The Crescent Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 July 2024

This is a caring and ambitious school where pupils are well looked after by staff who get to know them well. This encourages pupils to talk to adults about any concerns they have. Leaders take careful account of the school community, including listening to parents and making changes based on their views. In the early years, children are expertly supported to develop detailed knowledge across the curriculum. Typically, pupils in the rest of the school achieve well. This is not typically represented in nationally published outcomes because many pupils join the school part way through their primary education. Pupils' starting points are swiftly identified, and the curriculum typically builds securely on what they know. Pupils' behaviour is settled and calm. The school's values help pupils to understand the importance of treating others with kindness and respect. Where bullying is re- ported, the school deals with it effectively. Educational visits build on pupils' learning, such as seeing artefacts at a museum when learning about the Ancient Greeks in Year 4. Popular clubs include cookery, football and choir. Pupils take on responsibilities including school council and eco team. These enable pupils to improve their school environment, such as encourag- ing recycling.

What the school should improve

• Some subjects are newer in their development and where this is the case, the knowledge leaders intend pupils to learn is less clearly defined and staff expertise is less well developed. Where this is the case, the way information is presented to pupils is sometimes unclear and the work they are given does not support them to learn key concepts securely. Leaders should follow through with their plans to refine those areas of the curriculum that are newer and provide all the training staff need to develop their expertise so that teaching supports pupils to learn the curriculum in detail across all areas.
• The development of systems to check what pupils understand and remember of their learning is uneven. Leaders do not have routinely clear information about what pupils know and remember. As a result, some curriculum planning does not address the gaps in pupils' understanding and the curriculum builds less well on pupils' prior knowledge. Pupils do not remember some content they need to know in order to understand more complex concepts later. Leaders should ensure that checks on pupils' knowledge are systematic across the curriculum.

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