Norton St Nicholas CofE (VA) Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 November 2022

Pupils are happy at this caring school. The school's encouraging ethos nurtures pupils. Pupils are polite and kind to one another and adults. Pupils enjoy learning a broad and rich curriculum which prepares them well for later life. Leaders have high expectations, and pupils work hard to achieve these. The overwhelming majority of pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and around school. Pupils play happily together during their breaktimes. Pupils know they can talk to staff if they need help and that staff will deal with bullying if it occurs. Pupils feel listened to. They know that staff care about them and look after their well-being. Pupils are safe at school. The school's vision, built upon educating and nurturing and 'guided by God's love', is part of everyday school life. Parents and pupils value enrichment activities such as looking after the giant African snails in the early years and taking part in forest school work. Pupils enjoy going to the good range of clubs available to them, including choir, the school band and arts and crafts. These broaden pupils' interests. Pupils make a positive contribution to school life through leadership roles that help build character. These include being members of the care committee and serving as eco-councillors or house captains.

What the school should improve

• The layout and organisation of resources in the early years are not always consistently or precisely matched to the planned curriculum. This means there are occasions when children do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders must ensure that teachers carefully select and organise the resources they use to meet the ambition of the intended curriculum. This will help children achieve even better across all areas of the early years curriculum.

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