Cross Lane Primary and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 April 2023

Everyone in this school is 'growing together'. There is a strong sense of community in the school. This is reflected in the strength of relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils feel safe emotionally and physically. Pupils trust that if they have any concerns, these will be dealt with by adults in the school. Leaders have ensured that pupils have a strong understanding of what bullying is and what it is not. On the rare occasions that bullying happens, staff take swift action. As one pupil said, 'If bullying did happen, adults would deal with it seriously, quickly and with care.' Leaders have introduced a clear approach to how expectations of behaviour are taught to pupils. Leaders have focused on developing common and shared expectations. Older pupils in particular model these expectations. They regularly display the behaviours leaders want to see across all parts of the school. Leaders have introduced new systems to quickly identify and support pupils who are frequently absent. These measures are having a positive impact on improving attendance and reducing the number of pupils who are persistently absent. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. These expectations are being reflected in the experiences of pupils in classrooms. Leaders have a strong sense of the actions they need to take next to continue to move the school forward.

What the school should improve

• Leaders' monitoring of the curriculum does not consistently identify areas for development within individual subjects. As a result, there is some variation in the extent to which all subjects benefit from leaders' monitoring. Leaders should ensure that their monitoring of the curriculum precisely identifies aspects of teaching in different subjects that need further refinement and development.
• In some parts of the early years curriculum, leaders have not made it clear enough about what they intend for children. As a result, some opportunities are missed for children to be even better prepared for their learning in Year 1 and beyond. Leaders should ensure that the content of the early years curriculum across all seven areas of learning is clearly defined, understood and enacted by staff through their interactions with children and activity choices.

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