St Lawrence CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 March 2025

St Lawrence School is at the heart of the local community. Pupils, parents and carers value all that the school offers them. Pupils enjoy attending school. They form close relationships with each other and staff. Everybody is included at this school. Pupils recognise that differences are to be celebrated and are what make them unique. Pupils behave well and show positive attitudes to their learning. They welcome visitors politely and are willing to share what is good about their school. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe both online and in the wider world. They know who to report concerns, should they arise. Most pupils achieve well, and the school has high ambition for all pupils to achieve the best they can. The recently modified curriculum, however, will take time to impact on what pupils know and can do. The new headteacher, supported by a dedicated team of staff, are determined to ensure the curriculum improves outcomes for all pupils. Pupils enjoy the wide range of extra-curricular clubs offered to them. Spy club, archery and speed stacking are among their favourites. They visit places such as farms, theatres and residential centres, which helps bring their learning to life.

What the school should improve

• Over time, governors have not held leaders effectively to account for the quality of education that the school provides. As a result, recent improvements to the curriculum are only just beginning to impact positively on the quality of education, with some aspects yet to be delivered. The school should act quickly to address the issues identified and ensure that improvements are sustained and embedded.
• Some pupils with SEND are expected to complete activities without the necessary adaptations or support provided. As a result, pupils find it difficult to complete tasks, often making the same mistakes in their learning. The school should ensure that staff use the strategies outlined in pupils' support plans to adapt learning to meet specific learning needs.
• Pupils are not yet routinely learning the subject-specific skills linked to subjects and are not provided with enough opportunities to think and act like experts. Consequently, while pupils know lots of facts linked to the topics they study, they are not yet developing disciplinary skills which will enable them to become better at the subject. The school should ensure that staff receive the necessary support to deliver subject- specific knowledge in all subjects.
• In some subjects, the school has not yet identified the endpoints they want pupils to know by the end of units of work. This means that staff are not yet able to check how well pupils understand their learning. The school should refine the curriculum where needed to clarify the component knowledge pupils need to know so that they can build their understanding systematically towards the identified curriculum endpoints.

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