Sellindge Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 February 2023

Pupils love their school. They are proud of their work and happy to share their achievements with visitors. Children in Reception are confident and equally keen to share their ideas. Expectations of behaviour and engagement in learning are very high. Everyday routines are firmly established. The communal 'daily mile' is accomplished without fuss, although an inherent sense of fun is palpable, even when mornings are grey, and Ofsted is inspecting. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe here, including from bullying. They say that staff deal 'quickly' and 'well' with any problems. Pupils themselves disapprove of behaviour that is anything less than perfect. This results in a good degree of harmony and a purposeful learning environment across the school. Pupils are kind and welcoming to newcomers. This includes recent arrivals, who may need additional help linked to barriers with language. Classroom visits showed staff to be adept at responding when extra support is needed by these new joiners. Pupils also play their part. All are expected to contribute positively to school life. This includes pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who are supported well but expected to work equally as hard as their peers.

What the school should improve

• Not all subject curriculum plans clearly identify the key knowledge pupils will learn over time. This is particularly the case for PE and for DT. This means that teachers sometimes struggle to identify the learning they need to cover, so that pupils' knowledge, skills and understanding develop as well as they should as they move through the school. Work has started to address this. Leaders now need to act with more urgency to ensure that staff know precisely what they need to teach, and when, across the whole curriculum.
• The school's provision to develop pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is under-developed. This is particularly the case regarding pupils' knowledge of different cultures, both in Britain and the wider world. Some work is under way to address this. However, a more formal and coherent approach is needed to ensure that pupils' understanding of life in modern Britain and the world beyond is as strong as it might be.

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