Great Dunham Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement A legacy of poor teaching has not allowed pupils to achieve as well as they might.

The quality of teaching, while improving, is too variable. As a result, pupils do not make consistently good progress across the school. Middle leaders are not as effective as they could be in driving school improvement.

Improvement strategies have not yet resulted in consistently good outcomes for pupils. Leaders and governors have not ensured sufficiently regular opportunities to develop deeper knowledge, understanding and skills across the wider curriculum. Teachers do not use assessment information consistently well in lessons to ad...just tasks and move pupils' learning on quickly.

The school's marking policy is used inconsistently. Teachers' expectations are not high enough. The most able pupils are not always set tasks that stretch them sufficiently, so they do not make as much progress as they should.

Disadvantaged pupils do not make sufficient progress in their writing skills. Pupils' knowledge and skills in upper key stage 2 mathematics remain weaker than in reading and writing. Teachers do not develop pupils' skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling in key stage 2 sufficiently well.

Parents and carers praise the effectiveness of staff in keeping their children happy at school. However, some parents do not feel well informed about concerns they may have. The school has the following strengths Governors have a clear view of the school's performance.

They have acted determinedly to improve the quality of teaching. Improvement plans include clear targets to improve teaching and raise overall achievement. Pupils' behaviour and attendance are good.

The school provides good support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children make good progress in the early years. They are well prepared for Year 1.

The school provides a caring and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe.

Information about this school

The school had a section 8 inspection in January 2018. The inspection identified some priorities for improvement which the school was advised to address.

It was recommended that the school's next inspection be a section 5 inspection. The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school, with three mixed-age classes. The very large majority of the pupils are White British.

The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is lower than in the average primary school. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with SEND is higher than the national average.

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan is lower than the national average. The headteacher started at the school in September 2014. The school offers breakfast and after-school clubs.