Icknield Walk First School

Inspection of Icknield Walk First School Poplar Drive, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 7EZ

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since July 2014. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend school with enthusiasm, eager to learn and engage with teachers and peers. They know they can speak up and share their thoughts, feelings and opinions. This is because staff provide thoughtful guidance to ensure pupils feel safe, secure and happy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff members have high expectations and, generally, pupils behave well. Children in the early years show a strong understanding of the school rules and routines. Well-designed and highly engaging activities ensure they develop well both socially and academically. Across the school, most pupils achieve well, particularly in reading.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to collaborate and share knowledge and skills with those in other year groups. This fosters many important skills, such as empathy and compassion. In these mixed-age groups, staff also provide pupils with meaningful opportunities to debate and discuss issues and ideas in a considered way.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are ample opportunities for pupils to develop their interests. These rich experiences are well planned. They include after-school clubs, educational trips and workshops to enhance pupils’ learning. Staff work to reduce barriers to ensure that pupils can participate.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has defined many aspects of the curriculum content that pupils should learn in each subject from the early years to Year 4. Teachers show strong subject knowledge. They explain new ideas clearly to pupils and create suitable learning activities. As a result, pupils complete these tasks well and they make strong progress through the curriculum. They achieve a secure understanding of important knowledge in many subjects. However, in a few subjects, curriculum thinking is not as clear as in other subjects. Where this is the case, learning is not as well thought out and sequenced. Consequently, pupils do not build up as secure an understanding as they do in the rest of the curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In the early years, skilled staff help children build strong knowledge, improving children’s language and communication skills effectively. Additionally, engaging environments mean children interact well with each other and develop strong social skills. This prepares children well for learning in Year 1 and beyond.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Teachers check pupils’ understanding of important concepts. They typically adjust their teaching to fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Occasionally, in some subjects, teachers do not pick up on misconceptions. This means pupils can struggle with new learning because they do not have the required knowledge to build on. When this happens, this slows their progress through the curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school prioritises reading. Children learn to enjoy and memorise rhymes and songs in the early years. These are important forerunners to learning to read. Teachers have the expertise to teach phonics well. They can spot pupils who need support to keep up. Those 25 and 26 March 2025

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pupils receive focused sessions to help them catch up. Pupils read often, and books match their phonics ability, which helps to secure their reading skills. As a result, pupils learn to read confidently and fluently. Pupils find reading enjoyable, as they know it teaches them more about the world around them.

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The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified accurately and met. For example, some pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs get tailored support to help them manage their emotions. For other pupils, teachers make adaptations to class learning activites to help pupils access the curriculum successfully.

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Pupils try hard to be considerate of each other in the playground and to listen well during lessons. They support each other. This creates a positive school environment where pupils feel safe to make mistakes. Teachers support and encourage pupils to understand the school rules and routines. Assemblies help pupils learn personal responsibility for their actions. Some pupils find this challenging, but staff offer effective guidance and support to help them behave appropriately.

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Pupils have extensive opportunities to participate in activities that enhance their social skills and broaden their perspectives. This starts in the early years. Teachers ensure that trips enhance the curriculum. They use pupil voice as a starting point to develop pupils’ understanding. For example, pupils can talk about ethnicity and discrimination openly and meaningfully, which helps pupils to develop a deep understanding of the issues. Additionally, the school’s approach to teaching mental and physical health helps pupils stay healthy and happy. Leaders and governors consider this a top priority for pupils’ futures.

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Leaders and governors have identified the need to further develop the curriculum in a few subjects to improve the offer for pupils. This work has begun but the impact is not yet fully evident. Staff value the ongoing training they receive to develop their teaching skills. Staff are highly positive about the support they receive from leaders. They feel this has a beneficial impact on their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum is not as well developed as it is in other subjects. This means that teachers are sometimes not clear about the content that needs to be taught in these subjects, for example. This means that, in these subjects, pupils sometimes do not learn as well as they do in others. The school should ensure that the curriculum intent is consistently clear across all subjects. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 In a few subjects, misconceptions are not addressed as precisely as they could be. This means that pupils continue to use misconceptions, which affects their progress through the curriculum, as subsequent knowledge is built on insecure or incorrect foundational knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers identify and address pupils’ misconceptions accurately so that pupils’ knowledge and understanding develop securely across the full range of subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 July 2014, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders and staff. The lead inspector also met with representatives from the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, history, and design and technology. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text

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responses. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jessie Linsley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Merritt Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 March 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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