St Michael's CofE Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 June 2022

Pupils enjoy their learning. They take part in an extensive range of visits and clubs. Many pupils have opportunities to follow their interests, including to learn musical instruments. Staff encourage pupils to take on responsibilities. Pupils speak positively about undertaking a variety of roles. For instance, they are proud to be monitors, ambassadors and eco-warriors. Leaders encourage pupils to collaborate and show respect for others. Parents and carers praise the 'family feel' of the school's community. Leaders and staff work together to ensure that expectations are high for all pupils, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, adults' expectations of what children can achieve in their learning are not as high in the early years. Adults' support and guidance helps pupils to behave positively. Expectations of pupils' behaviour are high. This begins right from the start in Nursery where teachers promote good manners. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and adults. They are confident and articulate. Pupils are safe and know who to talk to should they have a concern. Bullying at the school is extremely rare. Leaders and staff deal with any concerns quickly.

What the school should improve

• Children who struggle with phonics in Reception do not receive consistently strong support. As a result, they do not make the progress they should do to become fluent readers. Leaders should ensure that adults working with children who need extra help with phonics have the appropriate expertise.
• In Reception, adults do not implement the intended curriculum well. As a result, children do not deepen their learning across all areas of learning. Children with less-developed language skills do not receive effective support. Leaders should ensure that all staff in the early years have the appropriate training so that their interactions with children develop learning further.
• The knowledge that pupils need to learn in history, geography and DT is not identified clearly. Subject planning does not identify the most important knowledge that pupils should learn and when. However, it is clear from leaders' action that they are in the process of bringing this about and making the necessary amendments. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied. Leaders should ensure that curricular thinking in these subjects identifies the key content that pupils need to learn.

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