St Michael's CofE Primary School, Oxford City

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 22 March 2022

Pupils are bright, lively and eager to learn. They enjoy coming to this welcoming school because they feel safe, see their friends and love playing together in the spacious grounds. Pupils are kind to each other and are proud of their nurturing school. This is because relationships are prioritised at St Michael's. The strong ethos and values are evident throughout all aspects of school life. Pupils enjoy their learning and experience a broad and balanced curriculum. The school continues to work hard in improving this curriculum offer. Leaders set high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour, and pupils rise to the challenge. Pupils behave well in lessons and when moving around the school. They are friendly, polite and supportive of each other. Pupils say that bullying is not an issue. They are clear that if it did happen, adults would deal with it straightaway. Pupils are happy and confident. They speak very highly of the staff. Teachers plan events that extend and enrich the school's curriculum, such as theatre experiences, creative writing opportunities and visiting local museums. Parents are very supportive of the school's caring approach, centred on children as individuals. One parent said, 'St Michael's is a lovely, inclusive school that celebrates diversity.'

What the school should improve

• Not all subjects in the curriculum have sufficiently detailed plans that set out the essential knowledge pupils should learn. This means that pupils cannot always securely build on prior knowledge because the component knowledge and sequencing of the curriculum has not been finished. The history curriculum is a particular example. Leaders should therefore continue to develop their curriculum thinking in a few foundation subjects to ensure that plans fully prioritise improving teachers' expertise through further training.
• Assessment in some foundation subjects, for example in history, is not consistently in place. As a result, teachers do not know how secure pupils are in their knowledge acquisition. Teachers do not always know where gaps in knowledge are to assist in producing the next steps in learning. Leaders should monitor the effectiveness of assessments to ensure that pupils embed knowledge and use it fluently.

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