Smitham Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 April 2023

Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They feel safe and are kept safe. Pupils are respectful to one another and demonstrate the school's 'SMART' behaviours by being sensible, well-mannered, accepting, respectful and trustworthy. As a result, the atmosphere in school is calm and orderly, which in turn supports pupils' enthusiasm to learn. Leaders have high ambitions for every pupil. This is reflected in the curriculum that is designed to prepare pupils well for the next stage of their education. Across the curriculum, pupils learn well. From the early years onwards, pupils' positive attitudes to learning demonstrate the school's 'learning behaviours' of collaboration, resilience, reflectivity and challenge. Pupils have extensive opportunities to take on additional responsibilities. For example, they can become elected members of the school council, or 'elves' who deliver Christmas gifts. Pupils take these responsibilities seriously. For example, pupils on the school council were keen to talk about their role in designing the well-being garden. Older pupils readily support younger peers with their reading and mathematics. Pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading by holding positions such as pupil librarians. They look forward to the reading club, when they can choose to read together as a group.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, teachers do not consistently check that pupils have secured the most important knowledge. As a result, gaps in some pupils' knowledge are not routinely identified and corrected. This limits these pupils' understanding. Leaders should ensure that teachers focus on checking that pupils have secured the most important ideas identified in the curriculum.

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