Sarratt Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 June 2023

Pupils live and breathe 'The Sarratt Way'. Regular reminders guide pupils to demonstrate the three school values: creativity, courage and compassion. Pupils typically meet adults' high expectations. They listen respectfully before completing the activities teachers arrange. Pupils remember lots of what they learn, be it Year 1 pupils identifying shapes or Year 6 pupils sharing facts about World War II. Doing their best to be their best is something that pupils do through the extra-curricular offer. Pupils benefit from dedicated staff facilitating cross-school competitions. These allow pupils to show courage. They compete locally and nationally in sports like football, netball and swimming. Pupils strive to win but demonstrate a great deal of sportsmanship when faced with defeat. Pupils are exceptionally compassionate. They treat others as they would like to be treated. This includes in how they look after school resources. The 'tidy tigers' regularly check that school is 'spick and span' and that things work as they should. When someone joins or visits the school, pupils extend the hand of friendship. Having friends to play and learn with encourages pupils to attend school regularly. Pupils rarely have concerns. Still, they know it is important to share their worries with staff. Pupils trust that doing so will ensure they get the help needed to remain safe.

What the school should improve

• How staff elect to teach phonics, including in lessons and through catch-up support, does not provide enough opportunity for weaker readers to revise the sounds they need to know. As a result, the progress these pupils make is slower than it should be. Leaders should ensure staff receive the training and guidance required to teach leaders' adopted programmes in a way that maximises the learning for every pupil.
• A relatively high number of pupils join the school other than at the start of the Reception Year. Sometimes, leaders and staff lack rigour in how they assess a pupil upon them joining the school. It leads to some pupils going 'under the radar' and not achieving as highly as they should based on their starting points. Leaders should put in place a clear system for reviewing, making and using assessment to ensure every pupil who joins the school mid-year goes on to achieve their very best.

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