Astbury St Mary's CofE Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 March 2023

Pupils are proud to come to Astbury St Mary's CofE Primary School. They said that they enjoy learning. Staff welcome pupils warmly into school every day. Pupils and staff have positive relationships. Pupils said this helps them feel happy, well cared for and safe. Leaders have high expectations of pupils. Pupils try hard to live up to these standards. Pupils behave well around school and work hard in lessons. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Everyone knows each other. Older and younger pupils play alongside each other happily in the play areas. Pupils know that there is always someone that they can talk to. Any fallouts or incidents of bullying are dealt with quickly and effectively by leaders. Pupils enjoy taking on roles and responsibilities such as head boy, head girl and team captains. The school council, safety council and ethos council all make positive contributions to school life. For example, the safety council leads assemblies about road safety. Pupils take advantage of the variety of enrichment activities that are on offer. They like attending after-school clubs like 'outdoor explorers' and 'awesome authors'. Pupils enjoy their role in community events like the May Day celebrations.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, leaders are not clear enough about the essential knowledge that they want pupils to learn. This means that teachers are not sure about exactly what to teach and when. This leads to gaps in some pupils' knowledge over time. Leaders should make sure that, in these subjects, teachers are aware of the essential knowledge that pupils should acquire and when this learning should be delivered.
• In some subjects, subject leaders' work to check on the impact of the curriculums is at an early stage. This means that these subject leaders have not ensured that some teachers can deliver aspects of subject curriculums with confidence. Leaders should ensure that, in these subjects, staff receive the support that they need to help pupils to build up their knowledge securely over time.

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