Lorton School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 June 2025

Pupils enjoy attending this small and nurturing school. They are happy. They form trusting bonds with staff and each other. The school and the trust have high expectations for pupils' achievement. Pupils learn a broad and engaging curriculum. Many pupils achieve well and are ready for the next stage of their education. The school sets high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Pupils open doors for visitors and show politeness and good manners around the school. Children in the early years quickly learn to share, take turns and recognise what it means to be part of the school community. The school promotes pupils' leadership skills through roles such as school councillors and playground monitors. Pupils take pride in the impact they have through these responsibilities. Older pupils enthusiastically serve as 'special helpers' for children in the early years. Pupils eagerly try to make a positive difference in their wider community, for example by raising money for charities. Pupils benefit from a variety of enriching experiences during their time at school. They engage in outdoor activities that deepen their understanding of the natural world. For example, they grow fruit and vegetables to eat at lunchtime and stay overnight in the local countryside.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school sometimes does not identify key gaps in pupils' learning or adapt future teaching to help pupils overcome these deficits in knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers are suitably equipped to check pupils' learning across the curriculum and ensure that they learn the important knowledge securely.
• For a very small number of pupils with SEND, the delivery of the curriculum is not adapted consistently well. This means that these pupils sometimes struggle to learn as well as they can. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to make suitable adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum so that all pupils with SEND learn successfully.
• At times, the school is not effective at evaluating the delivery and impact of the curriculum. This means that some weaknesses are not identified and acted on in a timely manner. In turn, this hinders pupils' achievement in these subjects. The school should ensure that it gathers and evaluates information effectively so that it can quickly address any shortcomings in subject curriculums.

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