Scargill Infant School

Scargill Infant School

Address: Mungo Park Road, Rainham. Essex, Essex, RM13 7PL Unique reference number (URN): 144589

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders have built a successful culture of high attendance. They provide early help and build strong family partnerships. This breaks down barriers that some pupils might face to regular attendance. Leaders track attendance very carefully and talk to parents and carers if patterns emerge. Leaders provide a range of practical support to parents to boost pupils' attendance. This includes drop-in sessions with family support workers. Pupils receive rewards for regular attendance. For example, they get recognition in celebration assemblies and a party for the class with the best attendance. Consequently, attendance is remarkably strong and well above national levels.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils show exemplary behaviour across the school. Staff get to know them as individuals. They learn to anticipate and manage things that may trigger problems. If something goes wrong, staff follow a simple set of sanctions to help children change their behaviour. Staff also talk with the child about their behaviour. They discuss what the child can do differently next time. There are many rewards for positive behaviour. This starts with verbal praise and includes prizes for showing the school’s core values. Pupils are very positive about behaviour in the school. They are clear that bullying is not an issue.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders have a detailed and extensive knowledge of learning in the early years. They have created a curriculum to help children gain the skills and knowledge needed for key stage 1. Children revel in both indoor and outdoor learning. They enjoy a wide range of interesting activities. Staff interact with children extremely well. They help children develop rich language and encourage and extend their thoughts and ideas.

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Early years Strong standard

Reading is a clear priority from the start. Children learn phonics quickly and use this knowledge to begin reading and writing. Children also develop their early mathematical understanding well. They show confidence with numbers and counting. Learning is carefully blended across different curriculum areas. As a result, children are very well prepared for Year 1 and beyond.

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Early years Strong standard

Staff build warm, trusting relationships with children. They recognise their feelings and help manage their emotions when things go wrong. Teaching offers children well-planned chances to explore and practise their knowledge more independently. Children can talk confidently about their learning. They work and play together harmoniously. Staff ensure that all children can access the learning, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff offer visual resources and one-to-one support where needed.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have established a well-structured and highly collaborative approach to inclusion. Staff collaborate with parents and carers to quickly identify any additional needs as soon as children begin at the school. Staff create personalised learning plans for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders regularly monitor the quality of the support

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Expected standard

offered to pupils. Formal reviews of learning plans take place termly with parents and class teachers. Leaders use their highly effective monitoring processes to help identify any additional training that staff might need.

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Expected standard

Staff reduce any barriers to learning that pupils face by making careful adjustments, such as using helpful visual aids. Where needed, some pupils work in small groups to complete more targeted work. They get help from expert staff. Pupils can also access specially designed areas such as the sensory room or the soft play room.

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Expected standard

Leaders have established effective partnerships with external professionals. These include educational psychologists and occupational therapists. Specialist advice supports the school’s work and offers staff development. Leaders accurately identify disadvantaged pupils. They use pupil premium funding wisely to tackle academic challenges and other barriers to learning. Pupils who are known to social care, and their families, are also carefully supported.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils at the school generally achieve well. They typically build key foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics. These skills help them as they move through school. Pupils achieve at above-average levels in phonics tests in Year 1. Disadvantaged pupils at the school also achieve very well in comparison to disadvantaged pupils nationally. Pupils with other additional needs are also very well supported to achieve from their starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learning across the curriculum in wider subjects is not always as secure. Many pupils are able to make clear links between their current learning and what they have learned previously. Often, they can demonstrate their understanding of increasingly complex ideas over time. This is not consistently the case and, at times, pupils struggle to recall their learning in detail in wider curriculum subjects. Despite this, pupils usually leave the school well prepared for the next stage of education.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders clearly understand the quality of the curriculum and teaching in the school. They know what works well and where further improvements are necessary. For example, they know that teaching quality can vary in broader curriculum subjects. They are putting in place appropriate actions to address this.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff show ambition for all pupils to learn and progress as they move through the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they need to learn. From the early years to Year 2, pupils build the foundational skills they need to read, write and use numbers with confidence. Leaders ensure that phonics teaching is careful and consistent. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. This helps their reading skills. Pupils typically apply this knowledge well in the other subjects they study. Staff generally show a clear understanding of the curriculum in wider subjects. They mostly present information clearly. Pupils talk to each other to consolidate and extend their learning. Staff typically identify and address gaps in pupils' understanding. On the whole, staff provide pupils with suitable work and resources to develop their understanding effectively. Some follow-up activities and tasks are not as well designed to help pupils

