Ofsted: Meon Infant School in Southsea requires improvement after critical inspection report

Meon Infant School in Southsea has been labelled as a school that ‘requires improvement’ by inspectors, following a recent visit.

The inspection, which took place on November 22 and 23, found that children were not ‘learning as rapidly as they should be’, with delays to phonics teaching in Year R and some subject curriculums developing slower than others.

The report said: ‘Leaders are still determining what the early years provision should look like. As a result, children are not learning as rapidly as they should be.

‘Subject leaders do not all have sufficient experience in their role or the depth of subject knowledge to support teachers in delivering the curriculum. Senior leaders should continue to provide guidance and training to strengthen subject leaders’ expertise.’

The report found that the school ensures that children are being taught about kindness, respect, health, as well as helping the pupils to build up their confidence.

Staff have also been successful in teaching the children about how to stay safe, both in the real world and online, and they play well together during their time in the playground.

The report found that there is room for improvement in regards to the quality of the education and that children are not necessarily learning as quickly as they should due to this.

Sara Paine, executive headteacher of Meon Infant School, said: ‘We were pleased to see some of the great work we do to support and develop our pupils was recognised in the report as well as the progress we are making to transform the curriculum. However, we know there is more to be done and our team are dedicated to ensuring we provide the best possible education and start in life for our pupils.

‘We already have a clear and thorough governor approved plan in place to address these areas for improvement. This includes reviewing and refining our curriculum and ensuring recent changes are fully embedded across the school.’

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Ofsted has not previously inspected Meon Infant School as an academy school under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 because until November 2020, the school was exempt from the routine inspections.

The report also found that the staff have an ambitious vision for the school and they are doing well with reading and the school is helping children to form a love for books, but other areas of learning needed improving.

The report also said: ‘The component knowledge in subjects other than reading and mathematics is not yet fully defined. Pupils’ learning, therefore, is not as deep and broad as it should be.’

Sara added: ‘We are confident that by continuing to work together with our colleagues across the Trust, our families and our staff, we can secure long-term improvements and ensure we provide a high standard of teaching and learning across the school.’

It was also acknowledged that there have been several management changes over the past two years.