Moorside Community Primary Academy School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 March 2025

Pupils feel a strong sense of belonging at this friendly school. Each day, staff greet pupils with a warm smile and a friendly wave. Pupils know that they are valued members of the 'Moorside family'. Pupils enjoy their learning and are happy and safe at school. Children in the early years play together happily in a purposeful and engaging learning environment. Older pupils enjoy spending time outdoors, playing traditional playground games, as well as quietly reflecting in the school's peaceful area or chatting to their friends. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), meet the school's high expectations of their work and behaviour. Pupils show positive attitudes to their learning. They treat each other with kindness. Overall, pupils achieve well, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils benefit from a variety of opportunities to learn other skills and foster their talents. For example, pupils look forward to their weekly ukulele lessons. They also enjoy attending a varied range of after-school clubs and activities. For instance, pupils enjoy representing their school at different sporting events. Through activities such as these, they learn the importance of teamwork and that taking part is even more important than winning.

What the school should improve

• Some of the targeted support for early readers is not as effective as it could be. Additionally, some of these pupils do not attend school as often as they should. As a result, some pupils are not well prepared for the demands of the key stage 2 reading curriculum. The school should develop the quality and frequency of support for early readers. It should also continue to work with parents so these pupils' rates of attendance rapidly improve.
• In some subjects, the school has not determined clearly enough the most important content that staff should emphasise and revisit over time. In addition, some of the checks that staff make on pupils' learning do not ensure pupils have understood and remembered a connected body of knowledge over time. The school should ensure pupils are building more effectively on their prior learning so they develop a secure understanding of key concepts in the longer term.

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