Skelton Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 July 2023

Leaders create a respectful culture at this school. Pupils celebrate their uniqueness and flourish in an environment focused on equality. Leaders listen to pupils and provide them with a safe, nurturing place to learn. There are clear routines and expectations in place for behaviour. Staff apply the behaviour policy consistently. They teach pupils to behave through the 'going for gold' initiative. This rewards pupils' positive attitude to learning and conduct. Pupils enjoy the challenge to strive for gold and feel the system is fair. Pupils can define what bullying is and know that they can tell an adult if it happens. Adults build positive relationships with children in the early years. They help children to move effectively from one activity to another. Leaders provide a range of activities to broaden pupils' horizons. They are aware of the importance of helping children to socialise and mix with others. Leaders purposefully involve pupils in large local events, such as the secondary school talent show, public speaking events and competitive sport. Leaders develop many aspects of pupils' character. For example, early years children develop teamwork skills in the forest area and key stage 2 pupils build their resilience on their adventurous residential trip.

What the school should improve

• In the wider curriculum, leaders have not mapped out the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. In addition, they have not adapted the curriculum sufficiently well to meet the needs of mixed-age classes. Leaders should work with staff to improve how well pupils in mixed-age classes learn in the wider curriculum.
• Leaders do not ensure that the tasks that teachers set pupils with SEND help them to meet their targets. They should work with staff to make sure that teaching and the tasks set enable pupils with SEND to progress through the curriculum.

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