Edwinstowe school pupils are proud of being rated Good by Ofsted
An Edwinstowe primary school has been rated Good by Ofsted following its latest inspection.
St Mary’s CofE Primary School was rated good on the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision when it was inspected in October – leading to the overall ‘Good’ rating.
The report said: “Pupils speak proudly about their school and they are full of praise for the interesting lessons and the care that they receive from staff.
"Many pupils shared examples of when staff ‘always listen’ and ‘sort things out’ on the rare occasions that help is needed.
“They are well placed to succeed, because staff have designed a well-planned curriculum that provides a secure foundation for year one and beyond.
"Parents and carers typically appreciate the ‘strong sense of community’.
"Many also praise the school’s ‘caring and respectful culture’, which they say enables their children to ‘thrive’.”
The report went on to praise the school for its response to recommendations made during its previous inspection in May 2023 when it was also rated ‘Good’.
The report said: “The curriculum has been rewritten so that it contains the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn, and when.
"The curriculum now reflects the school’s ambition for all pupils to achieve as highly as possible and to know and remember more as they progress through the school.
"There has also been a review of how staff check pupils’ progress through the curriculum.
"This benefits all pupils, and especially pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
The school is currently partway through teaching the new, two-year curriculum cycle and for the most part, this is having a positive impact on pupils’ knowledge and skills.
"However, there are some inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is being delivered across the school.
"Occasionally, when activities are not precisely matched to pupils’ needs or where teachers’ subject knowledge is less strong, pupils lose focus in lessons.
"Elsewhere, pupils demonstrate strong focus and attention in lessons.”
The report praised the school’s focus on reading, noting that by the end of year two,all pupils develop a secure foundation in reading and are well prepared for key stage two.
The early years provision was also flagged up as a key strength of the school with younger pupils well prepared for entry into key stage one.
The reported noted that overall absence is typically low but that a small number of pupils are frequently absent, due to a range of factors, such as medical needs or unauthorised term-time holidays.
The report said: “The school is currently reviewing and strengthening its approach to handling persistent absence.”
On what the school needs to improve on, the report said: “The implementation of the revised curriculum is not consistently strong in all parts of
the school.
"Occasionally, teachers’ explanations are not clear enough, and the work given does not enable pupils to understand and learn the curriculum.
"Consequently, pupils’ behaviour sometimes becomes unsettled..
"The school should ensure that the revised curriculum is implemented securely and consistently across the school, so that all pupils know and remember more over time.”