Measham Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 September 2024

This is a welcoming school, where staff know every pupil individually well. Pupils feel safe, nurtured and valued. Parents greatly appreciate the community spirit and caring support for pupils and their families. Pupils are polite and courteous. They behave responsibly by following 'The Measham Way'. They follow instructions straightaway and try their best. Pupils show care for each other, and they play well together on the playground. Pastoral support is a notable strength of the school. Trained staff help pupils when they have anxieties or struggle emotionally. This helps them settle quickly, so they are ready for learning. Pupils enjoy school and appreciate the wide range of exciting opportunities. They speak enthusiastically about whole class ukulele, glockenspiel and taiko drumming lessons. There is a large uptake of the many sporting, musical, art and poetry clubs. Through the school council, pupils appreciate that they can suggest activities that interest them. To realise its ambition for pupils, the school has made recent improvements in the curriculum and how it is taught. Pupils are starting to benefit from these. However, they do not learn the curriculum as well as they should yet, particularly pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who have difficulty reading.

What the school should improve

• Individual support plans do not always precisely consider the identified needs of pupils with SEND. The plans, including the strategies and interventions set out in them, do not clearly set out the support provided for these pupils in the classroom. This means that pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure the support provided to pupils with SEND addresses their needs.
• Some staff do not have the expertise to effectively adapt the curriculum for pupils at different stages of learning. Pupils are sometimes given tasks that they do not have the foundational knowledge to complete, and adult support focuses on the completion of work rather than what pupils need to learn. This hinders pupils from building successfully on what they know. The school should ensure that all staff understand how to successfully adapt the curriculum.
• Teachers do not systematically check pupils' understanding. This means that some pupils develop and embed misconceptions and do not learn important knowledge as securely as they should. The school should ensure that pupils' learning is consistently and effectively checked so that misconceptions are quickly identified and addressed.

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