New Swannington Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 July 2024

New Swannington Primary School is a nurturing, friendly and welcoming place. The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well as they 'learn, play and grow together'. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils understand and follow the school rules of being 'kind, safe and respectful'. They behave well in lessons. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, pupils play and socialise together happily. Pupils look after each other. One pupil, whose comments were typical of many, said, 'Nobody is ever left out here; there is always someone to play with.' Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They trust staff to help them if they have any worries. Pastoral support for pupils is a strength of the school. When pupils need help to manage their emotions or regulate their behaviour, caring staff provide excellent support. Pupils value the rewards they earn for doing their best. They develop leadership skills, for example, by being school councillors, subject ambassadors and librarians. Many pupils attend clubs in school. They enjoy activities in which they develop their interests, including in sports and music. Pupils benefit from visits to a range of places, both locally and nationally, which broaden their experiences and enhance their learning. Particular favourites include visits to Whitby and Eyam.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, staff do not always have consistently high enough expectations of the work that pupils complete. Sometimes, they accept work that is of a poor quality without supporting pupils to improve their work or address mistakes. As a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as they might in these subjects. The school should ensure that there are consistently high expectations of pupils' work so that they achieve as well as they could in all subjects.
• The leadership of some subjects is not fully developed. Leaders do not have a full oversight of the implementation and impact of all subjects. The school should continue to develop subject leadership, to ensure that leaders successfully monitor, develop and evaluate the effectiveness of their subject areas.
• Pupils' understanding of a range of faiths and cultures is underdeveloped. Pupils do not recall important knowledge about religions or beliefs in modern Britain. The school should ensure that this aspect of the curriculum is implemented well so that pupils' knowledge of the religions and beliefs that exist in Britain today is strengthened.

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