Crags Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 27 February 2024

The school is a calm and encouraging environment for pupils and their families. Parents are kept well informed about what and how their children are being taught and so many continue to help them at home. This relationship starts in the early years with 'stay and play' and reading events. Children in the early years learn and follow routines exceptionally well. They learn how to read well from an early age. However, this strong start is not built on successfully in some parts of English other than phonics. Some pupils are not as confident in their reading and writing as they need to be. Relationships across the school are strong. Pupils are happy and settled. Staff use these relationships well to ensure pupils are attentive and committed to their learning. The school has high expectations of what pupils can do and how they should behave. Pupils usually rise to these expectations. There are a host of opportunities for pupils to show their leadership potential. For example, the 'artists in residence' give support and advice to younger pupils. The members of the 'mini-police' encourage others to not drop litter and look after their local environment.

What the school should improve

• In English, some tasks are not broken down into small enough steps. Pupils are often asked to do too much all at once and do not secure some of the basics needed. Pupils' reading and writing attainment is too low in key stage 1 and key stage 2. Leaders need to ensure that teachers are breaking down the knowledge and skills in English lessons, as set out in their curriculum, and that pupils are securing important basics before moving on.
• Handwriting is not taught consistently well across the school. Some pupils are not able to write confidently and automatically. This can also limit their success in other subjects. Leaders should ensure that there is a clear and coherent curriculum for transcription and that this is followed successfully by teachers.
• At times, teachers do not choose appropriate learning activities in some subjects. Pupils do not accumulate the knowledge and skills that they need to over time. Leaders should continue to provide training for all teachers to select purposeful and appropriate activities as they develop and improve the curriculum.

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