St Agnes C of E Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 October 2022

Pupils said that they feel safe at St Agnes C of E Primary School. There are always adults to turn to if pupils have any concerns. Pupils can also write their worries down and put them in the 'worry box'. Pupils trust staff to respond to their concerns and to give them help if they need it. Pupils told inspectors that most pupils behave well because they understand what teachers expect from them. There are times when a small number of pupils misbehave and get distracted from their learning. However, teachers deal with these occasions straight away and pupils quickly get back on track. Pupils explained that staff respond effectively when any rare incidents of bullying happen. Pupils, and children in the early years, know that leaders require them to work hard and learn as much as they can. Most pupils and children meet these expectations. Overall, pupils achieve well. Pupils benefit from the many interesting and engaging activities, which leaders provide. For instance, well-planned visits to museums help pupils to broaden and deepen their understanding of aspects of the curriculum. Pupils also develop an appreciation of the importance of promoting tolerance and peace through their own actions. Pupils said that their school is a place where no person is judged for being different.

What the school should improve

• A small number of younger pupils, who have difficulties with reading, find their reading books too hard. This stops them from applying their knowledge of phonics successfully and means that they are unable to read with fluency. Leaders should ensure that they enable these pupils to develop their reading fluency more securely by providing them with reading books that more closely match their phonics knowledge.
• In a few subjects, some pupils have not retained what they have learned securely enough in their long-term memory. This means that they cannot apply prior knowledge to new learning, which prevents them from achieving as highly as they could. Leaders should continue with their work to develop appropriate strategies to ensure that pupils embed knowledge successfully in their long-term memory in this minority of subjects.

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