The Erme Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 31 March 2026

Pupils benefit from caring support from staff, in a school where everyone knows them. They are greeted warmly at the start of each day, which encourages pupils to attend well and on time. Staff quickly get to know pupils and provide swift help to reduce any barriers to their learning and wellbeing. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities settle quickly and make progress from their starting points. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, trust that adults will support them and this helps them to feel safe. Pupils say that staff 'really care'. Pupils are now benefiting from recent improvements to the school. They learn an ambitious and enriching curriculum. Many pupils show a renewed enthusiasm to learn new topics in their lessons, for example about tornadoes in geography or the Vikings in history. However, the quality of teaching for pupils is not fully effective across the school. This means that pupils do not secure the knowledge and skills they need to be prepared for their next stage of education. Furthermore, some pupils do not always show positive attitudes to their learning in lessons. At social times, pupils typically play well together. For example, in key stage 1, pupils play traditional playground games harmoniously with their friends. Older pupils enjoy their 'play leader' responsibilities, regularly teaching younger pupils new games. Bullying is rare. When there are cases of bullying, these are dealt with quickly and effectively. However, some pupils can display unkind behaviour towards their friends, which a new behaviour system is beginning to tackle. After a period of leadership and staffing turbulence, pupils feel part of a whole-school community, whose members are learning to be the best that they can be. A new 'super council' is starting to support issues in the local community and fundraise for charities. Visits and visitors, from the local community and beyond, prepare pupils well for life beyond their local area. House captains and vice-house captains enact their roles with pride, including leading 'Friday celebrations', which pupils value.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should continue to take action to improve the quality of teaching across the school, embedding effective teaching approaches that support pupils to learn effectively.
• Leaders should support staff to raise their expectations of pupils' engagement within lessons so that pupils display pride in their work and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Leaders need to effectively address the gaps in older pupils' foundational knowledge so that they achieve as well as their peers nationally.
• Leaders should continue to increase the rigour and pace to bring about the improvements required so that pupils consistently benefit from a high-quality education.

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