Roecroft Lower School

Inspection of Roecroft Lower School Buttercup Road, Stotfold, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 4PF

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 3 and 4 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a warm and friendly school. Pupils feel happy and valued. They are courteous and considerate of one another. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning. This starts in the early years. These early experiences lay a strong foundation for children’s later learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to learn. The curriculum helps pupils to make links across subjects. This supports them with deepening their understanding. For example, pupils use their writing skills and knowledge to express their ideas clearly in other subjects. They make thoughtful connections in their learning, such as drawing on their understanding of emotions to create well-developed and believable characters in their narrative writing.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff set clear expectations and pupils rise to meet them. As a result, pupils achieve well across the curriculum. They listen respectfully, value difference and show kindness. Strong relationships underpin school life. Pupils trust adults to support them and to keep them safe. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils demonstrate consistently respectful behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school helps pupils to become confident, empathetic and responsible. They live out the school values. For example, pupils define resilience as the ability to ‘bounce back’. Roles such as ‘school parliament’ give them responsibility and a voice. Pupils work together, take pride in their school and are well prepared for the next stage.

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

The school provides a thoughtfully sequenced and ambitious curriculum, beginning in the early years. Children in the early years quickly acquire the knowledge and behaviours that support successful learning. Across the school, staff draw on strong subject expertise to design activities that steadily develop pupils’ understanding over time. This helps pupils to remember and recall their learning in a range of subjects across the curriculum.

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

From the early years, pupils develop strong writing skills and a secure understanding of mathematical concepts. These firm foundations enable them to build their knowledge well over time. This leads to strong achievement across the curriculum in each year group.

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

Teachers routinely check pupils’ understanding. However, on a few occasions, checks are not consistently used to inform future learning and correct gaps or misconceptions in pupils’ understanding. When this happens, some gaps persist and pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils. It quickly identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff adapt teaching skilfully and provide appropriate support. As a result, pupils, including pupils with SEND, achieve well across the curriculum.

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

Children get an excellent start to their education in the early years. Communication and language are a priority from the outset, forming the foundation for reading and wider learning. The early years curriculum is carefully shaped to ensure that each child’s needs, 3 and 4 June 2025

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interests and starting points are well understood. This allows staff to provide targeted support and meaningful learning experiences from day one. Staff promote a love of reading from the earliest stages, using high-quality texts that spark interest and curiosity. A strong focus on rich language and vocabulary, reinforced through high-quality interactions, supports children’s speaking and listening skills. This helps them express themselves with growing confidence.

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The love of reading is nurtured throughout the school. Phonics is taught in a clear, structured way. Skilled staff help pupils to begin reading with confidence. Those who need extra help receive timely, targeted support. Strong partnerships with parents and carers help to reinforce phonics learning at home. As a result, pupils develop into fluent, confident readers with strong communication skills. This supports their learning across the curriculum.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They play cooperatively and support peers with care. The dining hall is calm and sociable. Attendance is strong, and the school works closely with families to promote its importance and to support those who need help.

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Pupils learn about respect and inclusion. For example, they explore diverse cultures and significant individuals in subjects such as history. Pupils learn to keep safe. They learn to be empathetic and to develop an understanding of others’ emotional well-being. This helps their learning to extend beyond the academic.

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Leadership and teamwork are developed through roles such as science ambassadors leading projects such as ‘Lego Enterprise’. Residentials further build confidence, independence and collaboration. The school’s strategic and inclusive approach ensures all pupils, including the most vulnerable, access these opportunities.

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Staff feel respected and valued by leaders. They appreciate the professional guidance leaders provide and recognise the genuine consideration given to their well-being. There is strong collaboration between staff and governors. This shared commitment has led to a thoughtful and resilient approach to addressing priorities. Working together has strengthened the school, which is now well placed to build even further on this progress.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On a few occasions, teachers do not check well enough what pupils know and understand during teaching. When this happens, gaps in knowledge or misconceptions can go unnoticed. As a result, some pupils do not build securely on prior learning. The 3 and 4 June 2025

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school should ensure that teachers consistently check pupils’ understanding across the curriculum to inform future learning.

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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). 3 and 4 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 December 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school currently uses one registered alternative provision.  The school manages its own breakfast club 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 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.  Inspectors discussed the continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 3 and 4 June 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, English, history and science. 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. The inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  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.  The inspectors considered the views of parents through the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View.

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 The inspectors considered the views of staff and pupils through meetings and informal discussions. Inspectors also considered the views of staff through their responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Cindy Impey, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Kirk Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 June 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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