Parkstone Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 May 2022

Pupils thrive at this inclusive school. The challenging behaviour of a small number of pupils with additional needs is managed well by leaders. Staff have had the training they need to support pupils who find following school rules difficult. Pupils with social and emotional needs meet with the well-being leader to tell them their problems. Pupils use 'feelings caterpillars' and worry boxes in classrooms to let adults know how they feel. All adults have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Classrooms are oases of calm. As a result, pupils are happy. They feel safe at school. Pupils say that bullying rarely happens. This view is supported by leaders' records. When incidents of bullying are reported, leaders spend time speaking to the pupils and parents and carers to sort it out. Leaders help pupils to resolve their differences. All pupils know the school rules. They talk with pride about the 'leading learner' badges they get for reading regularly, arriving on time and trying hard. They enjoy saving their leading learner stickers so that they can choose the prize they want. One pupil told the inspector that, 'school is amazing because teachers include everyone'.

What the school should improve

• For a small number of pupils, the books they read do not match the sounds that they know with enough accuracy. The books are too hard. As a result, pupils do not get the practice they need to become fluent and confident readers. Leaders should ensure that all books are accurately matched to the sounds that pupils have been taught, so that they can read them confidently.
• In some wider curriculum subjects, such as geography and history, assessments do not reflect the full curriculum that pupils have been taught. This means that the full picture of pupils' understanding is not known in enough detail. Leaders should ensure that their assessments in all areas of the curriculum accurately check on the skills and knowledge that pupils have been taught.
• Pupils' understanding of different religions and British values is underdeveloped. Pupils do not remember the religions that they have studied or the British values they have been taught. Leaders should ensure that the approach to teaching these aspects of the curriculum is reviewed so that pupils are clear about the different religious beliefs that exist and the key British values that are important in Britain today.

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