Moggerhanger Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 27 March 2024

Pupils are happy and confident. They enjoy learning in a safe environment. Positive relationships exist between pupils and adults. Pupils recognise trusted adults in school who they can speak with if they have concerns. Staff look after pupils well. Pupils learn to 'be safe, be respectful, and be ready'. They can articulate how these values support their behaviour and learning. Pupils are polite. Their behaviour and attitudes to learning are usually positive. However, pupils do not always show pride in, or take care with, their work. Pupils enjoy using the physical education facilities offered by their affiliated secondary school. Here, they can access the school's sports amenities, such as the astro turf. There are many after-school clubs. Pupils enjoy participating in activities including choir, multisport, archery and football. Children in pre-school learn to develop a love for books and stories. Throughout their school years, pupils enjoy reading and become fluent readers. Some of the school's curriculum is not planned or taught well enough to ensure that all pupils learn and retain knowledge over time. Sometimes, pupils find work too hard because they do not remember what they have learned before. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not set out the precise knowledge that pupils need to learn. As a result, some teachers lack clarity on what knowledge pupils should learn and how to set precise learning objectives for sequences of lessons. The school must ensure that, in all subjects, the knowledge that pupils are expected to learn, including specific vocabulary, is identified precisely.
• In some subjects, teachers do not plan and set activities that build effectively on pupils' previous learning. Teachers do not identify precisely what pupils have learned and where pupils' understanding is not secure. This means teachers do not always know when pupils are ready to move on to new learning. Teachers sometimes move pupils on to learning more complex knowledge before they have a secure understanding of the knowledge that underpins this. The school should ensure that all staff use checks on pupils' prior learning effectively, so that they precisely know pupils' next steps in learning and plan for these accordingly.
• Some teachers do not set high expectations for the quality of pupils' written work. This does not help pupils to develop consistently positive attitudes to learning, as they do not take care with, or show pride in, their written work. The quality of pupils' written work does not show the true depth of their understanding. The school must ensure that all teachers set high expectations so that pupils take pride in their work and demonstrate their capabilities effectively.

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