Newport Infant School and Nursery

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 November 2023

Pupils are happy and well cared for at Newport Infant School and Nursery. From the very beginning, children feel that they belong to one big family. Each pupil makes a peg doll of themselves. The school community displays their peg dolls together. This shows how important each pupil is within this family. The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve. Most pupils achieve well in most subjects, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils have high expectations of themselves. They enjoy learning and want to know how they can improve their work. At playtime, pupils engage in a range of activities. Adults interact and play with pupils. Routines are clear and well understood by pupils and children in early years. These clear routines support a positive learning environment in which pupils and children behave very well most of the time. Pupils know and routinely exhibit the school's rules of 'be ready, be kind, be safe'. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Some older pupils are part of 'Super Sue's Safety Crew'. As part of this leadership role, they lead assemblies and teach younger pupils about how to stay safe. They talk, for example, about wearing bright colours when walking in the dark.

What the school should improve

• In mathematics, the school has not set out the key knowledge that it wants pupils to learn over time in key stage 1. Teachers are not always clear about what to teach and when. This means that pupils' knowledge does not build in a logical order over time. The school should ensure that it consistently identifies and sequences the key knowledge it wants all pupils to learn in mathematics.
• In English, the school has not ensured that pupils are clear about the precise subject knowledge they are learning in key stage 1. This means that gaps emerge in pupils' English subject knowledge, specifically in writing. The school should ensure that the subject-specific knowledge in English is clearly set out in lessons.
• The systems for checking, analysing and evaluating work across school are not sharp enough. This means that leaders do not always accurately know how different aspects of the school are working. The school should ensure that it has an effective system in place for accurately evaluating the impact of its work.

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