Dore Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 March 2025

Pupils are proud and happy to attend Dore Primary School. Leaders and staff have high expectations for pupils. Most pupils achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education. Pupils behave well. They live the school values of 'Be Ready. Be Safe. Be Respectful'. For example, they are kind to each other. Outdoors, pupils play well together. Movement around school is calm and orderly. In lessons, most pupils are attentive and respond to instructions from adults. When behaviour issues arise, they know that the adults in school will help them. Pupils who are the 'Dore Democrats' participate in the development of the school. They gather ideas from classmates and create positive changes along with school leaders. The school provides a range of experiences to support development. Pupils enjoy educational visits to historical places, sporting opportunities, residential trips in key stage 2 and a planetarium visit to school. The school provides a wide range of opportunities to learn outside. Pupils have access to gym equipment, outdoor lessons and work in the woodland area. Pupils learn about physical and mental health. Well-being activities help them to manage their own emotions and responses. Pupils know how to stay safe, including when they are online. Pupils feel safe in school.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not identified clearly enough the key knowledge and skills that it wants pupils to learn. This affects its teaching and assessment of the curriculum. Consequently, some pupils' understanding lacks depth. The school should ensure that the curriculum is well thought through and builds progressively over time.
• For some pupils with SEND, the school's identification of needs and the support that it should provide is not refined enough. This means that staff are unclear about how to meet pupils' needs and adapt learning for some pupils. It is then difficult for the school to evaluate the progress in learning that pupils make. The school should ensure that it helps all pupils with SEND to make progress well through the curriculum.
• Pupils learn about other faiths and cultures through religious education. They do not always remember what they have learned in these lessons. In order to ensure that pupils have an understanding about the wider world they live in, pupils should be given opportunities to recap and build on previous learning.

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