Hillborough Infant and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 May 2023

Hillborough Infants is a welcoming school, where pupils feel like part of a family. Pupils are constantly kind and caring towards each other. They work together extremely well in lessons, such as when reading to each other or working on a joint computer project. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning. Pupils look forward to breaktimes. There is plenty to do. Pupils like eating together in the friendly dining room and playing with their friends. Pupils understand what behaviour teachers expect of them at school. They say that pupils usually make the sensible choices. They understand the consequences of making poor choices. They think this is fair and meet expectations willingly. Pupils know that bullying is unacceptable. Most pupils say they are not aware of any bullying occurring. Pupils feel safe. They trust teachers to deal with any problems. Pupils enjoy the wide variety of activities they do at school. Many attend clubs like gardening and reading. They like taking on responsibilities, such as arranging a bring-and- buy sale to raise funds for their year groups.

What the school should improve

• Teachers occasionally set tasks for pupils that are too hard for them because they do not have the skills and knowledge they need to complete these. On these occasions, pupils do not make the progress teachers expect of them. Leaders should monitor curriculum delivery to ensure the small steps of learning are taught sequentially so that pupils build their knowledge over time.
• Some staff are not yet fully confident in applying the school's new behaviour policy. This means that behaviour is not always managed as consistently as it might be by all staff. Leaders should ensure that all staff fully understand the policy and are confident to apply it consistently and rigorously.

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