Morpeth First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 December 2022

Pupils enjoy attending Morpeth First School. This was evident on inspection when some pupils told inspectors that they feel 'treasured, courageous and empowered' at school. Visitors are made to feel welcome. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve well. Some pupils say they appreciate spending time in the 'Nurture Nook', where staff help them learn how to manage their emotions. There are strong relationships between pupils and staff. In most lessons, pupils are calm and learn purposefully. Pupils know how to resolve disagreements. They also feel reassured that staff are there to help them if they need it. This helps pupils feel safe and happy at school. Most pupils understand what bullying is and know it is wrong. Bullying is extremely rare. The work of staff ensures pupils are kind to one another. Character education is a strength of the school. Leaders recognised the need to build up pupils' strength of character after the start of COVID-19. Leaders ensure positive character traits, such as 'resilience, confidence and determination', underpin the experience of everyone who attends the school. Projects such as collecting and recycling litter in the local community and collecting food for the local foodbank, are helping pupils to value their community. Pupils say the nurture practitioners help them to manage their emotions, so that they can learn more.

What the school should improve

• Teachers' subject knowledge is variable in some subjects, such as geography and PE. Some teachers are not ensuring that all learning is purposeful. Some of the activities do not help pupils learn the knowledge they need to achieve well. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans in these subjects enable pupils to build their understanding of important subject-specific knowledge, skills and concepts over time. Leaders must make sure teaching enables pupils to embed learning and build securely on what they already know.
• In mathematics, some teachers do not use assessment well enough to check pupils' understanding to inform their teaching. As a result, some pupils do not learn what is intended in the curriculum. Leaders should continue to provide effective support to improve teachers' pedagogical knowledge, so that assessment is used accurately to identify pupils' misconceptions and learning activities amended to support them.

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