King Richard III Infant and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 April 2024

The school serves a diverse community where all backgrounds and cultures are celebrated. Staff, pupils and families are proud of this school. Everyone is welcome. Pupils use language such as 'inclusiveness' and appreciate the many friends that they can make. They eagerly await their turn to take home the class 'culture bag'. They fill it with items that are unique to them and their identity in readiness to share with their friends at school. Many pupils join the school part way through their schooling. Some stay at the school for only a short period of time. A significant number of these pupils are new to the country and speak English as an additional language. Staff spend time getting to know the pupils and their families. This enables pupils to quickly settle into school life. Pupils know that the school rules help to keep them safe. They recognise that they also allow them to learn and flourish in a calm environment. Pupils know that their achievements will be recognised in assemblies where they can 'shine like a star'. The school wants every child to have the best start to their early education. However, its actions are not yet having a sustained impact across the whole curriculum.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum is not fully sequenced. Checks on the intent and implementation of the curriculum have not been made in a systematic and informed way. Pupils do not learn as well as they could across the different phases. The school must ensure that the whole curriculum is well sequenced and make the necessary checks to ensure it is implemented as intended.
• Not all pupils with SEND get the right support to help them to know the school's curriculum with increasing fluency and independence. This slows down their learning and does not prepare them well for their next stage. The school must ensure that all staff understand how to make adaptations to the school's curriculum so that pupils with SEND can recall more over time.
• The learning environment in the early years does not promote children's early communication and language as well as it could. During independent learning, children's development is not always well supported. This does not help children to have a secure, well-rounded understanding of the early years curriculum. The school must ensure that all staff deliver all aspects of the early years curriculum and promote communication and language in meaningful ways.
• Although there has been some support to develop adults' expertise in delivering the school's curriculum, this has had limited impact. As a result, adults are not always able to meet the needs of all pupils as well as they could. Sometimes, pupils are taught misconceptions. The school must ensure that all staff have a secure knowledge of the school's curriculum so that they are able to teach it effectively.

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