Charles Darwin Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 January 2026

Pupils at this school achieve well and enjoy learning. They listen carefully in lessons, work hard and take pride in their work. Teaching enables pupils to build secure knowledge and skills so that by the end of Year 6 they are well prepared for secondary school. Pupils do well in reading and phonics and achieve particularly well in mathematics, writing and spelling. Pupils who need extra help, including those who are disadvantaged or pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive timely support. Staff know pupils well and adapt learning so that pupils progress well from their starting points. Pupils who join from other schools or other countries settle quickly because staff care for them and help them feel welcome and confident. Pupils are happy and proud of their school and feel that they belong. The school ensures that all pupils are supported well and have many opportunities to grow and succeed. Pupils are included in all aspects of school life and form positive relationships with staff and with each other. They enjoy a wide range of clubs, including cricket, choir, girls’ football and friendship club. These opportunities help pupils to discover new talents and encourage them to develop these further through clubs in the local community. Trips and visitors to school broaden pupils’ horizons and help them build confidence beyond the classroom. Pupils behave well, show respect and listen to one another. They feel safe and know that adults will help them if they have worries. Pupils say that bullying does not happen often and that staff deal with any incidents promptly and effectively. Most pupils attend regularly and value coming to school. They learn how to be kind and responsible. Through their experiences at Charles Darwin, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should continue to prioritise their work on attendance to ensure that pupils who are in receipt of pupil premium or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities attend school more regularly. • Leaders should finalise their curriculum design in the early years, and in a small minority of subjects in key stages 1 and 2, to ensure that staff have all of the information that they need to know what to teach and when to teach it. • Leaders should ensure that staff prioritise pupils' learning of times tables with more urgency so that pupils increase their fluency and are well prepared to apply this in their future learning.

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