Middleham Church of England Aided School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 October 2022

Children who attend this school in early years and key stage 1 are educated on the site of the partner school in the federation, Spennithorne Church of England Primary School. The two schools operate as one school split across two sites. Pupils enjoy regular 'federation days', when all pupils from both schools come together. This contributes to the safe, welcoming and family feeling across both schools. Pupils love coming to school and attend well. They work hard in lessons and listen carefully to their teachers. Leaders, including governors, have high expectations of pupils. Recent changes to the curriculum have led to improvements in pupils' achievement. Pupils are prepared well for their next steps in education. Pupils look after one another. They play well together and help each other in lessons. Pupils know that bullying is not acceptable. Leaders have effective systems to manage it, should it happen. Pupils are confident that adults will help them if they have any worries. Pupils have a range of opportunities to take on leadership roles as school councillors, collective worship leaders and play leaders. The school council recently led a donation drive for refugees from Ukraine. Pupils can develop their talents and interests in a wide range of clubs, such as music club, eco-club and sports club.

What the school should improve

• Systems to check pupils' prior knowledge are not consistently well established. Occasionally, some teachers do not have the information they need to inform their decisions about what pupils should learn next. Leaders should strengthen systems for assessment and ensure that teachers use this information, in conjunction with the school's curriculum plans, to select content that builds on pupils' prior knowledge.
• Occasionally, teachers do not emphasise the most important knowledge that pupils should learn. As a result, some pupils do not retain this knowledge and develop the foundations they need for future learning. Subject leaders should ensure that they monitor the implementation of curriculum plans regularly to make sure that pupils learn the important subject content that leaders have identified.

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