Icknield Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of Icknield Infant and Nursery School Archers Way, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 4UN

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school care deeply about there being ‘no outsiders’ at this school. They learn about and celebrate differences. Pupils believe everyone should be treated fairly. When children join in Nursery, they are quick to learn the school’s ‘golden values’. As a result, pupils understand why kindness and respect are important.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders expect pupils to behave well. In early years, children learn the routines quickly and know what is expected of them. Where a small minority in Nursery find this difficult, they are supported by staff. However, the school does not follow the behaviour policy consistently. As a result, too many older pupils disrupt learning. Pupils say they feel safe at school because of trusted adults.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Sometimes, the school does not expect enough of pupils and what they can achieve. This means some pupils do not do as well as they could. Pupils enjoy learning. They enjoy the range of subjects taught.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and pupils are positive about the wide range of opportunities on offer. These are well matched to pupils’ talents and interests. Pupils enjoy activities such as junk-modelling and yoga club. Planned experiences, such as ‘castles day’, help pupils remember important learning and vocabulary.

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

The school has a well-sequenced curriculum which starts in early years. Staff know and understand what they should teach. They have secure subject knowledge. This gives children a strong foundation to build on. However, the school has not ensured staff have high expectations of the standard of pupils’ work. This means the quality of some pupils’ work is poor and they do not achieve as well as they could.

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

Staff make suitable checks on pupils’ learning. In most cases, staff identify errors and misconceptions. They help pupils to correct them. As a result, pupils typically remember what they have been taught, such as subject-specific vocabulary. Staff in early years are knowledgeable about pupil targets. This helps them to provide targeted support for all children, through high-quality interactions.

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

The school has not made sure that pupils with SEND get the support they need in school. This is because there are not clear processes for identifying pupils’ needs. Therefore, staff are not provided with the important information they need to adapt teaching effectively. It is not clear what these pupils need or how best to help them. The school has started to make useful links with external experts. This provides some additional strategies to support families.

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

There is a well-established reading curriculum in place. The school has ensured that reading is a priority. Children start learning phonics as soon as they join, getting off to a strong start. Staff have the subject knowledge they need to teach phonics well and they are quick to identify any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This means those who fall behind 3 and 4 June 2025

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have the support they need to catch up quickly. The school uses high-quality texts, songs and rhymes to help develop reading skills across the curriculum. Well-matched books help build pupils’ confidence in using the sounds they know. As a result, pupils achieve well in reading.

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The school has developed systems for recording behaviour incidents. Staff are clear on how to quickly report incidents. However, too often, staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently, meaning poor behaviour and disruption goes unchallenged. The school has made links to local organisations to get additional help for those pupils who find it difficult to behave well. This is starting to make a difference to some individual pupils.

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Too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This includes a number of pupils with SEND. The school has recently improved how it tracks and manages attendance. It works closely with families to improve attendance habits. As a result, some pupils have shown individual improvements.

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Pupils enjoy memorable opportunities outside of the lessons. In Year 2, every pupil joins the thriving school council. They help make important decisions to improve the school community. For example, the introduction of ‘Feel Good Friends’ develops pupil relationships at social times. Children in the early years benefit from opportunities to communicate and manage their own needs. This helps them to build independence.

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Governors and leaders have a clear vision for the school. However, this is not fully realised in practice. They have identified important next steps for the school. Mentoring gives new governors a positive start. Leaders use support and advice from the local authority to help inform change. Staff are positive about the school. They feel well supported and say that leaders listen to their views.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff are not clear on the support and adaptations that some pupils with SEND need. Where this is the case, pupils with SEND do not access learning as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff have the information they need to enable all pupils to access the curriculum well.  Expectations for the standard of pupils’ work are variable. Therefore, some pupils’ work is not of a high quality, and they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should provide support and guidance so that all staff have equally high expectations of pupils in all subjects.  The new behaviour policy is not applied consistently. Some pupils do not behave well in lessons and around the school. As a result, pupils’ learning is disrupted. The school 3 and 4 June 2025

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should ensure that all staff have the required knowledge and skills to use the school’s strategies successfully.  The school’s strategies to promote pupil attendance are not as effective as they should be. Some pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. This means that they miss important learning and have gaps in their knowledge. The school should ensure that strategies to improve attendance are effective.

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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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.icknieldinfants.herts.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 8, 9 and 10 February 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been significant changes to staffing since the previous inspection. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) took up post in February 2025.  The school uses one registered 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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, the SENCo, the chair of governors, a representative from the local authority and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, music and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to pupils read with a familiar member of staff.  Inspectors also looked at samples of pupils’ work in some other areas, including writing, history, geography and science.  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.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including behaviour logs, suspension records, permanent exclusion records, attendance records, pupil records, minutes of governor body meetings, school development plans, records of monitoring from the local authority and school policies.  Inspectors considered responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors spoke with parents as they arrived at school. They also took into consideration the online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Emma Breckenridge, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Stanton Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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