Highbury Infant School and Nursery

Highbury Infant School and Nursery

Address: Standhill Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9AG Unique reference number (URN): 117113

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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

Pupils’ attendance is high. This has been the case over the past few years. Very few pupils miss too much school. However, if this becomes the case, leaders and staff provide highly effective support for families to help get attendance back on track. Because leaders pay close attention to pupils’ attendance, they step in early if issues arise. While many children in the early years are below compulsory school age, leaders and staff instil very positive habits around attendance. This means that attendance is just as high for children who attend the nursery and reception classes.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders have established consistently high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. These are rooted in positive, warm and respectful relationships. Clear rules and routines are in place that are well understood by pupils and implemented consistently well by staff. As a result, behaviour in and around the school is calm, orderly and purposeful. This creates an environment that is highly conducive to learning, where pupils remain focused and motivated. It also leads to pupils feeling happy and safe in school. Bullying is extremely rare. At break and lunchtime, these expectations are equally evident. Pupils know what is required of them and play and interact positively with one another. If a pupil needs more help to manage their behaviour or emotions, staff are on hand to provide highly effective support and help. This makes a significant difference to pupils.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders’ determined and expert actions to improve the early years over the past few years have had a considerable impact. Across both the Nursery and Reception classes, children benefit enormously from an ambitious curriculum that is expertly taught by staff. Leaders’ vision and focus on ensuring every child, particularly the most disadvantaged, learns and develops extremely well is borne out in practice.

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Early years Strong standard

Children benefit from rich interactions with staff. Staff are highly skilled at ensuring children receive regular and precise interactions, helping them develop their understanding and use of language. As a result, children become confident communicators with adults and one another. They use their ever-growing vocabulary to help build friendships, share equipment and toys and express their thoughts and feelings. Any children who find it tricky to follow routines or to settle are managed sensitively with kindness and given the appropriate support and guidance they need.

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Early years Strong standard

Staff quickly understand children’s individual needs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are quickly identified. Support is swiftly put in place to help and guide them to learn well. Staff form highly effective links with parents and carers by working in close partnership with them.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders are highly adept at providing high-quality support and guidance for pupils who face barriers to their learning. This is because, at the earliest opportunity, staff gain an accurate understanding of pupils’ needs. For example, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from well-tailored support. As pupils’ needs change and develop, their provision changes and adapts. This is because leaders keep a sharp eye on how well pupils with specific barriers are learning. Individual plans for pupils with SEND are reviewed frequently to make sure the additional support for these pupils meets their current needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Disadvantaged pupils receive similarly high-quality support. The needs of individual pupils are met very well indeed. This is because leaders use the pupil premium funding wisely to reduce the challenges the pupils might face. Whether the focus is on academic barriers or barriers to their wellbeing, disadvantaged pupils benefit from staff having a deep and accurate understanding of their needs. Staff work in close partnership with parents and carers and external specialists. This fine work ensures that pupils receive the right support at the right time.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils benefit from a well-considered personal, social and health education (PSHE) provision. Pupils’ learning across the PSHE curriculum positively influences their understanding of and outlook on the world. They develop secure and detailed knowledge in PSHE. Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of body parts, growing older and healthy lifestyles. Pupils know the importance of a healthy diet, along with the importance of exercise and the value of activities such as yoga for calming minds and preparing them to learn.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Wider opportunities are plentiful. These opportunities help pupils to build their understanding of people from different cultures and backgrounds to themselves. Pupils develop an appreciation of the wider world through educational visits. Whether through the arts, music or sports, pupils have a range of opportunities to help broaden their experiences and enable them to develop their talents and interests.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils who take on roles in school, such as members of the school council, eco council or ‘feelgood friends’, do so with great pride. ‘Feelgood friends’ promote wellbeing in their friends, cheering them up if they are sad or helping in the playground. Pupils celebrate differences between themselves and others. They enjoy finding out about the lives, cultures and beliefs of other people. This includes their friends in school. The well-curated personal development programme results in confident individuals who take responsibility and are becoming good citizens as they move through the school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff know pupils as individuals and know if a pupil is not their usual self. Where pupils need additional support to help manage their emotions or feelings, staff provide this extremely well. Staff understand the individual needs of pupils and provide bespoke support to help pupils who are finding school life a little tricky. This makes a significant impact on the lives of pupils who receive this extra help.

