Larkspur Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 October 2024

At the heart of Larkspur Primary School are strong relationships between staff and pupils. Staff know pupils and families well they focus on supporting pupils' emotional needs. Pupils are safe in school, have trusted adults and everyone is valued and included. Pupils enjoy coming to school. The school has an ambition that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive a high-quality education. In some areas, including in the early years, these high expectations are not realised. Pupils' achievement does not match the school's intentions. There is work to do to ensure that all pupils have the breadth, and depth, of knowledge they need to be ready for the next stage of their education. Pupils rise to the high expectations that adults have for their behaviour. They move around school calmly, demonstrating 'wonderful walking' consistently. At social times, pupils play well together in the playground and treat each other with respect. Pupils behave well in classrooms and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. The school provides a range of experiences to broaden pupils' horizons. Pupils enjoy these opportunities, which include visits to local museums, farms and music venues. Pupils are especially proud to wear badges that show their leadership responsibilities. These include sports leaders, school councillors, eco champions and bookworms who look after the library.

What the school should improve

• The school has not ensured that pupils develop the knowledge that they need to be effective writers from an early age. As a result, some pupils do not have secure foundational knowledge in writing. The school should ensure that the writing curriculum enables pupils to develop the skills and knowledge they need to become successful writers over time.
• Sometimes, learning activities in the early years and adult interactions are not matched closely to the children's learning needs. This means children are not fully engaged in their learning and do not learn as much as they could. The school should ensure that activities for talk and learning are precisely matched to the intended curriculum and that adults take all opportunities to interact with children so that children are prepared for key stage 1.
• Some pupils do not attend school often enough, while others do not arrive on time at the start of the school day. This means that these pupils miss out on important learning across the curriculum. The school should continue to develop the recently implemented systems to ensure that parents understand the importance of regular pupil attendance and punctuality.
• Governors do not hold the school to account as effectively as they should. As a result, school leaders' actions have not been challenged sufficiently, resulting in a decline in the quality of education across the school. The governing body should ensure that it is equipped to provide effective challenge to improve the quality of education that pupils receive.

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