Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 June 2026

Pupils are proud to belong to this caring Church of England school. Relationships between staff and pupils are supportive and respectful. Staff know pupils well and help them to feel safe and included. Parents and carers value the school’s nurturing approach and speak positively about the support that staff provide. This starts in the Reception class where families are warmly welcomed to the whole school community. Pupils study an ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge over time. They enjoy learning and make links between new and prior work, especially in history, geography and music. Children in the early years get off to a positive start. Older pupils talk about their learning with confidence. Some use a wide range of vocabulary in their writing. Most pupils achieve well and leave well prepared for the challenge of secondary school. Pupils behave very well and show kindness to each other. Around school, they are polite and courteous. Attendance is positive. Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly. Staff deal with any worries quickly, including incidents of bullying, so that pupils feel listened to and supported. Pupils take part in an extensive range of activities beyond the classroom. These include clubs, visits, performances, sports matches and residential trips. The extensive school grounds support learning well and help pupils to develop interests and a sense of responsibility. Pupils benefit from attending a wide variety of clubs such as girls’ football, choir, gardening and first aid. However, pupils’ experiences are not consistent in all areas. Some pupils who struggle with reading and writing, or have additional needs, do not receive timely support. Leaders’ oversight of the identification of needs and provision is not secure enough. Weaknesses in oversight of safeguarding mean that information is not always checked well. As a result, leaders do not have a fully accurate view of safeguarding and support for vulnerable pupils.

What the school should improve

• Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they have clear oversight of all areas of the school’s work so that, where an area falls short of the expected standard, they are able to address the precise issues in a timely and effective way.
• Leaders should further develop their work to ensure that the plans for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are consistently specific and used to check how well these pupils achieve from their starting points.
• Leaders should ensure that a small number of pupils at the early stages of learning to read and write get regular opportunities to practise and apply their phonics knowledge and writing skills so they develop greater accuracy, confidence and fluency.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)