Morley Church of England Primary Academy

Inspection of Morley Church of England Primary Academy Deopham Road, Morley St. Botolph, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 9TS

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Andrew Phoenix. This school is part of the Diocese of Norwich St Benet’s Multi-Academy 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), Sam Nixon, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Fred Corbett. 13 and 14 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend a school where warm, caring relationships are key. They enjoy each other’s company, whether in the playground, dinner hall or in class. Staff are ambitious for pupils to achieve well. They set high expectations. Pupils readily live up to these and do well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in class and at social times. If pupils get too chatty, staff manage this effectively. Learning is rarely interrupted. If pupils need additional help with their behaviour, staff are highly skilled in providing this guidance. As a result, there has been a significant improvement in the behaviour of these pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Opportunities to see the world beyond the school gate are plentiful. Trips and visits are carefully considered to tie in with what pupils learn in the curriculum. Whether a historical, geographical or creative focus, pupils benefit from seeing learning brought to life. Older pupils benefit greatly from the leadership roles they have. For example, they take great pride in leading the ‘sensory circuit’ activities for younger pupils. Similarly, those on the school council, house captains and play leaders carry out their roles diligently. They play an important role in improving the school.

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

The school and the trust have strengthened the curriculum and its implementation. This work is bearing fruit in terms of how well pupils learn.

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

The school’s curriculum is carefully designed to help pupils learn important knowledge as they progress through the school. Staff benefit from high-quality training to ensure that they teach the curriculum well. Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. They explain new concepts clearly. This helps pupils to understand what they are learning. For example, older pupils have a firm grasp of geographical phenomena linked to mountains and volcanoes. This is because these have been explained and revisited over time, so pupils remember well.

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

The published outcomes in 2024 are not indicative of the quality of education pupils receive in school now. For example, the youngest pupils fully benefit from the school’s consistent approach to teaching mathematics. They develop strong foundations on which to build their new understanding. Older pupils apply their knowledge to solve ever more complex problems. At times, and in a few subjects, some pupils complete work that does not help them to build on their prior learning as well as it could. This happens when teachers do not use the information they have on what pupils know and can do to design activities that are closely matched to their needs.

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

Learning to read starts in Reception. Children are immersed in stories, rhymes and poems to help them hear, learn and use new words. Staff teach the school’s phonics programme skilfully. Most pupils keep up and learn to read confidently and fluently. Those who find reading tricky receive effective extra support. This helps them to get to grips with phonics swiftly. 13 and 14 May 2025

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs met and identified well. Adults regularly check carefully what pupils with SEND know and can do. This means that additional support is in place to help pupils learn precisely what they need to learn. Teachers benefit from expert guidance to help them provide well for pupils with SEND.

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Pupils behave in a calm and responsible manner. This begins in early years. For example, children are well guided to become increasingly independent. They have a clear understanding of the class routines and follow these well. For example, children tidy away their equipment with care. Staff know the needs of children in the Reception class very well. Staff step in quickly to successfully refocus or support children who may need help to manage their emotions.

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The school’s extremely strong work to improve attendance is paying dividends. Pupils now attend regularly. Staff keep a close eye on attendance and act quickly if a pupil starts to miss school. They employ a range of effective strategies to halt any decline in attendance, helping pupils and families get attendance back on track.

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The carefully considered personal development programme helps pupils to develop their understanding of the wider world. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships through the school’s effective relationships education curriculum. They celebrate the differences between themselves and others. Along with a range of clubs, trips and visits, pupils raise money for charities. The annual ‘kindness challenge’ inspires the oldest pupils to make a difference to both local and national charities. These opportunities help pupils to develop into responsible and active citizens.

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Staff are wholeheartedly proud to work in this school. They know that senior leaders keep a close eye on their well-being and help manage their workload as best they can.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, assessment information is not used well enough to ensure that the activities pupils undertake fully support them to build well on prior learning. This means, in some subjects, pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge they need to use assessment information precisely so that activities are more closely matched to the needs of pupils. 13 and 14 May 2025

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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). 13 and 14 May 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Diocese of Norwich St Benet’s Multi-Academy Trust.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The headteacher joined the school in January 2024.  This is a Church of England school within the Diocese of Norwich. The school had its last denominational education inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in November 2017. 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.

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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 provision). Schools 13 and 14 May 2025

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receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 held meetings with the headteacher, assistant headteacher and a range of other school staff. Inspectors held meetings with the chair of the trust board, the CEO and members of the local governance committee.  Inspectors 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 looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central

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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.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including: attendance records, pupil records, records of trust board meetings, school development plans and school self- evaluation documents.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, and Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Nathan Lowe, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Vicki Webber Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 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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