St Ives Infant School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 February 2024

St Ives Infant School is a happy place where pupils are well cared for. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and talk positively about the way in which staff help them to learn and have fun. Pupils are polite and considerate. They behave very well. The school has high expectations for pupils. In lessons, they engage enthusiastically with their learning and are keen to do their best. Pupils work hard on tasks and are rightly proud of their accomplishments. In each class, the 'stars of the day' wear their cloaks with pride. The school develops pupils' character well. It encourages pupils to try a range of new experiences, known as the 'Big 25'. Pupils enjoy the challenge of learning to play a musical instrument or raising money for a local charity. Together with a range of clubs, such as football, choir, arts and crafts, this helps pupils develop their talents and interests and become eager to help others. The school builds strong partnerships with parents. For example, staff make sure that parents know about phonics and the importance of reading. Parents who responded to the Ofsted survey, Ofsted Parent View, or spoke to inspectors, were overwhelmingly positive about the school.

What the school should improve

• The books provided for some pupils to practise their phonics are not closely matched to the sounds they have learned. When this happens, pupils do not build fluency as securely as they need to. The trust should ensure that books are consistently matched to the sounds pupils know.
• In some subjects, leaders have not defined the essential knowledge they want pupils to learn and remember. As a result, pupils do not build their knowledge securely. The trust needs to ensure that all subjects identify the knowledge that pupils must learn, and when.

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