Moorside Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 February 2026

Warm smiles and kindly words greet pupils as they enter the school building each morning. This sets the tone for the day. A calm start and well-established routines mean that pupils settle quickly and enjoy their learning. Leaders' successful work to identify barriers to learning means that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive effective support. This support aids their learning, promotes their wellbeing and fosters their sense of belonging. Pupils know that they are a valued member of the Moorside team. They are very proud that their school treats everyone equally, regardless of their differences. Pupils forge positive and trusting relationships with staff. This means that pupils are confident to share their worries or report their concerns about bullying. They know that such incidents are dealt with appropriately. Pupils feel safe and well cared for and are happy at school. Most pupils behave well. They adhere to routines, listen to their teachers and show respect to their peers and to staff. Those pupils who find managing their behaviour more challenging receive sensitive support to safeguard their wellbeing and ensure the learning of others is not disrupted. Although pupils’ attendance is improving, some pupils do not attend school often enough. Pupils have not achieved as well as they should. Improvements in the curriculum are reversing this situation. Pupils, including children in the early years, are making greater gains in their learning due to the well-structured curriculum that is typically taught well. Even so, a few older pupils have some gaps in their mathematics learning. Pupils benefit from a carefully crafted programme that extends and enriches their personal development. This sets them up well for their next steps in life as young citizens in modern Britain. The school has been on a rapid journey of improvement. Members of the interim executive board have quickly gained an accurate view of the school's strengths and priorities for improvement. Even so, they are new to their governance roles and, as such, in the early stages of demonstrating their effectiveness.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that the positive changes to the English curriculum are mirrored fully in the mathematics curriculum so that more pupils gain the knowledge that they need to tackle those aspects of the subject where they are less confident to help them achieve well.
• Leaders should ensure that they build on the recent developments to ensure that all teachers are fully confident in adapting their teaching to meet pupils’ different needs within their classrooms.
• Leaders should ensure that they maintain their focus on attendance so that pupils’ absence rates continue to reduce over time.
• Members of the new interim executive board (IEB) should build on their insights into the school and use this knowledge to work productively with leaders so that the school's improvement journey is maintained.
• Leaders and members of the IEB should work together to ensure that they rebuild the trust and confidence of parents and carers.

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