Marshland St James Primary and Nursery School needs to improve say Ofsted inspectors

Management and leadership are effective at Marshland St James Primary and Nursery School but it still requires improvement overall according to government inspectors.

The latest report from Ofsted found the school needs to improve its teaching, learning and assessment, pupils outcomes and its overall effectiveness.

However, the inspectors who visited the school at the end of April found it had effective leadership and management, is also good in personal development, behaviour and welfare and also in early years provision.

The report said: "Teaching over time is inconsistent across different classes and subjects. Where practice is weak, pupils do not make sufficient progress. Learning is some subjects, such as history, geography and science, is not as well planned as it is in English and maths.

"Pupils do the same work regardless of their ability. As a result, pupils' progress is too variable. Some teachers do not explain tasks well, which means pupils do not fully understand what they have to do, and their progress is slow."

It also pointed out that pupils attainment in the 2017 key stage 1 and 2 national tests in reading writing and maths was below national averages and teachers do not challenge the most able pupils sufficiently.

"As a result, the proportion of pupils working above expected standards does not compare well with that of other pupils nationally. Some teachers have low expectations for the pupils and as a result their progress is slow. This is particularly evident in Years 5 and 6," added the report.

However, the inspectors praised the headteacher and said: "The headteacher challenges and supports teachers to improve standards. Where teaching is weak, she has put support in place for individual teachers. The headteacher has high expectations for all staff."

Pupils were also praised for their behaviour and their attitudes to learning. The report said among the school's other strengths is the fact the children in early years makes good progress from their various starting points because of the good quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

The report continued: "Governance is effective. Governors hold the headteacher to account well for the efficient use of resources and the quality of education."

However, the report also points out that the school, which is small compared to other schools (it has just 90 pupils), has faced a high rate of staff turnover in the last two years. It also has a high number of pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities and a high proportion who are statemented. There is also a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils.

The report concludes the school needs to improve teaching, equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to plan learning that enables most able pupils to achieve the standards of which they are capable, set higher expectations for pupils' achievement and raise attainment in reading and maths so that more pupils reach the expected standards at the end of key stages 1 and 2.