The Giles Infant and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 February 2023

The Giles is a large infant and nursery school, with three classes in each year group. However, it does not feel like a big school. It has a 'family' feel, where everyone knows everyone else. Pupils love coming to school. Parents rightly feel that their children are happy and safe at school. The school has extensive outdoor spaces, many of which pupils use in all weathers. Pupils learn how to keep themselves healthy, both mentally and physically. They learn about yoga and mindfulness, as ways to help them manage their own feelings. Leaders are determined that pupils will do well at school. Most pupils master the fundamental skills they need before moving on to junior school. Pupils are encouraged to develop a love of books and reading. Pupils learn about how to treat other people during their time at the school. They know that they should be kind to other people. As a result, bullying hardly ever happens. Staff are quick to sort problems out when they do arise. Most pupils follow the school's rules well. The school is usually a calm and peaceful place.

What the school should improve

• While safeguarding is effective, there have been weaknesses in the way some child protection concerns have been dealt with. Some records have not been sufficiently detailed in terms of the actions taken and reasons for decisions made. Leaders and governors should ensure that child protection concerns are always addressed with the same rigour and that the best actions are always taken, including seeking advice from children's social care when appropriate. They should ensure that rigorous oversight of safeguarding procedures and practice prevents any such occurrences from happening again.
• Leaders have not ensured that all pupils attend school frequently enough. The rate of attendance for a small minority of pupils is low. As a result, these pupils miss a lot of time in school and this adversely affects their learning. Leaders and governors should take action to continue to improve attendance overall and for those with the lowest attendance particularly. They should also ensure that part- time timetables are only used in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest possible periods of time, with clear plans for when pupils will return to full-time education.
• Approaches to ensuring that pupils with SEND, and the lowest 20% of pupils, achieve as highly as possible are more effective in some subjects and classes than in others. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders and governors should take action to ensure that approaches to assessment identify effectively where pupils have gaps in their learning, across the curriculum. They should also ensure that the curriculum is adapted and developed so that it enables pupils with SEND, and the lowest 20% of pupils, to achieve as highly as possible.

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