Partney Church of England Aided Primary School

Inspection of Partney Church of England Aided Primary School Maddison Lane, Partney, Spilsby, Lincolnshire PE23 4PX

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 7 and 8 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Partney Church of England Aided Primary School is a welcoming school where pupils develop a strong sense of belonging. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and nurturing. Pupils are happy and feel safe. Pupils commented, ‘The best thing about our school are our teachers. They are just really kind and caring here and always help us if we get stuck.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. However, this ambition is not fully realised. The school’s work to improve the curriculum is in its infancy. As a result, in some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly set out what pupils should know and remember. Learning does not build successfully on what pupils already know. Consequently, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and do not achieve as well as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of wider experiences. This includes performances and charity work in the local community. Pupils access a range of trips and clubs. Clubs are well attended. Trips are carefully chosen to widen pupils’ understanding of different cultures and faiths. Pupils and parents and carers are very supportive of the school. Many compliment the ‘family feel’ of the school and would highly recommend it to others.

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

The school has gone through several leadership changes since the last inspection. This has impacted on key areas of the school’s work, particularly the quality of education that pupils receive. While leaders understand what needs to be done to bring about the necessary changes, it is too early to see what impact this is having on pupils.

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

Children get off to a strong start in the early years. Children in Reception Year independently use their phonics and early number skills across the provision. They enjoy learning through play and interacting with the school’s pre-school children. Children enjoy learning songs and rhymes. There is a focus on vocabulary. Staff introduce new words and encourage children to use them in their own conversations. This supports children’s early language and communication skills. Children are well-prepared for key stage 1.

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

Phonics sessions start straight away in the early years. Pupils learn to blend sounds together to decode new words. Pupils’ reading books are carefully chosen to match their phonics knowledge. This helps them to become more fluent with their reading, as they can practise what they have already learned at home. The reading curriculum, which continues after phonics, focuses on developing pupils’ vocabulary and comprehension skills. Pupils are exposed to high-quality texts, and staff read to pupils daily.

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

The mathematics curriculum is ambitious. Teachers model mathematical concepts and present information clearly. As a result, pupils are able to learn new content and complete tasks set. Teachers facilitate and initiate appropriate discussion with and between children. 7 and 8 May 2025

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The school has recently identified that some aspects of the wider curriculum are not suitably ambitious or appropriately well-sequenced. Pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge, and misconceptions have not always been addressed quickly enough. Leaders have taken swift action to address this. However, many subject leaders are new to their roles. The checks the school makes in these subjects lack precision. Leaders do not know well enough that pupils are learning and remembering the intended curriculum.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Tasks are adapted to meet individual pupil’s needs so that they can access the learning. The school is in the process of developing systems to gather an accurate and up-to-date understanding of the quality of education that pupils with SEND receive.

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Pupils show highly positive attitudes to their learning. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, pupils consistently play happily together. They are confident that if there is ever any falling out between friends, staff will always help them to resolve it. For some pupils who struggle to manage their emotions, tailored support is in place. This support is effective. Pupils learn strategies to regulate their own emotions.

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Some of the school’s wider opportunities develop pupils’ confidence, resilience and knowledge so that they can keep themselves mentally healthy. An example of this is the school’s creative arts project. Pupils demonstrate a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils enjoy opportunities to learn about different cultures that may differ from their own. They understand the importance of accepting and respecting difference.

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The school is outward facing. It accesses a range of external support, which provides staff with various training opportunities. Staff value this support, and they feel invested in. Leaders consider staff well-being and workload. Staff are happy and feel proud to work at the school.

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Governors know the school’s strengths and areas for development well. They offer the school the appropriate support and challenge. They acknowledge that it has been a challenging time for the school with changes to leadership.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s wider curriculum is in its infancy of development. Consequently, learning in some subjects is not coherently planned and sequenced. The school should ensure that all subjects are carefully planned and sequenced and identify the important knowledge that pupils should learn. 7 and 8 May 2025

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 Assessment strategies are not used effectively enough to check how well pupils are learning the content of the curriculum. Misconceptions are not always identified and addressed, and some pupils repeat the same mistakes over time. The school should ensure that the assessment procedures in place are consistently used to identify and address any misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ learning.  Subject leadership is not fully developed across the wider curriculum. Therefore, the school does not have sufficient oversight of the impact wider curriculum subjects have on pupils’ learning. The school needs to develop the effectiveness of subject leadership to ensure pupils know more, remember more and can do more across the wider curriculum.  The school does not have sufficient oversight of some administrative aspects of its work to support pupils with SEND. This means that leaders, including governors, are

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unable to accurately check the quality of provision. The school should ensure that there are robust systems in place to gather an accurate and up-to-date understanding of the quality of education that pupils with SEND receive. They should improve the administration of SEND support arrangements.

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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). 7 and 8 May 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Sarah Addison (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 19 and 20 June 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school’s executive headteacher took up post in January 2025.  The school’s head of school took up post in April 2025.  A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in June 2023.  The school uses one registered 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. 7 and 8 May 2025

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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 inspection team carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and reviewed samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors met with leaders responsible for behaviour, personal development, early years and SEND.  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 documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plan.  The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text comments, as well as the results of Ofsted’s online survey for school staff.

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Inspection team

Luella Dhoore, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Maingay His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 May 2025

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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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