Tadcaster Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 January 2023

Tadcaster Primary Academy is a warm, friendly and welcoming place to learn. The school's motto, 'belong, believe, achieve', and the school's values of 'respect, tolerance, kindness, friendship, confidence and creativity' are woven through all that the school does. The playground is full of happy, smiling children who play well with each other. Leaders have high expectations for what pupils can achieve. They are focused on making sure that pupils learn well. Parents and carers are happy with the education that their children receive. Some comments to inspectors included, 'This is a great school with a lovely family atmosphere. Our child is thriving here and loves coming to school every day.' Pupils behave well. Staff encourage pupils to take responsibility for their actions. Pupils know what staff expect of them. Pupils concentrate during lessons. Pupils feel safe and are safe. Bullying is rare, and teachers deal with it well if it happens. Pupils can join a wide range of clubs to nurture their interests, including clubs for music, dance, art and sport. Leaders work hard to make positive links with their local community. For example, parents and other volunteers from the community regularly organise fundraising activities. Pupils visit different local places of worship, such as a synagogue and York Minster.

What the school should improve

• Leaders are not fully aware of some inconsistencies in the implementation of the mathematics curriculum. Sometimes, pupils can do more than teachers expect of them. Consequently, the curriculum in mathematics does not consistently allow pupils to make as much progress as they could. Leaders should review their oversight of mathematics provision and ensure that it promotes pupil progression in the subject.
• In some subjects, such as history and mathematics, teachers do not check what pupils have remembered from the taught curriculum. Because of this, teachers are not consistently able to ensure that misconceptions and gaps in learning are addressed. Leaders should ensure that assessment in all subjects better checks the most important knowledge that pupils should remember.

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