School  »  Ofsted

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills - they inspect and regulate schools and other services that care for and provide education and skills for children and young people.

Primrose Lane was last inpected in December 2023 and the full report is available below.

The areas identified for improvement were quickly addressed and since then the school has gone on to further develop and improve.

Primrose Lane has made improvements since the last inspection and we are rapildy taking action on the areas for improvment identified in December 2023. 
 

Dear Primrose Lane Families,

Please find attached our latest Ofsted Report. As you are aware, we had waited nearly four years to welcome the inspectors back into our school and there has been a considerable amount of uncertainty and change during this time. The inspection was a thorough and rigorous process that looked at all aspects of school life, gathering evidence from a variety of sources including visiting all classrooms to observe teaching and learning, speaking to all stakeholders, visiting our out of school club and observing children in the dining hall and playground. As an Ofsted report is limited to 1500 words, we have summarised some of the points that were made during their verbal feedback below.

 

The inspectors found that Pupils at Primrose Lane show respect to their friends, their teachers and to visitors to their school. Staff encourage pupils to, ‘be ready, be respectful and be safe.’ The school carefully supports pupils who need extra help to behave well. In addition, they could see the changes that have been made to our reading and maths curriculum since the last inspection and that these are having a positive impact on the learning of our children. This is also evidenced by our KS2 results in English, Math and Reading, all of which scored above the national average last year. Furthermore, they recognised how well we support children in the Early Years to develop independence and prepare them for life and the next stage in their education and commended the ethos and attitudes evident across school. The report acknowledges the improvements we have made in the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) since the last inspection, something we are very proud of. During their verbal feedback the inspectors stated that classroom teaching demonstrated that teachers use effective mechanisms to support children’s learning through questioning and well-planned tasks. We are proud that behaviour and attitudes and Early Years were judged as good and that the inspection report and feedback acknowledged the improvements we have made in these areas.

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At this time, Primrose Lane is still graded as Requires Improvement, whilst this is not the outcome we wanted, the report acknowledges the progress that we have made since the last inspection and sets out clearly our next steps.

Since the inspection, we have started to rapidly implement further changes to our curriculum design, moving away from the two-year rolling cycle that was implemented in March 2021. We have a clear, deliverable action plan that we are confident will address the areas identified for improvement. The Governing Body supported the school during the inspection and continues to work closely with Mrs Bailey to support the school to work rapidly on the areas for improvement. We will be inviting parents into school to find out more about our plans for the coming year. We would welcome questions from families beforehand so please fill in this form and further details of the parent information session will be shared in the coming week

 

Finally, as you may be aware, this inspection was conducted at a time when Ofsted’s conduct and processes in schools have been under close scrutiny. The findings of the inquest into the tragic death of the Headteacher Ruth Perry in January 2023 show just how devasting the impact of an Ofsted inspection can be to staff and the wider school community. The inspection at Primrose Lane was conducted with integrity, compassion and consideration at all times but there is no doubt that the intensity of the inspection and its outcomes do have an impact on staff. We would like to reassure you that school staff continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Primrose Lane is a Happy and Healthy Place to Learn and that we support all our children to achieve and be the best that they can be. Thank you to everyone in the Primrose Lane community that reached out with support during the week of the inspection, it was very much appreciated.

 

Best wishes,

Mrs Bryony Boyle                                                          Mrs Lara Bailey

Chair of Governors                                                        Acting Headteacher
Latest Ofsted report – December 2023

Below is a link to a copy of the latest Ofsted report, following the school’s inspection in December 2023.

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