Gordons Children's Academy, Infant

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 27 September 2022

Pupils at The Gordon Children's Academy, Infant school aspire to be their best selves. They work together to live up to Gordon's 'Great Expectations', which are underpinned by the school values of ambition, bravery, confidence, kindness and pride. The settling process for children in Reception begins ahead of the summer for many. This means that staff already know each individual, and their families, well. Children who have just joined the school are happily forming friendships as they explore the environment and begin the learning journey that will prepare them for Year 1. There are clear expectations for how pupils will behave and conduct themselves. Pupils know exactly what is expected from them. They are kind and courteous to all members of the school community. Pupils sometimes have disagreements, but with the support of school staff, can resolve these quickly. Parents have high levels of confidence in the school under the new headteacher's leadership. They describe her as extremely present and approachable. One parent, who is also a local governor, described his children coming home from school and having animated discussions at the dinner table. These discussions are inspired by the thinking and debate that all pupils participate in at the school, as they learn to engage with news about current events in an age-appropriate and inspiring way.

What the school should improve

• Not all foundation subject curriculums are logically sequenced. In these subjects, teachers do not always have clarity about the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Pupils, including those with SEND, do not learn as well in these subjects. Leaders need to continue their work on the precision of sequencing in foundation subjects. They should ensure there is a clear and common understanding of knowledge that pupils need to acquire to be able to progress through the curriculum towards a carefully designed end point.
• Not all teachers have the subject-specific expertise they need to implement the curriculum effectively across all subjects that they teach. This means they do not always explain things clearly or design tasks that support the intended learning. Nor do they adapt learning effectively to ensure that pupils with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes. Leaders need to continue their work to support teachers in becoming increasingly expert in every subject that they teach, so that they can explain things clearly, design tasks that support intended learning and adapt learning effectively for pupils with SEND.
• In the foundation subjects that are at an earlier stage of re-development, assessment is not used effectively. This is, in part, because there is a lack of clarity around what the intended learning is. As the curriculums in these subjects are further refined, leaders need to ensure that assessment is developed to be closely aligned with the curriculum so that teachers are to check whether pupils are learning the intended curriculum in each subject.

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