Stenson Fields Primary Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 27 April 2022

Stenson Fields is a nurturing school. Pupils feel safe and happy. The school's 'CARES' values are weaved through all that they do. Everyone is well looked after. Children get off to a great start in early years. Adults have developed strong relationships with pupils. One pupil summed up the views of many when she explained that she loved coming to school each day to be with her friends and teachers, 'to work and play together'. Adults have high expectations of pupils' learning and behaviour. Pupils are focused on their learning, and classrooms are calm. Pupils who sometimes struggle are well supported by adults. They are taught about their feelings and ways to recognise and manage these independently. Pupils say that 'friendship ambassadors' are there to help if they are feeling sad, for example. Bullying is not tolerated. When it does happen, adults deal with it to ensure that it stops. However, some pupils are not clear about what bullying is and confuse this with falling out. There is a variety of clubs available both after school and during lunchtimes. The 'jumping clay' art club is a firm favourite. Pupils enjoy residential visits to places such as Pine Lake.

What the school should improve

• The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned in some subjects. In subjects such as art and design, computing, and design and technology, leaders have not identified the core knowledge that they want pupils to learn. As a result, teachers do not teach this knowledge explicitly and pupils do not develop the necessary depth of understanding of the concepts that they are learning. However, it is clear from leaders' actions that they are in the process of bringing this about. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.
• Pupils are tolerant of the views and opinions of others. However, pupils typically lack a deep understanding of the features that make people similar or different and how these differences are celebrated. Further work is needed to ensure that all pupils have a better understanding of British values and the protected characteristics. Leaders should develop their planning to ensure that pupils' learning in these areas is incorporated into the school's curriculum for personal development.

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