New Earswick Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 March 2026

Pupils benefit from a calm start to the day. They are welcomed into school by staff who help pupils to feel a sense of belonging. Pupils are cared for by staff who they trust. This helps pupils to feel safe and settled. Pupils enjoy learning. They are proud to show their work and feel well supported to learn in lessons by staff who help them. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other disadvantages are supported well by skilled staff who are committed to help them break down barriers to learning. This enables pupils to make sufficient progress from their starting points. Children start developing very positive attitudes to learning in the early years. From the 2-year-old provision onwards, children learn to listen, take turns and show kindness to others. Older pupils generally behave well in lessons and around school. Pupils know that adults will address any poor behaviour or bullying concerns, on the rare occasions that they may arise. Leaders know that attendance needs to improve for some pupils. They are taking effective steps to improve attendance. Pupils describe school as a happy place to be and know that caring staff help them to feel safe in school. Pupils understand the importance of respecting each other. They uphold the school's values of respect, responsibility and kindness. They enjoy receiving ‘over and above recognition’ class awards for following school rules. Pupils benefit from a range of carefully planned experiences including, theatre performances in school. They visit places of interest in the local and wider area such as York city. Older pupils talk enthusiastically about residential stays. Pupils enjoy participating in musical events such as Young Voices. The range of clubs and opportunities to develop wider interests include sports, such as rugby, and musical instrument tuition.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should continue to improve pupils' attendance rates, ensuring that the school works with parents and carers, and communicates its expectations to pupils about attendance clearly.
• Leaders should continue their work to ensure that pupils develop strong foundations in spelling and handwriting, so that pupils are consistently able to achieve greater accuracy and proficiency in their writing across all subjects.
• Leaders should ensure that they continue to embed recent changes to the teaching of reading so that more pupils secure consistently positive outcomes in both the phonics screening check and national tests at the end of Year 6.

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