Little Stanion Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 February 2024

There is an exciting buzz in this warm and welcoming school. Every day starts with the 'Daily Mile' to energise pupils and help them keep physically and mentally healthy. 'Community spirit' is important. Pupils have many different responsibilities. From mucking out the goats and feeding the chickens, to being on the junior school leadership team, pupils are proud to play their part. All pupils enjoy regular opportunities to learn outdoors, in addition to many experiences farther afield. They speak enthusiastically of visits to art galleries and museums in London, and residential visits in the Welsh borders. Pupils participate in numerous clubs and sporting competitions. Pupils say there are 'opportunities for all to aspire'. They appreciate how their school lives up to its vision. Pupils feel safe and happy. Relationships between staff and pupils are built on respect and trust. Pupils are kind and considerate. They behave well and have a good attitude in lessons. Parents typically say that the caring staff go 'above and beyond' to ensure all pupils thrive. Mostly, pupils achieve well at Little Stanion. The school is ambitious and is working hard to make sure more pupils reach even higher standards.

What the school should improve

• In the curriculum for a few foundation subjects, the sequence of learning is not as precise as it is in others. Teachers do not always know how what they are teaching builds on what pupils learned before in the early years. The school should continue to revise its curriculum so that in every subject it is clear exactly what pupils should know from the early years to Year 6.
• In a few subjects, teachers do not reliably know what pupils recall from what they learned before. This means that lessons do not always build on this prior knowledge. The school should continue to develop an appropriate and manageable approach to checking what pupils have learned over time.
• Sometimes, the books that pupils read do not match what pupils know. This means that some pupils do not get the right opportunities to practise the sounds that they are learning. The school should ensure that all books, for pupils at the early stages of learning to read, are matched with greater precision to pupils' knowledge of phonics.

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