Draycott & Rodney Stoke Church of England First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 May 2023

Pupils enjoy coming to this friendly school. They make friends easily and quickly feel part of the community. Adults foster positive relationships with, and between, pupils. Pupils have strong role models to follow. Pupils behave well. In the early years, children learn routines quickly. They understand how to listen and respond well. This prepares them well for key stage 1. Pupils enjoy discussing their learning. They articulate their understanding with confidence. Low-level disruption rarely interrupts learning. Pupils play happily during breaktimes. They like the range of activities they can take part in. They are adamant that bullying does not happen and enjoy mixing across the ages. Pupils are encouraged to make a positive contribution to the local community. They enjoy strong links with a nearby residential home. Pre-school children recently grew flowers to improve the bus stop as part of a local project. These experiences mean that pupils develop their understanding of citizenship from an early age. Parents value the strong pastoral care at the school. Many commented on how much their children enjoy learning and the warm community feel.

What the school should improve

• The reading curriculum beyond phonics is neither coherent nor well sequenced enough. As a result, pupils do not always reach their full potential. Leaders need to refine the key stage 2 reading curriculum to further develop pupils' reading skills beyond phonics.
• Subject leadership is not fully developed. In the wider curriculum, leaders do not evaluate how well pupils learn or drive improvements effectively enough. Senior leaders need to ensure that curriculum leaders develop their ability to evaluate and improve the quality of the curriculum.

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