The past few years have seen significant turbulence for the school, not only because of the challenges due to COVID-19 but also due to several changes to the leadership arrangements of the school. Current leaders have ensured that the school continues to move forward, for example by introducing a new curriculum. However, leaders are honest and accurate in their evaluation that there are some weaknesses and inconsistencies in the quality of education. Leaders and staff set and demonstrate high expectations, and pupils respond well to this. They behave well in lessons and around the school. Staff are a united, close and caring team who enjoy working at the school. Pupils say that they do not think that bullying happens. But if they needed help, they know who they could talk to in school. Pupils are polite, confident and proud of their school. They say that school is ‘fair and fun’. Pupils helped to develop the school’s values of contribute, aspire, respect and equality. They say that these values support them to understand how to care for each other. Pupils enjoy the weekly awards for being friendly, for making someone smile and for when you get up on your tiptoes and try really hard! What does the school do well and what does it need to do better? The headteacher and his leadership team have stabilised the school and secured strong staff morale during a particularly rocky time. Staff say that their workload is managed well. They feel respected and valued. However, leaders recognise that there is still work to do to improve some aspects of the school that have deteriorated since the previous inspection. Governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses thanks to their curiosity and leaders’ accurate evaluation. Governors have remained resilient and determined, adapting their approach so that there has been the right balance of challenge and support for staff during this challenging time. The local authority has rightly prioritised support for the school, agreeing with leaders’ evaluation of the weaknesses. Local authority officers have supported the school well, ensuring that leaders have the guidance they need. School leaders look outward, they work effectively with local school improvement networks. As a result, useful advice is helping to improve aspects of the school. Leaders’ roles have been reorganised. Subject leaders ensure that the curriculum, in most subjects, builds knowledge and that pupils revisit important content so that this knowledge really sticks. Teams of teachers support improvements to the curriculum. The curriculum is now nearly complete across all subjects. The music and computing curriculums still need work. Subject leader roles are at an early stage of development. There is no systematic approach to monitoring how well teachers are implementing the agreed curriculum. As a result, there is inconsistency in practice across the school. Some disadvantaged pupils who need to catch up learn the curriculum successfully because assessment is accurate. Therefore, tasks that are set match what they know and can do. Elsewhere, assessment is less successful, which leads to weaker outcomes for pupils. For example, some pupils who need help to catch up with reading, struggle to read word problems set in mathematics. This hinders their understanding of mathematics. In phonics, some pupils repeat mistakes in forming letters, as they have not been shown exactly how to write these letters. Children in the Reception classes get off to a flying start. The emphasis is on stories and these lead to meaningful learning experiences for children. For example, children collaborated well to make a structure with wooden blocks. Others made a model of a boat in response to a story they had read and enjoyed with their teacher. Pupils who need help to catch up with phonics and early reading now have books that closely match their phonics knowledge. However, some of these pupils are not having sufficient opportunities to practise their reading. As a result, they continue to struggle to become fluent, confident readers. This slows their progress. Leaders are aware that the support plans for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) vary in quality. Some plans do not specify exactly what the next steps are that will help pupils to move forward. Leaders have not made sure that plans are of consistently high quality. This weakens the progress of some pupils with SEND. Leaders are aware of the importance of enriching the curriculum through clubs, visits, trips and visitors to school. Some clubs have now returned following the disruption due to COVID-19. These contribute well to pupils’ personal development. In discussion with the headteacher, the inspector agreed that how well pupils are helped to catch up with reading and how leaders check that the curriculum is being implemented well may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection. Inspection report: Crossways Infant School 7 and 8 June 2022 2 Safeguarding The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils feel safe and secure at school. They know who to talk to if they have any concerns. Leaders ensure that there are appropriate policies and procedures in place to safeguard children. They ensure that staff have the training and information they need to keep pupils safe. As a result, staff are vigilant and know the signs to look for that could indicate a concern. Leaders manage recruitment processes and allegations well. They draw from a range of agencies to ensure that families have the help and support they need.