Mordiford CofE Primary School

Inspection of Mordiford CofE Primary School Mordiford, Hereford, Herefordshire HR1 4LW

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Mrs Sue Warmington. This school is part of Mordiford CofE Primary School trust, which means other people also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Reverend Chris Moore.

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Overall effectiveness Good

Ofsted has not previously inspected Mordiford CofE Primary School as an academy under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 as, until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection of the predecessor school. 6 and 7 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s motto to ‘Treasure each individual’ underpins the caring ethos in this close-knit, community school. It values every pupil and sees them as unique. Parents and pupils are full of praise for the school. Parents appreciate the dedication of staff and strong leadership of the headteacher. Pupils like their teachers and enjoy learning. These positive attitudes contribute to pupils’ high attendance.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a wide range of exciting opportunities to realise its ambition for pupils to ‘be the best they can be’. Learning experiences encourage pupils to explore and discover their interests and talents beyond the classroom. These include clubs such as football, debating, yoga and quidditch. Enrichment afternoons also provide opportunities for pupils to extend their skills and interests, such as through forest school, participation in competitions and theatre performances.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe at school. They know they can turn to a trusted adult in school if they are worried about anything and they will be listened to. They are confident that adults deal with any behaviour or bullying incidents quickly. Personal safety is interwoven into the curriculum. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in different situations, for example, online.

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better?

The school has worked hard and has created an interesting and ambitious curriculum. Staff have identified the precise knowledge, skills and subject vocabulary they want pupils to know and remember. New learning is introduced in small logical steps in most subjects so that pupils build their knowledge gradually. However, some fine tuning is still to happen in a small number of subjects. The curriculum shows clear progression from Year 1 to Year 6, but it is not yet linked sufficiently with the early years curriculum.

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better?

Staff provide plenty of warm encouragement to children in the early years. They focus on developing their early communication, social and physical skills. In key stage 1 and 2, some subjects are taught by specialists. This helps pupils develop greater accuracy and expertise in these subjects.

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better?

Staff have good subject knowledge and present tasks clearly. They revisit prior learning before moving on to new content. They question and check pupils’ understanding during lessons and at the end of units taught. Information gathered is used effectively to help staff identify and address any misconceptions or gaps in learning.

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better?

Reading is a whole school priority. A range of incentives and different events encourage pupils to develop a love of reading. The school expects even the youngest children to read regularly in school and at home. Robust systems are in 6 and 7 December 2023

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place to ensure that this happens. Home reading books are checked and changed frequently. Additional time is given to pupils who struggle with reading. This helps them develop their fluency and confidence. However, not all books that pupils read, closely match the words they learn in phonics lessons. This hinders the progress they make.

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The school has effective methods in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This starts in the early years. It works closely with staff and parents to plan the support that individual pupils need and receive. Teachers adapt the curriculum to ensure that pupils access the same content as their peers. Additional adult help, specialist equipment and external advice are used well to ensure that pupils achieve well.

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Overall, pupils behave well in school and at breaktimes. Most are polite and courteous. However, in a small number of classes, some of the younger pupils do not always listen and behave as well as they should. This leads to low level disruption in some lessons. This is not always addressed consistently by staff.

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Pupils have a clear understanding of the school values and the importance of respect and equality. Pupils can recall and compare facts about different faiths. They have an early understanding of British values. This helps prepare them well for life in modern Britain. Pupils enjoy the educational visits, competitions and community events in which they are involved. Roles such as young leaders and house captains help build pupils’ confidence and leadership skills.

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Governors are knowledgeable about the school. They use their areas of expertise well to support and challenge leaders and staff. They ensure that the school is safe and that they fulfil their statutory duties. They are mindful of staff well-being and workload and keep a careful check on all staff, including the headteacher.

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Staff are proud to work at the school and feel well supported. The school actively encourages, and supports staff, to undertake further professional qualifications to improve their classroom practice and develop their leadership skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum in some areas of the early years curriculum, and a few foundation subjects, is not as well organised as in other subjects. This leads to variation in how well pupils understand and remember what they learn. The school should 6 and 7 December 2023

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continue to develop the curriculum in these subjects so that pupils build their knowledge sequentially and securely from Reception to Year 6.  Some pupils access reading books which are not phonically decodable. This hinders their ability to develop the skills needed to be successful early readers. The school should ensure that all reading books allow pupils to practise and apply the phonic skills they learn in lessons.  Some pupils in a small number of classes do not behave as well as they should. They sometimes become distracted and disengage from learning. The school should ensure that all staff have high expectations of behaviour and that the school’s behaviour policy is implemented consistently by staff in each key stage.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 6 and 7 December 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10267868 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.mordifordceprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This school is a standalone academy. It converted to academy status in December 2013.  The school is part of the Diocese of Hereford. The last section 48 inspection took place in December 2022. Section 48 inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted in September 2021. The next inspection will be within eight years of the last section 48 inspection.  The headteacher was appointed in September 2021.  The school does not make use of any alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 6 and 7 December 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders. Inspectors spoke to members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors considered a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans. Minutes of governing body meetings and reports from an external adviser were also scrutinised.

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 Inspectors looked at records of attendance and behaviour. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school and talked to them informally about behaviour, bullying, and welfare.  Inspectors talked to parents at the end of the school day and considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and their free-text responses. They also reviewed the responses to the staff and pupil surveys and gathered the views of these groups through discussion.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: checked the school’s single central record; spoke to senior leaders about safeguarding procedures; took account of the views of staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Heather Simpson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Steer Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 December 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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