St Nicholas Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 March 2024

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They are sensible and conduct themselves well. They take great pride in the roles and responsibilities that they undertake. Pupils value the warm relationships that they have with staff. They stated that staff are friendly and approachable. This helps pupils to feel safe and secure. The school is ambitious for what pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), should learn. The school's published data for 2023 demonstrates that pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics is often significantly above the national average. However, while pupils also achieve well in other parts of the curriculum, they do not consistently reach the same high standards. Pupils engage well with their wider community. For example, at the time of the inspection, they had produced artwork for an exhibition commemorating the 150th anniversary of their local church. Pupils value their link with a partner school in Spain. This helps them to develop their appreciation for other cultures. It also enhances their learning of a modern foreign language. Pupils appreciate the opportunities to learn musical instruments. They all get to learn brass instruments in Year 5 and play pieces of music together as part of a class orchestra.

What the school should improve

• In some subject curriculums, and the curriculum in the early years, the school is not clear enough about how and when key knowledge should be taught. This impedes teachers in delivering some curriculum content effectively. It also limits teachers' ability to build on pupils' prior learning. This means that pupils do not develop a deep understanding of some important concepts in some subjects. The school should review the design of these curriculums and give clearer guidance to teachers on how and when to deliver the intended key knowledge to pupils.
• In some instances, the school does not ensure that assessment strategies are used effectively to check pupils' understanding. This sometimes means that opportunities are missed to identify and help pupils who are struggling with their learning. It also means that teachers sometimes do not adapt their guidance and support to respond to the needs of some pupils, including some of those with SEND. The school should ensure that staff are well equipped to carry out robust checks on learning so that they provide pupils with effective help and support that is appropriate to their needs.
• The school does not cater for the development of pupils' communication and language skills as well as it could, particularly in the early years and for some pupils with SEND. Some interactions between pupils and staff do not help pupils to deepen their learning and expand their vocabulary. This means that pupils miss opportunities to develop their language skills as well as they could. The school should ensure that there is a language-rich environment in which pupils can engage in high-quality dialogue with their teachers and classmates.

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