Northfields Infants and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 April 2024

Pupils at Northfields welcome visitors with smiles and are keen to tell you about their school. They are enthusiastic learners, answering and asking questions often. Pupils and staff have friendly and respectful relationships. This means pupils feel able to speak to staff if they have any worries. Pupils live up to teachers' expectations of them in terms of behaviour. Most listen well to others in the classroom. They are kind to each other and have safe and happy playtimes. Pupils learn to read well because the reading curriculum has improved. However, some pupils are not making as much progress in other subjects because teachers' expectations of what pupils can do are not high enough. Pupils can be elected to important school groups, such as the school council and the eco-committee. This helps them learn about and practice democracy. Pupils have many opportunities to learn about diversity. For instance, in history, they learn about women of colour from the past who have achieved highly in science and mathematics. They know that all people are different and that this should be celebrated.

What the school should improve

• There are inconsistencies in the teaching in some subjects across key stage 1, including writing. Pedagogical practices do not always support, and a lack of formative assessment does not ensure that misconceptions are addressed quickly enough to improve outcomes. This means that pupils' knowledge does not develop as quickly as it could. The school needs to ensure that teachers are using the school's intended teaching approaches and assessment procedures.
• In some subjects, pupils with SEND do not have access to appropriate adaptations. For example, some are not able to record their thinking independently. This means they must wait for support, and they lose time when they could be developing and consolidating their knowledge. The school needs to ensure that pupils with SEND can record their learning effectively and help to build their independence.
• The school has not acted swiftly enough to ensure that all the recommendations made at the last inspection have been implemented, particularly regarding the teaching of some aspects of some core subjects, particularly making sure teachers have high expectations in terms of the quality of work produced by pupils and the progress they make. The school needs to ensure that improvement actions address these areas quickly and effectively.

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