Mickley First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 February 2024

Mickley First School has a strong sense of community and inclusion. The school has created a friendly and welcoming environment for pupils and their families. Staff foster strong relationships with parents and carers. Pupils know that they have a trusted adult to talk to in school if they need one. This helps them to feel safe. Staff have high expectations of pupils' achievement. Pupils are eager to learn and achieve well. Pupils understand and appreciate the reward system for positive attitudes to work and behaviour. While most pupils behave well, sometimes, staff are inconsistent in their expectations of how pupils should behave. This means a small number of pupils sometimes distract others with their low-level disruptive behaviours. The school is aware of this and is already working with staff to bring about improvements. Pupils value the leadership opportunities that the school provides such as school council and eco-council. They vote for house captains and vice-captains. The school has strong community links with the local church and residential home. Pupils can contribute to the village by gardening in the school-owned patch of land.

What the school should improve

• The intent and ambitions of the curriculum are clear. However, curriculum plans have not been sufficiently personalised to meet the needs of the school in some subject areas. This leads to some inconsistencies in the delivery of the curriculum and appropriateness of learning activities. The school should continue to develop the curriculum so that all plans meet the needs of the pupils.
• The school has ensured that curriculum planning includes a focus on learning selected vocabulary. However, many pupils struggle to talk about what they know and explain their thinking. The school should prioritise the development of oracy across the curriculum. It should ensure that all teachers have the requisite skills to promote oracy and discussion in the classroom.
• Some staff are inconsistent in their expectations of how pupils should behave. A small number of pupils disrupt others with low-level negative behaviours. Some pupils, while not disrupting others, are not always actively engaged with their learning. The school should ensure that all staff are consistent in terms of expectations of behaviour for learning.

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