Bushfield Road Infant School

Inspection of Bushfield Road Infant School Bushfield Road, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire DN16 1NA

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 September 2025

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 24 and 25 September 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and well cared for at this school. The school provides a welcoming and nurturing environment for its pupils. Staff build trusting relationships. Pupils know that they can talk to staff if they have any worries or concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for all pupils. Most pupils are keen to learn and try hard to improve their work. Since the last inspection, the school has revised its curriculum. For example, pupils now receive effective support to learn to read. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge from weaknesses in the previous curriculum. Learning in the early years does not support children as well as it should to ensure that children are well prepared for key stage 1.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind and polite. They help each other and understand what it means to be a friend. In the early years, adults help children to settle quickly into routines, which prepares them well as they progress through the school. Pupils play cordially together during play times. They benefit from a range of educational visits, such as to Cleethorpes Lifeboat Station, where they learned about water safety.

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

The school has improved its curriculum since its previous inspection. It has identified the important knowledge that pupils must know and remember for each subject, starting in the early years. This helps teachers to know what to teach pupils and when. However, changes to the curriculum are recent and many pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have gaps in their foundational knowledge. The checks that the school makes on how well pupils are learning are not fully effective. Some checks do not identify precise gaps in knowledge to ensure that future learning builds on what pupils know and can do. This means that some pupils struggle with new learning. Consequently, progress through the curriculum is hampered for these pupils.

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

In addition, the school has not identified inconsistencies in the way that some of these changes are delivered. Pupils’ experiences in learning are variable. This prevents pupils from learning all that they could as they are not supported to build their knowledge securely. This includes in the early years where, sometimes, the school does not support children well enough to develop important aspects of their understanding across each area of learning.

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

The school promotes a love of reading. This starts in the nursery, where staff support children to develop their vocabulary and language skills. This prepares children for learning to read. The school teaches children in the Reception Year and Year 1 to read using the intended phonics programme. Staff ensure that pupils practise and revisit the new sounds that they are learning. Pupils further up the school benefit from reading books that match the sounds they know. The school identifies any gaps that pupils may have in their reading knowledge and ensures appropriate support for pupils to catch up. This helps pupils to become confident and fluent readers over time. 24 and 25 September 2025

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The school works with external professionals, such as educational psychologists, to identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Staff are provided with important information to be able to meet pupils’ individual needs. Overall, staff adapt learning well to enable pupils with SEND to learn alongside their peers. This is helping pupils to achieve well in their learning.

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Staff model the school’s high expectations for behaviour. They ensure that pupils are effectively supported to meet these expectations. Overall, pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning. The school monitors pupils’ attendance and works with parents and carers to improve attendance rates. However, some pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that these pupils miss important learning and have gaps in their knowledge.

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Pupils benefit from the opportunities provided to support their personal development. These include a range of experiences such as learning about different cultures and religions through visits to places of worship. Pupils learn about and understand the importance of healthy relationships. This helps them to better understand each other. Pupils enjoy the clubs on offer after school, including multi-sports.

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The school has positive intentions to improve the quality of education but checks on the impact of this work have not been precise or timely enough. This means that the quality of education for pupils is not good enough. Governors are aware of the school priorities. They have not done enough to address these at pace. This includes the minor safeguarding weaknesses. Staff appreciate leaders’ consideration of their workload and well-being. Parents and carers are supportive of the school and value the care that their children receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Some aspects of safeguarding are not as precise as they could be. Staff are trained to know how to recognise and report any concerns. The school takes effective action to ensure that pupils are protected from harm and receive the help that they need. The school has made appropriate checks on the suitability of staff to work with children. It maintains an appropriate single central record. The school keeps records of safeguarding incidents and concerns. However, some of these records are not clear enough. At times, safeguarding records do not record details of how concerns have been resolved or note the decisions reached and the outcome.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge because of weaknesses in the previous curriculum. This hinders these pupils from learning the revised curriculum well. The 24 and 25 September 2025

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school should address these gaps in older pupils’ knowledge to enable these pupils to be well prepared for future learning.  Some pupils do not attend school often enough. As a result, these pupils need to catch up on missed learning. The school should ensure that it strengthens its work to improve the attendance of pupils, so that pupils attend regularly and are supported to learn and achieve well.  The school does not have an accurate picture of the impact of actions taken to improve the school, including teaching of the revised curriculum. This means that some aspects of the curriculum are not delivered as intended, which hinders the depth to which some pupils learn. The school should strengthen its work in this area and ensure greater consistency to support learning across the school.  The school does not support some children in the early years well enough to develop important aspects of their learning across the curriculum. As a result, these children do

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not have the opportunity to build solid foundations to prepare them for future learning. The school must support staff to develop the expertise to ensure that children deepen their understanding across all areas of learning, preparing them well for key stage 1.  Some safeguarding records are not robust enough. At times, safeguarding records do not record details of how concerns were resolved or how decisions were reached and outcomes. This makes it difficult for the school to analyse and evaluate safeguarding information. The school must ensure that its record-keeping processes for safeguarding are thorough.

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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). 24 and 25 September 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 1 and 2 November 2022, 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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 24 and 25 September 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and other leaders. The lead inspector spoke to members of the governing body, including the chair. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and physical education. 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 lead inspector listened to some pupils read. Inspectors also considered the quality of education in history, geography and art and design.  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 extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during the inspection, including during lessons at social times.  Inspectors spoke with leaders, teachers and pupils about the school’s programme for personal development.  Inspectors considered the views of pupils, parents and staff through discussions and by looking at information collected from Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Kathryn McDonald, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Kernan Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 September 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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