Mayfield Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 June 2024

Pupils are happy at school. They develop strong friendships and enjoy spending time with each other. Pupils said that staff make learning fun and that they help them if they find anything difficult. Pupils value the wide range of opportunities that the school provides for them. These include a variety of clubs and roles of responsibilities that help pupils to develop new skills and to build their self-confidence. For example, pupils learn how to work as part of a team through business challenges. Older pupils show younger pupils how to become a 'Mayfield Marvel'. Children in the early years achieve well. They quickly learn that cooperation and consideration enable everyone to enjoy their learning and play. These positive attitudes provide a firm foundation for pupils' behaviour as they progress through the school. Pupils are polite and respectful. Those who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour benefit from the support of skilled staff. The school is a calm and welcoming place as a result. The school expects pupils to achieve well. To this end, the school has devised an ambitious curriculum. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. This is because the delivery of the curriculum is not as effective as it could be. Added to this, the school has not fully identified or addressed some of the barriers to pupils' learning.

What the school should improve

• Teachers do not consistently identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge well enough, including in reading. This results in some pupils struggling to make sense of new information. The school should ensure that teachers check and take account of what pupils already know so that all pupils build up a rich body of knowledge that prepares them well for their next stages of learning.
• There is variability in how well teachers support pupils to practise and apply new learning to ensure that it is firmly embedded. As a result, some pupils struggle to recall key information. The school should support staff to improve the delivery of the curriculum so that pupils can acquire and secure knowledge over time.
• The school does not make sure that the needs of some pupils with SEND are accurately identified. This means that some pupils with SEND struggle to access the curriculum because, for these pupils, their teachers are unsure how best to support them. The school should equip teachers with the knowledge that they need to recognise and meet the differing needs of pupils in the school.

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