Dr South's Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 October 2024

The school is a strong, nurturing and supportive community where pupils flourish. Its joyful ethos permeates throughout, fostering collaboration and respect among pupils. Staff demonstrate care and understanding, ensuring a positive environment for everyone. This enables pupils to feel safe, happy and respected. The school sets high expectations of what pupils can achieve, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils rise to these expectations and achieve well. Staff encourage pupils to explore and be inquisitive learners. Routines for strong behaviour are embedded in the early years, and these high expectations continue throughout the school. Consequently, pupils' behaviour is impressive, and they have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils feel confident speaking with adults if they have any concerns or worries. Pupils appreciate the broad range of wider activities, including trips, sporting events, school productions and pond dipping. Pupils raise money for charity and think about others' needs. They learn about diverse cultures, enriching their understanding of the world beyond the classroom. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. One parent's comment reflects the sentiments of many, stating, 'Dr South's is a wonderful school. The dedicated, caring and committed staff go the extra mile to look after, inspire and teach the children in their care.'

What the school should improve

• The school is refining its approach to checking pupils' understanding of key knowledge. However, this is not yet consistent or embedded across the curriculum. The school does not know how well pupils are deepening key knowledge in all subjects securely and consistently. The school should evaluate and strengthen how it checks pupils' understanding of key knowledge so it has more clarity about the impact the curriculum is having.

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