High Ash Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 November 2023

Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming school. They are well cared for and build secure relationships with staff. Developing pupils' empathy and resilience is a focus of each day. Pupils value honing their teamworking skills within the school's 'character education' programme. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully included in school life. This extends to the comprehensive programme of exciting extra-curricular activities, in which pupils' varied interests are considered. Pupils behave well at the school. Staff set high expectations. A relentless focus on routines helps pupils to know what is expected of them. Some pupils do report that bullying occasionally happens in school. However, they recognise that it is never tolerated by anyone. The school reinforces values of tolerance and respect. Diversity is celebrated through the curriculum, with pupils learning to appreciate the views of others. Pupils learn from a broad curriculum. 'Hook days' ignite excitement at the start of new topics. On these special occasions, pupils enjoy visiting different places of worship, or learning from engaging visitors to the school. However, currently, teachers have not had enough training and support to ensure they can fully deliver the intended curriculum. This means that pupils do not learn as well as they should in some subjects.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the intended curriculum is not taught effectively. Some teachers have not had the required training and support needed to ensure they can deliver the curriculum effectively. This means that the way new learning is introduced, and activities provided, does not always build pupils' knowledge and understanding over time. The school needs to ensure that teachers have the expertise to maximise all pupils' learning across every subject.
• In some subjects, teachers do not check that pupils have learned the intended curriculum as well as they should. This means that misconceptions are not always addressed, and pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that teachers regularly check on pupils' learning and adapt planning accordingly.
• There has been high turnover of staff and instability in school leadership. This has meant that there has been reduced capacity to address all identified school improvement priorities. Governors need to ensure that leaders have the required resources to be able to implement their planned improvements effectively.

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