Picknalls First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 November 2024

Pupils are eager to learn at this friendly school. They enjoy lessons and have fun during playtimes. All staff in the school expect pupils to achieve well. Pupils behave particularly well. Staff care for pupils. They provide the support they need. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Careful nurture, coupled with high expectations, helps all pupils to flourish and achieve. Pupils learn all the subjects in the national curriculum. In the early years, stimulating activities help children get off to an excellent start. This gives pupils strong foundations for later learning. As they grow older, pupils progress well. They leave this school ready for the next stage of their education. Pupils feel safe and happy here. They learn and play nicely together. They feel able to ask for help if they need it. They enjoy the many interesting and diverse activities they do outside of lessons. They love to learn outside, including in the forest school. Parents and carers would recommend the school to others. They like that staff know and look after their children with care. When asked what else they like, lots of parents said 'everything'.

What the school should improve

• Checks on whether pupils are ready to move on to next steps in learning are not always frequent or rigorous enough. This means that staff are not always clear if pupils have grasped all new learning or if they could explore learning in greater depth. As a result, a few pupils struggle and others miss out on deeper learning. The school should improve its assessment arrangements so that these pupils move on only when they are fully ready and that those who are ready to do so have more opportunities to explore their learning in greater depth.

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