Badsley Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 January 2025

All pupils and their families are assured the warmest of welcomes at Badsley. From their first days in Reception class, children develop secure relationships with adults and their peers. Pupils know that staff are there to care for them. There is a happy atmosphere throughout the school as pupils play and learn together. The school offers a variety of different clubs and activities. For example, pupils can take part in science club, football, and choir. Pupils enjoy a variety of opportunities to enrich their learning. For example, visiting a local stadium to learn about hate crimes. There are numerous, useful opportunities for pupils to play an active role in school. The school council has worked to improve road safety in the local area. Over recent years, the school has prioritised the development of the school culture, values, and pupils' well-being. The positive impact of this work is clear to see. The school is now focusing on strengthening the curriculum. The curriculum in some subjects does not support pupils to build their knowledge well over time. The school does have high expectations for pupils' achievement. However, these expectations are not realised consistently highly in all subjects.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, there are gaps in pupils' knowledge that have not been identified. These gaps hinder pupils' ability to make sense of new learning, and they do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff check for gaps in pupils' knowledge and address these before introducing new topics and concepts.
• In some subjects, the curriculum does not support pupils to build knowledge over time by developing a deep understanding of important, connected concepts. This means that pupils' learning can be fragmented. The school should continue their work on the curriculum in all subjects, to ensure that pupils are given the opportunities they need to apply and connect their learning, so they develop a deeper understanding over time.
• The recently developed writing curriculum is not implemented fully across school. Pupils' writing lacks accuracy and it is often not well presented. Opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills are limited in English and across other subjects. The school should continue to raise the expectations of writing, equip teachers to deliver the new curriculum effectively and ensure pupils are given frequent opportunities to practise their writing skills across the wider curriculum.

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