on time at the start of the school day. As a result, these pupils miss out on important learning and do not make the progress that they are capable of. The school should continue to develop their systems to ensure that parents understand the importance of regular attendance and punctuality.
• The trust does not evaluate the effectiveness of strategies the school has implemented rigorously. Consequently, those responsible for governance are not always able to identify trends or patterns, or readily determine which strategies are successful. The trust should ensure that actions and strategies are systematically evaluated so they can identify what is effective and what requires further adaptation.

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