Farfield Primary and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 March 2025

Pupils' mental health and well-being are priorities at the school. Pastoral care is of a high quality. Pupils know that adults will help them in lessons. The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve highly. Over time, outcomes in external tests and assessments have improved. However, pupils' knowledge and understanding in the foundation subjects, such as history and geography, are less secure. Pupils' behaviour in lessons is calm and courteous. They listen to one another and to staff attentively. Rewards for positive behaviour, good attendance and kindness encourage pupils to do their best. However, a minority of pupils do not meet the school's high expectations for behaviour and conduct at social times. These pupils can argue with one another, become involved in physical altercations or use unkind language. This makes other pupils feel uncomfortable. Some do not share their concerns with adults. Pupils take part in educational visits and trips, which they recall with enthusiasm. Leadership opportunities help pupils contribute constructively to their school and the wider community. For example, sports leaders organise games for others at lunchtime, and the 'Farfield Fundraisers' help to raise money for causes that are important to the school and pupils. The additional support and guidance the school offers its families is greatly appreciated by parents and pupils alike.

What the school should improve

• Staff do not implement the school's agreed phonics scheme consistently well. This impacts on the achievement of pupils at an early stage of learning to read. The school should ensure that the phonics programme is implemented consistently well and that it has a robust approach to identifying and providing additional support to staff who might need it.
• The way in which the foundation curriculum is implemented is too variable. Sometimes, staff do not select the most appropriate activity to support the intended learning. They do not check that pupils, including those with SEND, have understood new learning before moving on in lessons. This hinders how well pupils learn the curriculum in some subjects. The school should ensure that the way in which the curriculum is taught consistently develops pupils' knowledge and understanding as intended.
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Rates of persistent absence are high, and this is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. This means that pupils miss out on important learning. The school should strengthen its approach to securing high rates of attendance among all pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged.
• Pupils' behaviour and interactions at social times are not as positive as they are in lessons. Pupils experience unkind words and actions that they do not always report to an adult. This means that some pupils do not have a positive experience at social times and feel uncomfortable around their peers. The school should ensure that pupils have a strong understanding of how to conduct themselves at social times and that any reports from pupils are addressed consistently well.

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