Leiston Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 June 2025

The school prioritises the well-being of pupils, providing timely and tenacious support for them. Most pupils behave well, including the youngest children. Pupils are kind to one another, and value the help that they receive from staff. Staff ensure that pupils are happy, respectful and very well cared for. Pupils enjoy the extensive range of educational trips, visits and visitors to their school. They like working towards their '11-by-11' activities, the 11 things to do by the time they are 11 years old. These opportunities broaden pupils' experiences and introduce them to new ideas. Pupils also take on the extended range of roles and responsibilities available to them this year enthusiastically, including through a well-organised and pro-active school council. They would like more after-school clubs. Staff are ambitious for their pupils, and, typically, pupils enjoy their learning. Recently, the school introduced a new curriculum. There are signs that this is starting to have a positive impact, notably for the youngest and oldest pupils. However, the school's curriculum is not well implemented at times. Some pupils do not learn as well as they should, including in English and mathematics.

What the school should improve

• In core subjects, assessment is not used effectively in order to check some pupils' understanding. This means that gaps in some pupils' knowledge are not addressed, and some pupils struggle to keep up with their learning. The school should ensure that assessment practices are effective to pick up and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Some teaching does not support pupils' cognitive learning needs precisely. Some pupils with SEND are not being supported to learn as effectively as they should. Leaders should work with staff to support pupils' cognitive needs, as well as ensuring that they have their SEMH, sensory, physical and communication needs.
• In foundation subjects, teaching focuses often on the completion of activities, rather than how well pupils are understanding and applying the concepts and content that they need to learn. This means that pupils do not consistently build their knowledge and understanding in these subjects well. Leaders need to ensure that staff are delivering this curriculum as they intend, so that pupils develop the rich understanding as planned.

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