Sutton school rated good - but warned it must work hard to maintain the grading

Croft Primary School, on Station Road, has been rated good by education watchdog Ofsted following an unannounced two day inspection in May.

However, in their newly published report, inspectors said: “The evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded inspection were carried out now.”

The report says pupils “enjoy” school and have good relationships with adults, who know the pupils well.

It said: “Music is a strength of the school. Pupils participate very well in music lessons and are enthusiastic about the subject. One pupil said, ‘music makes me very happy and puts me in my own world’.

“Most pupils behave well in the classroom and out on the playground. Leaders have plans in place for those pupils who find it more difficult to manage their own behaviour.

"Pupils said they feel safe at school and can go to someone if they have a concern.”

However, inspectors warned the curriculum “is not well-planned”, leading to gaps in pupils’ knowledge, although they acknowledged school leaders are aware of the issue and already working to address it.

The report says: “The curriculum is not consistently well planned and taught. This means that pupils achieve well in some subjects, but not in others.”

The report highlighted a couple of occasions where pupils were not engaged and “lost interest”, as well as pupils’ mistakes not being identifed by staff, “slowing pupils’ progress”.

New headteacher Sally-Ann Seward has led a review of the curriculum with staff.

The report said: “Together they found many subjects were not consistently well planned. Pupils have not learned and remembered enough knowledge in some subjects.

“Leaders have started to write new plans which contain specific knowledge they want pupils to learn and remember. However, leaders recognise these plans are not being consistently taught across the school."

"The governing body is aware of the weaknesses in the curriculum. It has very recently developed an action plan to monitor the effectiveness of leaders’ actions.”

The school has been approached for comment.

To see the full report, visit reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/122463