St Martin At Shouldham Church of England Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 December 2024

Pupils deeply understand their school values of 'respecting, generous and achieving'. They display these in how they treat each other. They see themselves as part of one caring and nurturing school family that extends beyond the school gates. For example, some pupils recently joined other trust schools for carol services at a local cathedral. There are high expectations for pupils' achievement. Pupils learn a broad, interesting and ambitious curriculum and generally achieve well. However, they sometimes need more precise guidance about how to improve their writing. Behaviour and attitudes are exemplary. Pupils follow routines and respect each other. Even the youngest children want to help, support and include others. The caring staff value pupils. This makes the pupils feel safe and excited to come to school each day. Pupils participate in an extensive range of wider activities. These range from sports and art clubs to residentials and choir performances. These experiences help develop new skills and build confidence. For example, older pupils talked proudly about overcoming their worries about jumping into the water on a residential trip. This has helped them feel more confident about taking their next steps into secondary education.

What the school should improve

• Sometimes teachers do not check the quality of pupils' writing precisely enough. Therefore, pupils do not consistently receive the guidance they need about how they can improve or develop their writing. The school needs to ensure that teachers consistently provide pupils with the support and guidance they need to develop their writing so that the writing that pupils produce is the best they are capable of.

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