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are extremely knowledgeable about the school. They have a clear view of its strengths and the areas that they want to develop further. Leaders can speak in detail about individual children, including how those with additional needs are supported to learn. Leaders provide staff with appropriate opportunities to develop their professional knowledge.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders show true care for the parents and carers and offer them support in a range of different ways. For example, the community hub provides ‘toddler Tuesday’ when younger children can play together. Parents can also attend workshops in areas such as toilet training support. The leadership team wants the best for all the children who attend. Pupils typically develop appropriate skills in early reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils achieve at above-average levels in phonics tests. Leaders know that more work is needed to improve teaching and learning standards across the wider curriculum.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors and trustees have an accurate picture of the school. They collaborate with leaders, providing both challenge and support to enhance the school. Governors and trustees fulfil their statutory obligations effectively. For instance, they carry out a range of checks to ensure that the school continues to be a safe place for pupils. The staff feel valued and respected. Staff say leaders are supportive of all staff and respect their workload and wellbeing. They praised the training they receive to enable them to support all pupils.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils benefit from a well-designed programme for their personal development. It links well to the curriculum and helps pupils develop positive attitudes to learning and to each other. Pupils learn about right and wrong and develop their characters through the school’s core values. In the Friday celebration assemblies, pupils receive rewards for their work and behaviour. Each month, the 'king and queen of good manners' are crowned. This encourages pupils to treat one another with kindness and respect. Pupils learn about different religions, beliefs and cultures. They respect differences and understand that everyone should be treated fairly.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils are polite and friendly to staff and each other. Behaviour beyond the classroom is equally positive. Leaders have worked to develop outdoor play at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Pupils play cooperatively, share resources responsibly and interact positively with their peers. Pupils learn to keep themselves safe, including online. They also learn how to stay healthy. This includes making healthy food and enjoying exercise. In the early years, children develop their physical skills using balance bikes.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

All pupils also benefit from a range of enrichment opportunities. This includes after-school clubs such as mathematics, gardening and art. The school carefully tracks the pupils at the clubs and ensures that all pupils get the chance to attend. Pupils visit various places, such as the local fire station, RAF Hornchurch and central London. The school also invites visitors to enhance the curriculum. This includes a Great Fire of London workshop and a visit from farm animals. Pupils can help in school or the local community. They can be a school councillor to represent their peers, raise money for good causes or sing in the choir at local events.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils happily play and learn in this nurturing and caring school. Pupils praise the staff for their support. 'They make learning fun,' said one pupil, expressing the views of many. Pupils are confident and articulate. They say they feel safe and can name a trusted adult who would help with any worries or concerns.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Leaders are passionate about supporting all pupils at the school to achieve. They ensure that the right support is provided for those who need it. Pupils who face additional barriers, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged, learn successfully. Pupils typically develop secure skills in early reading, writing and mathematics. Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. Pupils achieve at above-average levels in Year 1 phonics tests. By the time they leave the school, pupils are generally well prepared for the next stage of education.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Warm relationships exist between staff and pupils. Staff get to know pupils well and offer support to families in the wider community. Expectations for behaviour are set as soon as children start at the school. Pupils learn to follow the school’s key values of kindness, curiosity, independence and resilience. Pupils work together collaboratively in lessons. They say bullying is not an issue in the school. Pupils’ enjoyment of their learning helps to ensure they attend school regularly. Pupils enjoy the different ways their time at the school is enriched. They speak about the after-school clubs they join and the exciting trips they take. This includes a visit to central London and a boat ride on the Thames.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure they continue to develop staff expertise and knowledge of the wider curriculum and ensure consistency of delivery across the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that the learning activities given to pupils more precisely support and encourage the knowledge and skills leaders want pupils to know and remember. Leaders should continue to improve pupils’ personal development and the range of enriching experiences that they access, including the ways pupils volunteer within the school.

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Team inspectors:

Allan McLean, Ofsted Inspector Anna Theodosiou, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 14 July 2026

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About this inspection

This school is part of Hornchurch Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Christopher Hobson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Matthew Pepper.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Richard Epps.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with senior leaders, trustees and subject leaders. They also held meetings with a member of the local governing body during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

Head of School: Miss Dawn McGahey The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.0% 5.5% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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