Deanshanger Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 July 2025

Pupils attend well and embrace all the school has to offer. The school caters well for pupils' personal growth. However, the school's ambition for pupils' academic achievement has not been high enough. While its ambition has increased recently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Pupils are friendly and polite. They demonstrate good manners around the school. Pupils are energetic and throw themselves into all the activities at playtimes. Older pupils support younger ones to play well together. Playtimes are an enjoyable experience, and incidents of poor behaviour are rare. Likewise, pupils behave well in the classroom. Mostly, they are keen to learn and engage well with their work. The school encourages pupils to be responsible members of the school community. Pupils proudly wear their 'sunflower award' when recognised for demonstrating the school's values. They hold responsible roles eagerly such as school councillor, prefect, 'mini-medic' or club leader. Pupils develop talents through clubs and activities, including sports, music and games, which pique their interest. The forest school promotes pupils' love of the outdoors and nature. Pupils are fascinated by newts and water snails when pond dipping. Activities such as climbing trees and building dens help develop their character and resilience.

What the school should improve

• Those responsible for governance have not maintained a strong enough oversight of the school. This means that they have not held the school to account for the impact of its actions and decision-making, and some improvements have not been enacted swiftly enough. The school must ensure that leadership at all levels has an accurate understanding of its strengths and weaknesses so that issues can be addressed swiftly.
• The school does not check carefully enough the implementation of the curriculum and its impact on pupils. It has not identified the lack of consistency in curriculum delivery and what needs to be improved. Consequently, staff do not get the support needed to implement the curriculum effectively, and pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school must check curriculum implementation more rigorously and ensure that staff receive the support they need to deliver it consistently well.
• The school has not ensured that teaching addresses pupils' misconceptions consistently. Additionally, teaching often does not provide pupils with clear and helpful feedback. Therefore, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and do not build new learning as well as they should. The school must ensure that teaching addresses misconceptions and provides pupils with clear feedback to help them progress well through the curriculum.
• The school has not ensured that teaching is adapted to meet the needs of pupils with SEND consistently. This means that these pupils do not learn as well as they can. The school must ensure that staff secure the skills and expertise needed to support pupils with SEND so that they can learn with greater success.

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