Sopley Primary School staff praised as Ofsted awards ‘good’ rating

A primary school has been praised by Ofsted inspectors for creating a “real sense of community”.

Teachers at Sopley Primary School, which was rated ‘good’ overall, were said to be “ambitious for what pupils can do, including those with special educational needs or disabilities”.

Staff “explain new learning well”, said the inspector, and use a “range of resources effectively to help develop pupils’ understanding”.

The report said pupils were provided with a range of “purposeful leadership opportunities” to develop their organisational skills – for example being made an ‘information technology monitor.

Children are encouraged to develop their “sense of responsibility”, said Ofsted, and “behave well and enjoy learning”.

The curriculum had been designed carefully to ensure that pupils “progress securely from the early years through to Year 6”, according to the report, and pupils who need help learning to read “get the support they need quickly”.

Inspectors also found the school had set out clearly what early years pupils should know and be able to do by the end of reception.

Teachers had “high expectations” for pupils with SEND, said the report, and staff were said to have established warm relationships with pupils.

Pupils were praised for showing “kindness and respect towards one another, and adults”, while “older pupils look after younger ones at different times in the school day, acting as their ‘buddy’.”

But the inspector did find there was room for improvement in some of the school’s practices, such as checks on pupils’ learning, which could subsequently be used to focus future lessons.

This process was said to be “underdeveloped in some subjects”, leading to pupils being set learning activities that are “not matched precisely to what they need to learn next”.

Ofsted also said that in some subjects the school had “not established robust systems of assessment that check what pupils know”.

“As a result pupils’ learning is not always moved forward quickly enough,” said the report.