John of Gaunt Infant and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 December 2023

This school provides a friendly and welcoming environment. It is a place where pupils are happy, safe and enjoy learning. There are caring relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils, including the very youngest children, know there is always someone they can talk to if they have concerns. Most parents hold positive views about the school and describe staff as 'skilled, supportive and encouraging'. Pupils behave well because school routines are clear to them. The John of Gaunt way includes the '6 R's', such as respect, resilience and responsibility, which are values woven throughout the curriculum. Most pupils try their best to personify these values. Pupils understand that their actions can affect others, both positively and negatively. Adults teach this in a way that the youngest children can understand. Pupils learn how they can make situations better and solve problems and difficulties. Pupils learn to be responsible citizens. They contribute to school life by being house captains and members of the school council. Councillors enjoy responsibilities such as choosing which charities to support and collecting 'kindness' pennies. This teaches them to recognise the positive impact their actions can have from the very beginning of their time in school.

What the school should improve

• There are inconsistencies in the quality of pupils' written work across the school. This is because not all staff have high expectations of pupils' writing skills. There are occasions when staff do not intervene when pupils are making basic errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling. As a result, some pupils go on to repeat these errors in subsequent activities. Leaders need to ensure that staff are consistently identifying and addressing these errors and understand how to support all pupils to develop their writing skills.

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