Thompson Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 May 2025

Pupils are happy at this school. They love playing together, whether searching for minibeasts or inventing their own games. Older pupils have a strong sense of responsibility and really look out for the younger ones. They organise games for them and ensure that the resources they have are well looked after. The school also makes sure there is plenty to enrich the curriculum, with clubs such as gymnastics. Pupils benefit from visitors to the school, for example firefighters or visitors who talk to the pupils about living in China. The school wants pupils to do well. Pupils' learning is strongest in English and mathematics, although expectations for some pupils could be higher. Pupils enjoy reading and talk with enthusiasm about popular books in their class. The youngest children make a strong start to their education in Reception, but this is not maintained up to the end of the school. Across the broader curriculum, pupils are sometimes not taught as well as they should be. This means that pupils do not have strong recall of what they have been taught in these subjects. Pupils are well behaved and polite. They know how to keep themselves safe. Pupils have trusted adults who they are happy to talk to if they are worried about anything.

What the school should improve

• Staff do not consistently identify when pupils are ready to move on to learning more complex knowledge. This means that pupils do not have the opportunities that they need to achieve as highly as possible. The school needs to ensure that staff can use assessment strategies to understand when pupils are ready to move on to new learning so that they can achieve as well as they can.
• The activities that pupils are given to complete in foundation subjects do not provide sufficient opportunities to practise using and applying the knowledge they have been taught. This means pupils do not remember the important knowledge that they need to know. They do not achieve as well as they should in these subjects. The school needs to ensure that the activities teachers provide are highly effective at helping pupils understand and remember their new learning.
• Staff do not ensure that pupils are taught the entire curriculum. This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge. The school needs to ensure that staff teach the curriculum coherently and in the agreed order so that pupils build knowledge securely over time.

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