Castle View Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 February 2025

Pupils do not receive an acceptable quality of education at this school. The strong start that children make in the early years is not continued beyond the Reception Year. Pupils' academic achievement has suffered as a result. Some older pupils are unhappy about this, because they do not feel prepared for secondary school. Despite these weaknesses, pupils feel safe and secure here. The school's expectations for pupils' achievement are too low. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are disadvantaged. Some pupils receive work that they find too easy, especially in mixed-age classes. The trust has helped the school to improve the curriculum. However, these improvements have been enacted too slowly to have had a positive impact, especially for pupils in key stage 2. By contrast, expectations for children in the early years are higher. These children thrive and learn successfully. Most pupils follow the school's rules and behave well. However, a small number are, on occasions, inconsiderate of the needs and feelings of others. When this happens, it spoils the enjoyment of other pupils, for example, at breaktimes or lunchtimes. Pupils appreciate the activities that the school provides for their wider development, such as sports clubs. However, others wish that there were more opportunities for other interests, such as crafts. Some pupils lack the confidence to participate fully in discussions with others. This makes it more difficult for them to share their thoughts and ideas.

What the school should improve

• Pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should in a range of subjects, including in English and mathematics. Many pupils are unable to read, write and/or apply mathematics at an age-appropriate level. This is because the expectations of what pupils can and should be able to do in lessons are too low. The school and the trust must take swift and effective action to ensure that expectations for pupils are raised rapidly, so that the achievement of all pupils, including those with SEND, is of an acceptable standard.
• Pupils' experiences in lessons do not effectively support their learning of the school's curriculum. In particular, the school has not ensured that the curriculum enables pupils in mixed-age classes to build upon what they know and can do. Younger pupils have not had time to develop the knowledge that they need to tackle some tasks. Older pupils receive work that is too easy for them. As a result, pupils are poorly prepared for the next stages of their education. The school should revisit the school's curriculum, ensuring that it takes sufficient account of the learning needs of pupils in mixed-age classes.
• There are too many inconsistencies in the implementation of the phonics programme for pupils in key stage 1. Pupils do not receive the effective guidance that they need to say some sounds correctly. This hampers their ability to blend sounds together in order to read words. This weakness limits the progress that pupils make across a range of subjects. The school should ensure that staff are fully supported to ensure that the school's phonics programme is delivered consistently and effectively.
• On occasions, staff do not check thoroughly enough that pupils have understood new learning before moving on to the next learning. This makes it difficult to identify and address any misconceptions or missing knowledge. The school should set clear expectations for how pupils' knowledge is to be checked so that it is secure.
• The behaviour of some pupils, on occasions, is inconsiderate of the needs of others. When this happens, some pupils feel that their enjoyment of school activities, such as outdoor play and lunchtime, is limited. The school should take effective action to ensure that all staff set sufficiently high expectations for pupils' behaviour, so that all pupils can feel safe and happy during the school day.
• The school is at an early stage in implementing its programme for pupils' wider development. This means that pupils have a limited range of activities to develop talents and interests beyond the academic. Some pupils lack the confidence that they need to express their views clearly, for example, in discussions. The school should now ensure that its programme for pupils' personal development is implemented quickly and effectively, so that pupils are appropriately prepared for future life.

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