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Achievement Expected standard

On the whole, pupils achieve well. Whether moving from Reception to Year 1 or heading off to junior school, pupils are generally ready for the next stage of their education. Over time, children learn the knowledge and skills that they need to do well and be successful. They grasp the important building blocks of reading, writing and mathematics on which pupils can build their new knowledge. Because reading is a priority, pupils learn to read well. They build their understanding of language and communication, developing their ability to decode new words with ever-growing accuracy, confidence and fluency.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, along with pupils with other barriers to their learning, achieve well. They develop the important knowledge and skills during their time in school, often making great strides from their various starting points.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Pupils learn a well-designed curriculum. This is rooted in pupils learning the important knowledge and skills in reading, writing and mathematics. On the whole, teachers teach well. They apply their regular and relevant professional learning to their work in class. Teachers make regular and careful checks on what pupils have remembered. Where pupils may misunderstand a concept, teachers are quick to address these misconceptions. Of similar high quality is the skill teachers show in making the right adaptations to activities or tasks pupils complete. This is particularly the case for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff are skilled in teaching pupils to read. They teach the phonics programme well. Staff pay particular attention to pupils who need a little more guidance and help in learning to read. These pupils benefit from regular and high-quality teaching to help them catch up.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have made great strides over the past few years in developing the curriculum and the way it is taught. Leaders know there is more to do to continue this development. In some subjects, teachers do not have the same depth of expertise as they do in others. This means that the quality of teaching is not as consistently high in these few subjects.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Over the past few years, senior leaders have guided the school with great skill to bring about improvement. The impact of this can be seen in the high quality of many aspects of the school’s work. Leaders also have a clear and accurate view on what needs further development to bring about further improvement in the provision for pupils. The high-quality professional learning opportunities for staff ensure that they keep abreast of new developments and continue to hone their practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have highly positive relationships with parents and carers. They draw on these relationships to support pupils and families to feel that they belong to the school community, which they do. Similarly, there are effective relationships between leaders and staff. Staff are wholeheartedly proud to be part of the school. Leaders take great care in managing staff workload and wellbeing, especially when introducing new initiatives or expectations. Staff understand the reason for change and buy into it. This is because change is in the best interests of pupils. The close professional links between the school and the local junior school ensure that effective support is in place to help pupils embrace the move to their new school at the end of Year 2.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors are committed to their roles. They have the systems and processes in place to make the right checks and to hold leaders to account. They carry out their statutory duties well. While this is the case, there are some aspects of the board’s knowledge base and expertise that need strengthening and refining. The work to strengthen this has begun but is in the early stages. There remains more to do here.

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

Pupils and children in the early years benefit enormously from the kind and caring ethos that runs through the school. Pupils delight in the company of their friends. Whether playing in the playground or learning in class, they enjoy spending time together. Pupils behave extremely well. Classrooms are calm places in which pupils can learn. As a result, they learn well.

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

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make great strides in their learning and development. They are skilfully guided to understand the rules and routines of their classrooms. They follow these, looking after equipment and one another with great care. These children are well prepared for their move to Year 1.

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

Disagreements and squabbles are infrequent because pupils treat others with kindness and respect. They learn these traits from the start of their time in the early years. This makes the school a safe and happy place for pupils to learn and develop. Older pupils look out for those who may need a friendly smile, kind word or helping hand. Pupils develop independence and resilience as they move through the school. They try hard and work to overcome challenges they face. Pupils love receiving stickers from ‘Resilimouse’ who rewards them for persevering when things get tough.

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

Wider opportunities are plentiful. Whether taking part in bowls, boccia or table tennis in local sporting competitions or attending chess club or forest club, pupils’ experiences are broad. Within these activities, they learn and develop important traits that stand them in good stead as they move to junior school, for example, developing self-belief and taking pride in their achievements. Pupils have a well-developed grasp of how to stay safe at an age- appropriate level. This includes steps they can take to stay healthy, both in their mind and body.

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Team inspectors:

Richard Fordham, Ofsted Inspector Michele Geddes, 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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Next steps

Leaders should continue to develop teachers' expertise in some foundation subjects to ensure consistently high-quality teaching across the curriculum. The governing board should develop their knowledge and expertise to ensure they provide consistent support and robust challenge to leaders across all aspects of the school’s work.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Steven Miller.

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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 the headteacher, other leaders and a range of staff. Inspectors also spoke to several members of the governing board and a representative of the local authority 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 uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school also, under the same registration, runs a nursery. The nursery admits children from the age of 3.

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About this inspection

The headteacher joined the school in April 2024.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Nancy Adshead The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 9 September 2026

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What does this mean?

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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Persistent absence

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

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 12.7% 16.2% Close to average

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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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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