Ilfracombe Infant and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 March 2025

Pupils at Ilfracombe Infant and Nursery School follow a broad curriculum but they do not achieve as well as they should. School leaders are not ambitious enough for what pupils can do. This means that pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. Pupils are well cared for. They are safe and know that if they have any concerns there is a member of staff they can speak to. However, at times staff do not deal swiftly with low- level behaviour and this disrupts the learning of pupils. The school provides pupils with a wide range of extra-curricular activities, such as dance, construction and creative clubs. These help to develop pupils' talents and interests. Pupils learn new skills during outdoor learning, such as cutting wood. Pupils regularly go on school trips that link to their topics. However, pupils do not always associate these visits to their learning in the classroom. Some parents and carers have mixed views about the school. While some parents comment positively about their children's experiences at school, others feel that the school does not communicate with them effectively when they raise concerns.

What the school should improve

• The school has not fully defined the reading curriculum beyond phonics. It is not clear what pupils need to learn and by when. Therefore, pupils do not build the knowledge and skills they need to read well. The school should ensure that the reading curriculum beyond phonics is ambitious and identifies the important knowledge and skills that pupils need to read confidently and understand what they have read.
• Assessment is not used with enough precision to check what pupils know and remember. As a result, teachers do not plan tasks which take into account what pupils already know and can do. As a result, pupils do not build knowledge securely. The school needs to ensure that teachers use assessment effectively to check pupils' understanding and to plan tasks which help pupils to build their knowledge securely over time.
• The school's programme for personal development is not as effective as it needs to be. The school does not provide sufficient opportunities to develop pupils' wider knowledge of different cultures and beliefs or develop pupils' confidence and strength of character. The school should ensure that provision for personal development equips pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to be well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• The school's strategic oversight of some aspects of its work is not sufficiently robust. As a result, school leaders do not have a strong enough understanding of aspects of the school's work or check whether their actions have the impact they intend. The school needs to put in place stronger systems to provide a clearer understanding of its work, so that leaders can fulfil their strategic responsibilities more effectively.

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