Ixworth Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 May 2022

Pupils are happy to attend Ixworth Church of England Primary School. They arrive each day with positive attitudes, ready to learn. Pupils are courteous and polite. They are respectful of one another during lessons and at playtimes. Pupils feel safe in school. They say that bullying is rare and leaders always deal with it so that it does not reoccur. Pupils know there is always an adult to talk to if they have any worries. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils know that staff have high expectations of them. They try their best to live up to these expectations and they are encouraged to work hard by the school motto: 'where learning has no limits'. Pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences that go beyond the taught curriculum. Recently, pupils planted trees in the local community. Pupils relish taking on a range of extra responsibilities. These include becoming 'compassion champions', serving on the collective council and helping younger pupils as play leaders. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Pupils leave Year 6 well prepared for the challenges of secondary school.

What the school should improve

• Teachers use assessment well to check on pupils' learning as they go along. Assessing how effectively pupils have retained knowledge and skills in the longer term, across the wider curriculum, is not fully developed. As a result, teachers cannot be sure how well pupils are remembering their learning over time. Leaders should ensure that the information teachers gather when assessing pupils' learning is used to inform longer-term curriculum planning.
• Some pupils have significant behavioural needs and find it hard to manage their own behaviour in lessons. This leads to occasional disruptive behaviour. Leaders are introducing new approaches to support staff and pupils but these are not used consistently across the whole school. Leaders should ensure that staff are given more training and support to manage challenging behaviour when it occurs.

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