Fairlawn Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 June 2024

Fairlawn Primary School is a place where learning and fun go hand in hand. The school is full of joy. Pupils learn the importance of study and play as two sides of the same coin. It is the seamless melding of classroom learning with playground fun that gives the school its unique ethos. Each contributes to pupils' strong achievements, and each helps to make the school a safe place where pupils want to be. The curriculum, including the way it is designed and put into practice, is one of the school's strengths. A great deal of thought has been given to what pupils need to know, and what skills they need for secondary school and beyond. The key to the school's success is making this ambitious curriculum exciting and accessible to all pupils. Pupils talk enthusiastically about what they have learned and remembered. Pupils behave especially well, in and out of classrooms. Learning is rarely, if ever, disrupted by silliness. Everyone knows how they are expected to behave, and what happens if they do something wrong. On the odd occasions when this happens, the school's approach is to help pupils understand how to regulate their behaviour. This reflects the school's values of friendship, responsibility and empathy perfectly and explains pupils' highly positive attitudes.

What the school should improve

• As the school has identified, it needs to develop further the way it assesses pupils' learning in the foundation subjects. In particular, greater emphasis needs to be placed on checking whether pupils have a secure grasp of the 'big ideas' of the subject, not just the basic facts.

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