Arbourthorne Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 October 2022

Arbourthorne Community Primary is a place of joy, inclusivity and learning. Everyone is valued here. Pupils and staff are proud to be part of the 'family'. Pupils feel safe and know they will be listened to if they have any concerns. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and positive. Staff expect pupils to behave well. Any disruptions to learning are dealt with quickly. Bullying is very rare. The school values are central to learning and life in this school. Pupils learn to show care and respect for others. This can be seen as they work in their classrooms alongside pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), or in the additional resourced provision, 'The Hive', for pupils with severe and complex learning needs. Pupils have a mature understanding of difference. They are determined that everyone is treated equally. Pupils say everyone is special at Arbourthorne. Leaders have a clear vision about the importance of working with the wider community. For example, parents have opportunities to grow food for home, and school, or exchange surplus food at the community fridge. Leaders actively seek opportunities to create partnerships to improve the school and support families.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, curriculum plans do not outline the essential knowledge leaders want pupils to know and remember. This means that teachers cannot assess what individual pupils have learned, and pupils learning is not always planned effectively to build over time. Leaders should ensure that important subject knowledge is clearly identified in all subjects and ensure that teachers use assessment effectively to plan subsequent learning.
• Leaders' monitoring, in some subjects, does not identify where areas of the curriculum require more development or where teachers' subject knowledge isn't sufficient to support learning effectively. As a result, leaders do not know precisely if the curriculum is being taught as they intended or if pupils' learning is secure in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that monitoring supports staff to teach all subjects to the same high standards.

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