Morley Memorial Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Morley Memorial Primary School Blinco Grove, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB1 7TX

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 February 2024

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Outcome

Morley Memorial Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All are welcome at this highly inclusive school. Adults know all pupils very well. Both pupils and parents appreciate this. Staff and pupils are respectful to each other. Pupils are confident that they have a trusted adult to share any worries with. This helps pupils feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the early years upwards, pupils respond very positively to adults’ high expectations of their behaviour and learning. They understand the school’s values and learning dispositions. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their learning. They take part in interesting activities. Pupils appreciate the many enrichment opportunities on offer. These include outdoor learning experiences which build their resilience, risk-taking and independence. Varied trips and visits further enhance the taught curriculum. These include museums, field trips and theatre performances. For example, all Year 5 pupils take part in an annual Shakespeare festival and perform a Shakespeare play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many extra-curricular clubs. These include choir, board games, art and drama. Pupils participate in a range of sporting opportunities. All pupils contribute to the school council. Older pupils act as buddies for younger pupils and as play leaders.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school’s curriculum is carefully thought out and ambitious. It identifies the important knowledge that pupils should learn for each subject. From early years to Year 6, pupils learn new concepts in a structured way. Leaders regularly review the curriculum to ensure it is having the best impact on learning. Most subjects have very careful links made between them to allow pupils to apply their learning across the curriculum. This helps to deepen pupils’ understanding. There are a few subjects where these cross-curricular links 13 and 14 February 2024

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are not yet precise enough to fully meet the school’s aspirational curriculum aims.

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The school prioritises developing staff expertise. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and skills. They teach the curriculum confidently and effectively. Teachers explain concepts clearly, including for the very youngest children. They use assessment effectively to check that pupils remember their learning across all subjects. Where necessary, they adjust teaching to address any gaps or misconceptions that they find. As a result, pupils learn and achieve well. They are ready for the next stage in their education.

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Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Expert staff teach reading effectively. Pupils rapidly learn the letter sounds they need to read as soon as they start school. Regular checks identify any pupils who are falling behind. High-quality additional support helps any pupils who need to catch up quickly. Younger pupils read books which match the sounds they know and need to practise. As a result, most pupils are fluent readers by the end of Year 1. Older pupils learn the more complex skills of reading as they move through the school. Pupils, including children in Reception, enjoy a diverse range of high-quality books. This helps to engender a love of reading. It also exposes pupils to rich vocabulary and develops their awareness of the world around them. The well-stocked library and classroom book areas encourage reading for pleasure. Pupils enjoy reading, and by the end of Year 6, they are accomplished readers and achieve well.

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The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities accurately. It ensures that these pupils can access the full curriculum successfully. Appropriate adaptations are in place to enable this.

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Pupils behave extremely well. All areas of the school are calm and focused. Pupils listen carefully to their teachers. They participate enthusiastically in lessons. Most pupils attend school regularly. There are effective systems in place to reduce pupil absence.

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The school provides excellent opportunities for pupils’ personal development. This is aided by a well-designed personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. Pupils are taught about healthy lifestyles and positive relationships. They also learn to look after their mental health in sessions specifically focused on well-being.

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All Year 6 pupils plan and chair school council meetings. This supports pupils’ understanding of democracy and ensures all pupils have a voice within the school. The curriculum and assembly themes ensure that all pupils, including those in Reception, understand different cultures and beliefs. Pupils respect and celebrate differences. The broad range of high-quality experiences and opportunities provided by the school helps pupils to become confident, well-rounded citizens.

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Governors are well informed about the school. This means they can hold leaders to account and fulfil their statutory duties effectively. Staff feel valued and well supported. They appreciate that leaders are considerate of their well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 13 and 14 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the school has not yet fully laid out the detailed connections they want pupils to make between subjects. As a result, in these areas of the curriculum, pupils do not always link their learning between subjects in the depth that leaders aspire to. The school should implement its plans to ensure connected knowledge is signposted within all areas of the curriculum and understood by staff. The school should ensure that staff then check that pupils can make these links securely to ensure the curriculum’s ambitious aims are fully achieved.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour, or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2013.

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How can I feed back my views?

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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, 13 and 14 February 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 13 and 14 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  Wraparound care is provided for pupils and is managed by those responsible for governance.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken this into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator and the subject leader for PSHE. The inspector also met with teachers and support staff.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early 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 13 and 14 February 2024

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looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The inspector observed some pupils read to a familiar member of staff.  The inspector met with six members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector also met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour across the school. The inspector met with groups of pupils to seek their views of the school. The inspector also spoke to pupils in class, around the school and at breaktimes. The inspector considered the 209 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, 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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 The inspector considered the views of parents. The inspector spoke with some parents at the end of the first inspection day. The inspector also considered 125 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and 122 free-text comments.  The inspector spoke with different groups of staff to gather their views, including about their workload and well-being. Additionally, the inspector considered 32 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Joan Beale, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 February 2024

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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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