Gotherington Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 December 2023

The Gotherington GOALS are woven into daily life for pupils. The GOALS help pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning. For example, pupils of all ages are proud of how they strive to give their best and love learning. Consequently, pupils have a good understanding of what it means to be a successful learner. Pupils enjoy taking on responsibility through roles such as house captains and school councillors. They are proud of the contribution they make to school life, such as the design of the new buildings and play resources. Pupils feel part of their community. They participate in charitable work, such as the food bank, to help those in need. They mark important national occasions by representing the school at the annual Remembrance service and join the village in celebrations such as the living Advent calendar. In lessons, pupils are attentive and work hard. They learn that people are different and have different opinions and backgrounds. They know that it is important to treat everyone fairly. However, this does not always show in their behaviour towards one another. Some pupils experience friendship issues and name calling. The school's new restorative approach to managing behaviour is not yet embedded. This means that some pupils still struggle to interact kindly and take personal responsibility for their actions.

What the school should improve

• Teaching does not use a wide range of adaptation to help pupils with SEND to learn well. Consequently, pupils are over-reliant on adult support and struggle to learn independently. The school must develop teachers' skills to scaffold learning for pupils with SEND so that they develop independence in their learning.
• Some pupils do not always behave well towards one another. The school does not use the information from incidents to adapt what pupils learn in the wider, non- academic curriculum so that there is demonstrable improvement to their interactions. The school must make better use of analysis to shape the provision for personal development and behaviour management. This is to enable pupils to apply what they learn to their relationships and interactions with one another.

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