Ireland Wood Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 November 2022

The school's motto of 'Immerse, Inspire, Include' sums up the school's vision well. Inclusion is at the heart of Ireland Wood Primary School. Staff care deeply about their pupils and families. Pupils with any physical, learning or emotional health needs receive high levels of support. This has created a caring and nurturing environment that permeates throughout the school. One parent said, 'We are so lucky to have our children in this school.' Pupils feel safe, are happy and enjoy attending school. They appreciate the support they receive from adults. Pupils behave well and they are polite. Pupils understand the behaviour policy well and it is fairly applied by staff. Bullying is rare. There are many opportunities for pupils to participate in extra-curricular activities. Staff encourage all pupils to take part, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, all pupils take part in competitive games. Pupils particularly enjoy archery and football clubs. Leaders expect pupils to achieve well. Pupils try hard in class. However, in subjects that are not as well developed, design technology and computing for example, there are gaps in curriculum design. Leaders are working to address these weaknesses by refining curriculum plans.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have begun to develop a sequenced curriculum. However, in some subjects, such as design technology and computing, leaders have not identified the subject- specific knowledge that pupils need to acquire well enough. This creates uncertainty in teaching which contributes to gaps in pupils' knowledge. Leaders should ensure that these small steps of knowledge are clearly identified so that pupils learn well across all subjects.

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