Blidworth school is 'good' in all areas following Ofsted inspection

Blidworth Oaks Primary School, on Haywood Avenue, which is part of the East Midlands Education Trust, was rated good for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision by the Government watchdog.

In their report, inspectors said: “Pupils love coming to this warm and welcoming village school which is determined that all pupils will achieve well.

"The school has undertaken a review of the curriculum, which has been designed carefully to include the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn.

"Consequently, many pupils are now achieving well.

“Children get off to a flying start in the early years, they are very well cared for and access a high-quality curriculum that is delivered expertly by staff.

"As a result, children in the early years make good gains in their development.

The school quickly identifies pupils with SEND and staff take the time to understand these individual needs and make appropriate adaptations, such as the use of physical resources where needed.

“Consequently, pupils with SEND successfully access the same curriculum as their peers.

"The school prioritises reading and children in the early years enjoy a curriculum that is rich in songs and rhymes.

"Staff role-play and retell familiar tales to foster children’s love of stories from the very start.

"Pupils who are learning to read benefit from high-quality phonics teaching.

"Regular checks on the sounds pupils have been taught identify any pupils who fall behind and these pupils are quickly given the help they need to catch up.

"Consequently, published outcomes for phonics are strong and staff teach pupils the skills they need to be fluent readers.

"Pupils demonstrate a willingness to work hard and engage eagerly in their learning.

"They show high levels of focus during lesson time and do not disrupt the learning of others.

"The school has a sharp eye on any pupil absences and works with families to make sure that pupils attend regularly.

"This means that pupils do not miss out on their education.”

On what the school needs to do to improve, the report said: “In some subjects, the school’s assessment systems do not enable staff to check that pupils have remembered key knowledge over time.

"This makes it difficult for the school to determine how securely pupils remember knowledge in the longer term and to evaluate the impact of the curriculum in the longer term.

"The school and trust should ensure that assessment systems are effective in checking that pupils are developing a depth of knowledge over time across the curriculum.

"There is variation in how well handwriting is taught.

"This means that some pupils do not secure foundational skills in handwriting, such as accurate letter formation, well enough.

"The school and trust should work with staff to improve teaching in this area so that all pupils can write well.”

Your Chad has contacted the school for comment.