Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School

Address: Longslow Road, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 3BA Unique reference number (URN): 145792

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Inclusion is at the heart of the school's work. Leaders are ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those who are disadvantaged and those who face other barriers to learning. They value these pupils. The school promotes a culture where all pupils are expected to access learning. Classrooms are well resourced, and staff provide effective support to help pupils learn. As a result, pupils with barriers to learning make progress from their starting points.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders know pupils well. They use additional funding effectively and prioritise identifying barriers to learning. Leaders have systems in place to accurately identify pupils' specific needs. This helps them ensure that the right support is put in place. This work is helping to reduce barriers to learning and supporting all pupils to access their education.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with the training they need to support disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Staff understand their role and care about the pupils who need extra help. Teachers make useful adaptations to their teaching so that all pupils can access the curriculum.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have systems in place to check on pupils' learning over time. This helps them to ensure that pupils with barriers to learning make progress from their starting points. When necessary, leaders seek support from external agencies so that pupils receive the right support. This includes them working with the virtual school and other agencies to support pupils who are known or previously known to social care.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations and uphold a clear vision for the school. They place pupils' interests at the heart of their decision-making. They have identified the right areas for improvement and are starting to make a difference. Their work to improve areas such as attendance and the early years means these areas are steadily improving.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Trust leaders support the school well. They work closely with the the school's leadership team and support them to focus on the right areas for improvement. Trustees and local governors also support leaders in their work. Where necessary, they challenge leaders to ensure that progress is effective and sustained. They consider staff wellbeing carefully and advocate well for their community. Trustees fulfil their duties appropriately.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide a continuous training and development package for staff. This professional development programme is central to school improvement. Leaders prioritise giving staff the tools they need to teach and lead effectively. The impact of this training is beginning to result in improvements to various aspects of the school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders engage positively with the community. They get to know families and build positive relationships to support pupils to thrive. Parents are watchful of recent changes and are

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Needs attention

starting to see the small but steady improvements to their children's learning journey. They are generally positive about pupils' experiences at the school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school's personal development curriculum prepares pupils for life beyond school. Pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to be a good friend. They practise what they learn and help everyone feel welcome. Pupils know that families can look different to their own, and they also learn about world religions and other cultures. They reflect and think about important issues. Leaders teach pupils about fundamental British values in creative ways, linked to current news stories. They take an age-appropriate approach to discussing complex issues.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils' wellbeing is a priority at this school. A broad range of strategies and initiatives are in place to help pupils thrive. For example, pupils talk about their feelings during days that promote positive mental health. This helps them to build strategies for dealing with challenging situations. In addition, pupils learn how to stay safe and happy in different circumstances, such as when using the internet.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders encourage pupils to attend clubs and enrichment activities. Pupils' participation is improving, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to attending. In addition, pupils enjoy engaging with trips that spark their interests and deepen their understanding of the curriculum. They also consider their options for the future during career days that inspire their dreams.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils benefit from effective pastoral support, which leaders are rightly proud of. The development of positive relationships is central to this work. Leaders understand pupils' needs. They use this knowledge to teach pupils the things they need to know to stay safe.

