Meldreth Primary School

Inspection of Meldreth Primary School High Street, Meldreth, Nr Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 6LA

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 26 and 27 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning the ambitious curriculum at Meldreth. They behave exceptionally well. Pupils thrive on the high levels of autonomy and responsibility with which they are trusted. They do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. They are motivated to succeed. In lessons, pupils listen very carefully to every instruction. They work hard and try their best at all times. This helps them to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their inclusive school. They understand that everyone is different and they embrace this positively. They are kind and supportive and help one another to learn. This extends beyond their own classrooms. Older pupils ‘buddy up’ with younger pupils to read with them. This develops positive relationships, which extend to playtime and lunchtime and helps everyone feel secure.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils make meaningful and valuable contributions to the school and to the broader community. For example, ‘junior travel ambassadors’ seek to take real world actions to improve road safety in their local environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They are appreciative of the school’s strong pastoral support and the opportunity to talk to their trusted adults when they need to. Bullying is very rare. Pupils agree that it is unacceptable and they have confidence in their teachers to keep them safe.

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

The school has adopted a consistently ambitious curriculum. It has carefully thought about what pupils need to know. For example, in art, pupils study a range of artists and learn about artistic movements like modernism. Knowledge is broken down into manageable steps, which helps pupils to learn and remember it. In some subjects, some teachers lack the depth of subject knowledge needed to deliver well enough what the school wants pupils to learn. This means that some pupils sometimes do not embed or deepen their understanding as well as they might.

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

The school has ensured that learning to read well is prioritised for all pupils. It has adopted a well-sequenced phonics curriculum and children learn quickly the sounds they need to know. Leaders provide training so that staff teach phonics consistently well. Staff use accurate checks to swiftly identify anyone falling behind in reading. This includes any older pupils who may not have learned all their sounds. Any pupils who find reading tricky receive extra teaching in small groups to help them catch up. As a result, pupils learn to read confidently. Older pupils enjoy reading and have impressive knowledge of a range of authors. Teachers read to pupils regularly. Pupils enjoy these books and this develops a love of reading.

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

There are high expectations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school ensures that pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers. Teachers make appropriate adaptations to their lessons to meet pupils’ individual needs. Pupils with SEND achieve well overall as a result. 26 and 27 November 2024

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Pupils display high levels of independence and a positive and resilient attitude to learning. This starts in early years, where children relate exceptionally well to each other and show high levels of concentration. They share and take turns with their peers without adult support. Pupils feel comfortable and happy when at school. In lessons, they listen attentively to their teachers. Clear expectations and well-embedded routines ensure that learning time in lessons is maximised. A calm and purposeful atmosphere can be felt throughout the school.

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The school carefully monitors attendance and takes swift and personalised actions when required. As a result, pupils attend regularly and persistent absence is very rare.

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The school promotes the personal development of pupils effectively. All pupils can take on leadership responsibilities. These are meaningful and represent a highly valued part of school life. These give them a whole school responsibility. ‘Peer mediators’ play a particularly high-profile role. They effectively support their peers and are often able to resolve any conflicts without adult support.

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The school provides a wide range of trips. The trips support pupils to engage with the curriculum. For example, Year 2 pupils excitedly recalled a visit to a castle in Year 1 when shown a painting of a different castle. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and in the real world. There is a wide range of extra-curricular clubs available, which help pupils to develop their talents and interests. The school provides a number of these clubs at lunchtime so that as many pupils as possible can benefit from them.

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Governors are knowledgeable and diligent in the actions they take. They support the school effectively because they know the school well. Leaders take care to ensure staff workload is reasonable and staff appreciate these actions. Parents and carers speak highly of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not made sure that all staff know how to deliver some parts of the non- core curriculum confidently and well. This sometimes hinders how well children learn and achieve in these subjects. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge and pedagogical expertise needed to deliver all areas of the curriculum effectively. 26 and 27 November 2024

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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). 26 and 27 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Information about this school

 The school has a nursery for pupils aged two to four years old.  The school offers before- and after-school childcare provision for its pupils, which is run by the school.  The school uses a single 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. 26 and 27 November 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.  The inspectors met with leaders, including the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, a range of other leaders and a group of governors.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, art, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the 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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documentation, including the school development plan, curriculum planning documentation and behaviour records.  To gather the views of staff, the inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and held discussions with several of them.  The inspectors also considered the views of parents through the responses to the survey, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Mark Sim, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Lucille Pollard Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 November 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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