Linton Mead Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 November 2022

Pupils at Linton Mead are happy, confident and enjoy coming to school. Pupils feel safe here because of the warm and caring relationships between staff and pupils. Leaders and staff have high expectations for pupils' achievement. They want the best for all of them, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). From the Nursery class up, pupils learn effectively. Children in the early years are well prepared for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum. Pupils' behaviour and attitudes are positive. Classrooms are calm and orderly, and pupils are focused on their learning in lessons. Low-level disruption is rare and when it does occur, it is dealt with swiftly by teachers. This means that any incidences do not impact on the learning of others. Pupils are respectful and helpful, and at social times, they play well together. Pupils understand what bullying is and said that it does not happen here. They know they can talk to adults if there are any issues. If problems occur, adults sort things out quickly. Leaders aim to develop pupils' talents and interests through the range of extra- curricular clubs they make available, such as chess, archery, badminton and pottery. Older pupils have 'travel training' to prepare them for secondary school. They are taught how to keep safe when travelling independently.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not focus sufficiently on supporting pupils to understand and remember important knowledge. At times, pupils remember activities, rather than the building blocks of knowledge they will need for future learning. Leaders need to support teachers to implement the curriculum in a way that enables pupils to grasp and securely recall essential knowledge.
• Teachers are not checking sufficiently well what pupils know and understand in some subjects. This means that pupils are developing misconceptions, and these are not being addressed in a timely manner. Some checks of what pupils know and understand are not linked closely to what leaders and teachers expect them to learn. Leaders and teachers need to develop meaningful ways of finding out what pupils know and understand. Information gained should then be used to inform planning so that learning is better suited to pupils' starting points and prior knowledge.

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