Polehampton Church of England Infant School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 November 2023

Pupils thrive in this inclusive school community. They embrace the school vision of 'let your light shine' and have high ambitions for themselves and each other. Staff have high expectations for pupils' achievement and effort. Pupils enjoy celebrating when they rise to this challenge and demonstrate positive learning behaviours. They know what it means to be a 'resilient rhino' or a 'creative chameleon', and they know why these behaviours are important for their learning. The school environment is calm and purposeful. Pupils greet each other, staff and visitors politely as they go about their daily routines. They cooperate and share well during social times. Relationships between pupils and staff are respectful, warm and kind. Pupils feel safe and happy at Polehampton. They know that staff will listen to them and help them with any worries. Pupils enjoy learning about different cultures. They have a deep understanding of fairness and equality. Pupils value differences in other people and the opportunity to learn from them. They appreciate the extra opportunities that bring their learning to life, such as visits to the aeroplane museum and the use of the forest school. Pupils also enjoy the clubs on offer, where they explore 'magical maths', science or learn French.

What the school should improve

• Some tasks pupils complete do not always provide pupils with the opportunity to reinforce or deepen their understanding. Consequently, pupils do not have as secure an understanding of specific subjects as they could, which means they sometimes struggle to use what they know. The school should continue its work to ensure that the delivery of the ambitious curriculum helps pupils remember and connect subject-specific knowledge.
• A small minority of pupils do not always engage with their learning as fully as they could. This means they do not make the most of the learning opportunities in lessons. The school should continue to work with these pupils to help them regulate their behaviour.
• Those responsible for local governance have not always had a thorough or precise oversight of the school. This means they have not provided the school with as much challenge as they could have. The trust should continue to embed the new systems in place for training and monitoring local governance to ensure there is appropriate challenge and knowledge at all levels of leadership.

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