St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 February 2023

Pupils enjoy the warm and welcoming atmosphere at St Marys Cockerton Primary School. Leaders want pupils to develop compassion and knowledge through their 'global explorer' curriculum. Staff help pupils to gather this knowledge in their imaginary 'backpack' and are ambitious for what pupils can achieve. Pupils enjoy the wide range of curriculum subjects in the school. They learn how to make poses in dance or speak in whole sentences in French. They remember a lot of what they have been taught. Pupils remember less of what they are taught when it is does not link as well with what they have learned in the past. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other. They listen to their teachers attentively. Pupils play well together at lunchtime and line up quickly when it is time to come inside. Staff take all issues that pupils bring to them seriously and stamp out any unkind behaviour before it develops into bullying. Pupils enjoy ringing the 'above and beyond' bell that lets the school know that they have done something exceptional. However, staff sometimes do not give some pupils the help that they need to stay focused on what they are doing. Pupils are taught to 'think global, act local'. Staff encourage pupils to pick up litter in the community to help the global environment. Pupils enjoy collecting points for their house and counting their tokens on a Friday. Pupils look forward to breaktimes, where they get to build dens outside and play with pupils from other classes.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have not sufficiently defined the knowledge that should be taught or how this links between year groups in some curriculum subjects, including PSHE. As a result, sometimes teachers are not clear on what to focus on in some lessons and they teach activities without the focus on the core knowledge to be remembered. Leaders should map out when knowledge in subjects, such as history or PSHE, are taught and how this links with prior learning from that year and from previous years.
• Teachers are not clear on how to prepare some pupils with SEND, especially those with an EHC plan, for their learning and then adapt their work. Some pupils with EHC plans are not successful in some lessons and can become frustrated and sometimes need to leave the classroom. Leaders should ensure that staff are clear on the specific needs of each pupil with an EHC plan and have the training and expertise needed to support them in all lessons, especially PE and other foundation subjects.
• Although children are safe, safeguarding leaders sometimes do not fully record some details about actions taken when staff have concerns about a child. This means that some safeguarding records are not a full chronology of what has been done to support a child. Leaders should ensure that there is a clear policy on what and how concerns are recorded and that this is followed consistently by all staff, including safeguarding leaders.

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