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Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have identified the need to improve pupils' achievement. They have introduced strategies to ensure that pupils remember more about the subjects that they learn. However, this work is at an early stage.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils are beginning to build a more secure knowledge of the subjects they learn. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress from their starting points. However, pupils generally are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. They do not yet know and remember the things that leaders expect in a range of subjects. For example, some pupils have gaps in their phonics knowledge. This limits their fluency and confidence in reading. In addition, some are not making the progress that leaders expect in writing. They have not built an accurate knowledge of letter formation. This makes writing a challenge for some pupils.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Pupils who attend well enjoy all the school has to offer. However, leaders are aware that some pupils do not attend school as often as they should do, meaning they miss important chances to learn. Leaders are taking action to improve the rate of attendance, but there is more work to do. They track pupils' attendance carefully and identify reasons why pupils do not attend school. They then offer support to families to encourage pupils to attend more regularly. Leaders' plans are appropriate, but further improvement is needed to ensure that more pupils attend school regularly.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Pupils speak positively about the behaviour in school. Leaders have identified that pupils can lose focus in some lessons. They support teachers to develop their skills so that pupils have fewer opportunities to be distracted from their learning. This work is beginning to make a positive difference.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities to behave well. Staff adapt their approaches to meet individual needs. Their kind and nurturing approach supports pupils to make good choices and regulate themselves. This is successfully fostering a happy school where pupils play well together and have fun. Leaders act quickly when bullying occurs, and staff offer pupils the right kind of support to address matters when needed.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have made improvements to the quality of the school's curriculum. Teachers have set out the knowledge that pupils are expected to know and remember in each subject. This knowledge now builds logically over time. Staff know what they are expected to teach and when to teach it.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have begun to develop the effectiveness of teaching, but there is still variation in staff's expertise. Sometimes, teachers do not provide clear explanations to help pupils learn new content. Often the tasks that they set are not well matched to pupils' abilities. Sometimes, pupils are expected to complete work that is too difficult for them. For others, the tasks they are set do not build on what they already know.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders are developing the school's approach to assessment. Staff make checks on pupils' learning in lessons. This helps them adapt their teaching to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, sometimes the checks that staff make are not as regular or accurate as leaders expect. As a result, teachers do not always address pupils' misunderstandings or errors in their work.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have begun to track pupils' progress through the curriculum over time. They have already used this information to improve the way that mathematics is taught. However, this work is in the early stages. In subjects such as reading and writing, there is more to do to close gaps in pupils' learning.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders are ambitious for children to have the best start to their education. They know that some children need extra help to develop their communication and language skills and have made changes to improve the quality of provision. However, there is more work to do to help children to speak and listen well. Interactions between adults and children are not as effective as leaders expect. Leaders are beginning to develop staff's expertise in modelling speech to pupils, but this work is in the early stages.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders have developed the curriculum in the early years so that children can learn from every activity that they do. Outdoors, children enjoy a range of activities across all areas of learning. However, the indoor learning environment does not yet support children in learning all aspects of the curriculum. This means that in some areas of learning, achievement is not as good as leaders expect.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders make sure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with barriers to learning are given equal opportunities to thrive. Children are well looked after by adults who care for them. They benefit from routines and learn important life skills from an early age, such as showing good manners at the dining table.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy life at Market Drayton Infant and Nursery School, where everyone takes care of one another. Staff give pupils a warm welcome every day and encourage pupils to attend as much as possible. Pupils play happily with one another and generally treat each other with kindness. Pupils feel safe here. They know they have adults who care for them. They know there is always help available should they need it.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

In recent months, there has been a lot of change at this school. Pupils have noticed this and like the improvements. Most pupils attend school regularly. However, some are often absent, affecting their learning. Most pupils learn well. However, some finish their work quickly and teachers do not notice. This can lead to low-level disruption in classrooms. There remains inconsistency in the teaching of handwriting and reading. This means some pupils are not ready for their next stage of learning.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from a range of trips and visits and enjoy the clubs on offer. They have responsibilities across the school and contribute to the community. Behaviour at social times is typically good, and pupils enjoy playing with one another. Pupils know that bullying and unkindness are not tolerated here.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from a positive start to school in the early years. They develop positive attitudes to learning and good manners. Across the school, positive relationships between pupils and adults are the basis for success. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, pupils who are disadvantaged and those with other barriers to learning are a high priority. They receive the support they need to make progress.

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Team inspectors:

Jane Edgerton, Ofsted Inspector Nina Sangha, Ofsted Inspector

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is taught well. They should develop staff's expertise in using assessment information so that gaps in pupils' learning close quickly. Leaders should continue to ensure that pupils are supported to attend school every day. Leaders should continue to develop learning environments that enable children in the early years to learn through effective and engaging continuous provision, supported by high-quality interactions with adults.

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About this inspection

This school is part of the Empower 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), Carla Whelan, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Paul Bunting.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

This inspection took place on 15 and 16 September 2026.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with trustees, local governors, trust executive leaders, school leaders and staff during the inspection. They also spoke to pupils and parents.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently makes use of one registered alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school has undergone a significant change since the last inspection. Following a restructuring of the previous leadership model, there is a new CEO, a new headteacher and 2 new assistant headteachers. There is also a new chair of the local governing board.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Emma Morris This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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About this inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 15 September 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 4.9% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 4.8% 5.5% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 5.5% 5.9% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 11.5% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 17.3% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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