St Michael's Church of England Infant School Maidstone

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 December 2024

Pupils love coming to this small, welcoming school. They are warmly cared for by kind, nurturing adults. Clear, well-established routines and kind, reassuring guidance from staff help pupils to behave well and feel safe. Pupils know there are trusted adults they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Pupils enjoy tackling the challenges of the school's curriculum. They are curious about their learning and are keen to show what they can do. They achieve well overall and are ready for the next stage of their education. Pupils benefit from 'wow' events that bring learning to life. They particularly enjoy local trips, which include visits to the forest to learn outdoors. Learning through workshops enriches pupils' understanding in different subjects. For example, learning in a mobile planetarium enhances pupils' learning about space in science. The school's values of friendship, perseverance, happiness and respect are important to pupils. They talk about being kind, being a good friend, and saying please and thank you. Pupils embody these values throughout the day. They get along well. They play and learn together happily. Any friendship issues are addressed promptly.

What the school should improve

• In some aspects of the wider curriculum, details of the content that pupils need to learn are not made explicit enough. As a result, while pupils achieve well overall, they do not consistently retain and recall some aspects of the curriculum, including key language, as effectively as leaders expect. The school should identify precisely what pupils need to learn to help pupils to learn important knowledge and achieve the school's ambitious curriculum goals.

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