Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 January 2025

This is a school where love and care shine through. The warm and nurturing relationships between staff and pupils are special. Staff know and understand pupils well. As a result, pupils are helped to feel happy and safe. Pupils live up to the school's high expectations for their behaviour. 'The Tushingham way' is lived out by everyone, including children in the early years. Pupils have a deep respect for one another. They support each other when they meet a challenge and celebrate each other's successes. Pupils develop high aspirations and show consistently positive attitudes to learning. Pupils are eager to learn. They understand that staff expect them to work hard and do their best. Pupils rise to these expectations and most achieve well in many areas of the curriculum. Children in the early years are exceptionally well prepared for the demands of Year 1. Pupils benefit from the many exciting and enriching experiences that the school provides to enhance their education. Pupils can take part in a wide range of activities. These include sporting competitions and a vast array of after-school clubs. Pupils relish the opportunities that they have to take on leadership roles, such as acting as VIVAs and play leaders. Pupils also enjoy leading assemblies, organising charity events and playtime activities for other children. They make a true difference to their school.

What the school should improve

• Occasionally, in a few subjects, pupils are not supported to learn the most important knowledge in the curriculum. Therefore, some pupils do not build a sufficient depth of knowledge in these subjects. The school should ensure that teachers have the expertise required to make appropriate pedagogical choices, so that pupils learn the knowledge necessary for future learning.
• In some wider curriculum subjects, the school is in the early stages of implementing strategies to check how well pupils learn the curriculum. Consequently, the school does not have a secure understanding of what pupils know and remember in all subjects. The school should develop effective assessment approaches to check the impact of its work in helping pupils to remember their learning in the long term.

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