Dent CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 January 2024

Pupils thrive in this small and joyful school. They form strong and trusting bonds with staff and with each other. Pupils treat each other, and staff, with kindness and respect. Children in the early years settle into school life well. They are supported to learn the rules and routines. This helps them to learn and play cooperatively alongside each other. The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are enthusiastic about learning and try their best. They listen attentively and confidently answer questions in lessons. Pupils typically achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education. Pupils enjoy the wide range of enrichment activities that the school provides for them beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they take part eagerly in photography, woodwork and computer coding clubs. Pupils in key stage 2 organise lunchtime activities, such as football club, for other pupils. These experiences enable pupils to develop exciting new interests and find undiscovered talents. Pupils flourish in their various roles and responsibilities. These include acting as pupil parliament members and lunchtime helpers. Pupils are proud to care for their local and wider community. They welcome being involved in community projects, such as making soup, chutney and blankets for the elderly. Pupils also learn that they can make a positive difference by raising money for charities.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, including in the early years, the school has not identified clearly enough the most important knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that teachers do not emphasise and revisit some important ideas and concepts. Consequently, in these subjects, pupils do not develop the detailed knowledge that they should. The school should finalise its curriculum thinking so that teachers know exactly what knowledge pupils must learn and when this should be taught.
• Approaches to assessment are underdeveloped in a few subjects. This hinders how well some teachers check that pupils have retained earlier learning. The school should finalise its approaches to checking pupils' learning in these remaining subjects. This is to ensure that pupils have secure foundations on which to build new learning.

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