The Meads Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 June 2024

Pupils enjoy being part of this close-knit community school. The whole school lives by its core values of respect, responsibility, resilience, kindness and joy. Being part of the school helps pupils to learn about living in modern-day Britain. Pupils are well prepared for their futures and their transition to secondary school. Pupils learn a curriculum that is ambitious for all. Pupils benefit from particular areas of strength, such as reading and music. They respond well to focus areas for improvement. For example, this year has seen a vast improvement in the quality of handwriting pupils produce. Pupils are well mannered and behave with respect and thoughtfulness. Children in Reception learn the school's rules and routines as soon as they start school. Throughout the school, teachers plan exciting things that the pupils are keen to learn. Learning is purposeful and pupils develop positive attitudes to learning. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to widen their interests. Pupils talk excitedly about the '88 things to do before I leave The Meads' passport. This encourages every pupil to participate in things they may not have tried otherwise and broaden their talents.

What the school should improve

• Until recently, the school did not always support pupils with SEND effectively. As a result, some pupils with SEND did not get the right support because their needs were not identified quickly enough, or pupils are too reliant on adult support. The school should continue to develop staff's skills at identifying pupils with SEND and develop their knowledge and understanding about how to make adaptions to ensure pupils with SEND develop their independence.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are not yet consistently strong in writing and mathematics. This means these pupils do not always achieve as highly as others in these subjects. The school must continue to develop the quality of teaching to enable all pupils to achieve well across the curriculum, including those in receipt of pupil premium.
• Teachers' expectations of pupils' writing are not always as high as they could be. Consequently, the quality of some pupils' writing at the end of key stage 2 does not show the progress they are capable of. The school should ensure that teachers have high expectations for the quality of all pupils' writing. The school should also ensure that teachers provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills across the curriculum over time.

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