Crowcombe CofE VA Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 January 2025

Community is at the heart of this welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils actively embrace the school's values, particularly demonstrating courage. For example, the school encourages pupils to perform in front of others at Wells Cathedral. Warm relationships between staff and pupils mean pupils feel comfortable to share any worries. The school has made great strides in improving the quality of education for pupils. However, there are still areas where further work remains. Pupils struggle to remember their learning in some subjects because the curriculum does not specify the most important knowledge they need to learn. Moreover, the school does not check pupils' learning well enough. Therefore, some pupils make repeated errors in their work. The school has high expectations for how pupils should behave. Most rise to these. However, occasionally, some pupils do not follow the school's 'golden rules', and as a result, they disrupt learning for others. Pupils are empowered to make a tangible difference to their school community. For example, pupils learn how to be responsible when planning a field trip to the Quantocks for others. They host orienteering sessions, plan routes and budget for snacks. Pupils benefit from clubs such as music, sports and art to develop their interests.

What the school should improve

• Expectations for how some pupils should behave are not high enough. At times, low- level disruption is allowed to persist. As a result, pupils' learning, including in phonics, is hampered. The school must ensure that staff develop the expertise they need to apply the agreed policy for managing behaviour consistently so that all pupils can learn the curriculum well without disruption.
• In some subjects, the school has not identified the most important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. As a result, there are gaps in what pupils know and remember. The school needs to ensure that the most important knowledge is clearly defined so that pupils build their knowledge sequentially.
• In some subjects, assessment is not used well enough to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught. This means that pupils make repeated errors and misconceptions are allowed to persist. The school should ensure that teachers are supported to use assessment strategies effectively in order to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.

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