Great Dunham Primary School

Inspection of Great Dunham Primary School Litcham Road, Great Dunham, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE32 2LQ

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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

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The executive headteacher of this school is Mark Cuenca-Farrow. This school is part of Unity Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Glyn Hambling, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Alan Jones. 1 and 2 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Great Dunham benefit from the secure relationships with the adults who care for them. As a result, they enjoy school and are enthusiastic when talking about it. Pupils make sure that everyone is welcome and there is a strong community spirit within the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Within the small school environment, pupils get along well with their older and younger peers. During social time, pupils enjoy playing games together. They are kind to each other. Pupils value the positive start and end to their school day in the before- and after- school clubs, where they chat, draw, play with Lego, or are active outside.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In lessons, many pupils focus well and listen to the adults. They enjoy their work and concentrate on their learning. However, sometimes adults do not give pupils enough opportunity to develop these self-regulation skills. When this happens, pupils can talk over each other and not complete work to a sufficiently high standard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are starting to benefit from an ambitious new curriculum, which was introduced this academic year. They are often positive about their learning. However, the school recognises that some pupils have gaps in their knowledge or understanding and are not at the level that they should be academically.

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

The school is recovering from a period of instability with effective help from the trust. Those responsible for governance have identified appropriate priorities for the school and have made notable progress towards securing a high-quality education for all pupils. The school now ensures that pupils receive the learning and, where appropriate, the help they need to be ready for their next stage of education.

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

The school supports adults well to enable them to deliver the curriculum successfully. In many cases, adults adapt the curriculum appropriately to meet the needs of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In the more established subject areas, such as mathematics, adults explain the learning clearly and check pupils’ understanding accurately. Staff are confident to give targeted support to pupils who are struggling. This ensures that pupils meet the expectations of the curriculum.

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

When adults are clear about what pupils need to learn, they effectively deliver lessons that meet the needs of pupils. They use a range of methods to check how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum. However, in some subjects, adults are not clear enough about what pupils need to know or do by key points in the curriculum. This means that, at times, the activities they plan, or their checks on pupils’ learning, are not precise enough to move pupils forward. As a result, in these subjects, the necessary adaptations are not made, and pupils do not learn as well as they should. 1 and 2 October 2024

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The school has started to put in place successful and appropriate support for pupils at the early stages of reading. It has quickly identified the gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge. Pupils are put into appropriate teaching groups, where they learn the skills that they need to blend sounds and decode words. The school regularly monitors how well pupils learn these skills. This means that most pupils quickly catch up and develop the skills that they need to be fluent readers. Appropriate training and support is provided to staff to help them deliver the phonics programme. However, further staff development is required to ensure that the teaching of phonics is consistent for all pupils.

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Pupils regularly demonstrate that they can control impulsive behaviour and behave well. As a result, most lessons are calm and purposeful. Where this is the case, pupils focus on their learning and achieve well. However, there are inconsistencies in staff expectations of how well pupils should behave. Sometimes staff do not have high enough expectations for how pupils should conduct themselves. They allow too much learning time to be lost through low-level disruption.

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The school’s provision for pupils’ personal development is well designed to build their knowledge and interests over time. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They show respect for differences. Pupils feel it would be boring ‘if we were all the same’. They understand and respect that people have different views. They learn about fundamental British values, such as democracy. From Reception, pupils learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Pupils benefit from opportunities to go on trips, such as to Cromer. These enrich the curriculum and deepen pupils’ learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, the school has not ensured that staff are secure in how to adapt lessons well enough to support pupils. Sometimes pupils do not get the appropriate support to complete tasks to a high enough standard. Subsequently, some pupils are working below what is expected for their age and do not meet the expectations of the school’s curriculum. The school must ensure that staff have the expertise to deliver the curriculum as the school intends.  In some areas of the curriculum, the school does not ensure that adults consistently check on what pupils know or struggle with. Therefore, some learning activities are not pitched precisely enough to build on pupils’ prior learning or to address misconceptions. Where this happens, pupils fall behind what they should be achieving. The school should ensure that adults are appropriately supported to use assessment well, so pupils meet the ambition of the curriculum.

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 The school does not have consistently high enough expectations for pupil behaviour. It does not fully support pupils to develop good routines for learning. Therefore, lesson time can be lost, and some pupils struggle to concentrate and maintain focus on their learning. The school must ensure that their high expectations of pupil conduct are consistently applied in all areas of the school.

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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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 1 and 2 October 2024

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School details

Headteacher Mark Cuenca-Farrow (executive headteacher) Website www.greatdunhamprimary.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 1 and 2 October 2024

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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 the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with trust staff, including the CEO of the trust and trust directors of education. They also met with the executive deputy headteacher, and senior staff, including the trust special educational needs coordinator.  The lead inspector met with the chair of trustees.  Inspectors scrutinised documents relating to: school improvement and governance, behaviour and attendance, personal, social, health education curriculum, plans for pupils with SEND and curriculum plans for early years. They also held meetings with staff with responsibilities in these areas.  Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, and the staff and pupil survey. They also spoke to groups of pupils.

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, early reading and design technology. 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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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Inspection team

Bessie Owen, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracy Warner Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 October 2024

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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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