Studley Infants' School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 June 2026

Pupils are happy at school and attend regularly. Leaders and staff know pupils and their families well. This helps pupils to feel welcome. Pupils talk positively about their friendships and the relationships they have with staff. Staff support pupils' wellbeing and social and emotional needs well. As a result, pupils grow in confidence, independence and resilience as they move through the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they need to access learning. Pupils who attend the specialist resourced provision receive the care and teaching they need to thrive. Pupils understand the school rules of 'ready, respectful and safe'. Most pupils generally behave well in lessons and at social times. However, leaders do not ensure that there is a consistent approach to managing pupils' behaviour across the school. Not all staff have consistently high expectations of pupils' behaviour. As a result, sometimes pupils do not concentrate on their learning as well as they should. They do not always take sufficient care with their handwriting and presentation. Pupils are excited about their learning. They enjoy a broad curriculum and speak enthusiastically about their lessons. Pupils benefit from a range of trips and visitors to enrich their learning. However, teachers do not ensure that all pupils develop secure foundations in basic skills such as letter formation, spelling and punctuation. In the wider curriculum and in the early years, learning does not always build in small, logical steps. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and skills. This means some pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage in their education as they could be. Pupils feel safe. They can identify trusted adults who help them. Staff deal promptly with any incidents when they occur, including any bullying.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should define the small steps of knowledge that children in the early years need to learn so that all staff are clear about what to teach and activities are more purposeful.
• Leaders should develop staff’s expertise in the early years so that they can engage in consistently purposeful interactions to develop children’s language and communication skills.
• Leaders should develop a whole-school approach to managing pupils' behaviour and support staff in the implementation of this so that everyone shares the same high expectations and deals consistently with any off-task or poor behaviour in lessons and around school.
• Leaders should ensure that the wider curriculum is coherently sequenced so that pupils’ knowledge and skills build securely over time, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders should ensure that staff consistently identify and address gaps and errors in pupils’ basic skills so that pupils develop secure foundations.
• Leaders and those responsible for governance should strengthen the school’s approach to monitoring and evaluation to enable leaders to have a more precise understanding of the quality of provision and address weaknesses quickly.

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