Moorcroft Wood Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The inspirational leadership of the headteacher and effective support by the senior leadership team along with their unremitting hard work have made this a good school where pupils are encouraged to have high aspirations.

All groups of pupils make good progress from their individual starting points. Pupils achieve particularly well in reading and in the new spelling, punctuation and English grammar tests. Behaviour is good.

Pupils are keen to learn. Pupils say they feel safe in school. Attendance has improved and is above average because pupils enjoy coming to school.

Teaching is continuously improving with at least half of it b...eing outstanding. Parents and carers have high regard for the school's work and say they would recommend the school to another parent or carer. The curriculum gives pupils a wide range of opportunities to experience their learning beyond the classroom through the many trips that are offered.

The school provides well for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Governors have good knowledge about the school's strengths and weaknesses. They work well with the headteacher to improve the quality of teaching and achievement.

It is not yet an outstanding school because: Not enough teaching is outstanding to enable more pupils to achieve the higher levels in mathematics and English. Mathematics is not taught and used enough in other subjects. It is too soon to see the impact of teachers' recent work on getting pupils to improve their writing in the different scenarios created for them.

Teachers do not always give pupils sufficient time to respond to the comments from the marking. Middle leaders are at the early stages of learning about their roles and are not yet able to drive improvements in their areas sufficiently independently.

Information about this school

This is a slightly smaller than average-sized primary school.

Since the previous inspection the senior leadership has been restructured and there have been a few changes to the teaching staff. On the first afternoon of the inspection the whole school watched a pantomime version of Peter Pan. Most pupils are from a White British background.

The proportion of pupils supported through school action is slightly above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is above average.

(The pupil premium is extra funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those from service families and those looked after by the local authority.) The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics. The school manages its own breakfast club.