Southbroom Infants' School

Inspection of Southbroom Infants’ School The Green, Southbroom Road, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 5AA

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

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The headteacher of this school is Amy Edwards. This school is part of The White Horse Federation, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Dan Nicholls, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ninna Gibson. There is also an executive headteacher, Nina Johnson, who is responsible for this school and one other. 17 and 18 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a warm and welcoming school. Staff have created an environment where pupils feel valued. From the Nursery Year, staff build strong relationships with children and their families. This helps children to get the support they need to settle into school. As a result, pupils feel happy and safe, and they enjoy school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high ambition for pupils and what they can achieve. Pupils benefit from an exciting and engaging curriculum. The curriculum helps them to be curious about the world. The school supports children in the early years foundation stage exceptionally well to build their knowledge. Across the school, pupils achieve well and are ready for their next stage of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. The school’s ‘calm code’ approach helps pupils to follow these expectations. Pupils show positive attitudes to their work and each other. They engage well with their work and sustain concentration.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop a sense of responsibility through their leadership roles. School councillors plan and lead events to raise money for charities. Play leaders support pupils to enjoy their breaktimes. Pupils care for the environment by picking litter. They are proud of the contributions they make to their school.

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

The school has designed a highly effective school curriculum that starts in the Nursery Year. The curriculum supports pupils to build their knowledge in a logical order. It makes clear what pupils need to know and understand. This helps pupils to build their knowledge well over time.

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

From the Nursery Year, children build their understanding of people and places around the world, including the study of a diverse range of artists and musicians. This supports pupils to value and celebrate difference.

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

The curriculum supports pupils to remember and build on their previous knowledge. This is evident in the work they produce. However, on some occasions, in some subjects, pupils do not have the necessary communication skills to talk about their work. This means pupils sometimes do not build or deepen their knowledge as well as they could.

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

From the start of the Nursery Year, the school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND receive effective support. Adaptations and resources help pupils with SEND to build their knowledge and achieve well.

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

The early years curriculum is exceptional. Staff skilfully support children to develop strong communication and language skills. This helps them well to build their knowledge across the curriculum. By the end of the Reception Year, children achieve strong outcomes and are very well prepared for the key stage 1 curriculum. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils are keen to access the wide range of books available in the vibrant reading areas and the school library. The school increases pupils’ engagement with reading such as with book prizes for reading often. Pupils who need extra help practise reading every day. Staff support them well to build their reading fluency. As a result, pupils who are at risk of falling behind become confident readers.

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Pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly manner. They enjoy playtimes and take part in a range of games and activities. Pupils share resources and play well together. In classrooms, pupils follow learning routines well, and there is no disruption to learning.

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The school keeps a sharp focus on attendance. It has strengthened its systems and has put in place robust procedures to address lower attendance. As a result, the attendance of individual pupils has improved.

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The school provides pupils with exceptional personal development opportunities. Raising pupils’ aspirations underpins this work. Visitors to the school share their work and careers. Each term, Reception Year and key stage 1 children visit the local secondary school to participate in food technology, art and design and physical education lessons. This motivates pupils to be ambitious and excited about their futures beyond the school.

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Pupils benefit from a wealth of rich experiences, including poetry recitals and music performances. They take on leadership roles. These opportunities are highly effective in building confidence and character in the youngest of pupils.

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The school works in close partnership with parents and carers. This supports parents and carers to continue their child’s learning at home.

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Leaders across the trust have supported the school exceptionally well during a period of change. They provide staff with highly effective development opportunities. Staff feel very well supported to manage their workload and build their expertise to teach the curriculum well. They welcome the close working with other schools and the opportunities they have to share good practice across and beyond the trust.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On some occasions in some subjects, teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to develop their language skills. In these subjects, pupils find it difficult to talk about what they know and use subject-specific vocabulary. The trust should ensure pupils can engage in high-quality dialogue to deepen their understanding across all curriculum subjects. 17 and 18 June 2025

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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). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the White Horse Federation multi-academy trust.  The school has an on-site Nursery which caters for two-, three- and four-year-old children.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school provides a breakfast club.

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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. 17 and 18 June 2025

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 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the executive headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator and subject leaders.  The inspector met with the CEO, trust staff, a trustee and the chair of the local governance committee.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  An inspector spoke to some parents at the end of the school day.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments, and Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Caroline Musty, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Fox Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 June 2025

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