A Herefordshire school has been praised by Ofsted for setting high expectations for pupils in a recent inspection that took place on 28th January 2025.
Garway Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.
Pupils live and breathe the school’s values of ‘Be the best version of yourself – enjoy and achieve.
The school sets high expectations for pupils. They achieve well in lessons.
Pupils enjoy their school and are proud of it.
They behave well in lessons and are articulate. They demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. Rewards such as ‘student of the term’ reinforce good behaviour.
Pupils feel safe. They know there is always an adult to talk to if anything is worrying them or they feel uncomfortable. The school’s culture is to ‘speak out to stay safe’
Pupils have many opportunities to take on leadership responsibilities. All Year 5 pupils can be young leaders.
They support pupils who sit on the ‘friendship bench’ if they want a playmate.
Pupils in Year 6 are also road safety monitors or buddies.
The school promotes pupils’ mental and physical health well. The whole school starts the day with ‘morning movers’
This is followed by pupils in every class learning a musical instrument, including the cello, violin and recorder, using musical notation.
There are numerous activities provided for pupils to extend their skills and interest, such as archery, ballet, lacrosse, cheer-leading and Welsh club.
The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that gives pupils access to a wide range of subjects.
English and mathematics are at its heart. The curriculum helps pupils to build their knowledge as they move through school.
Small cohort sizes and the high number of
pupils with complex needs in some year groups means results in published outcomes can vary from year to year.
Children are exposed to sounds and letters as soon as they join pre-school or Reception
Year. When staff play games with children, they encourage them to use accurate vocabulary and speak in full sentences.
Staff deliver the phonics programme consistently well to enable pupils who are learning to read to ‘keep up, not catch up.
The school uses its checks to ensure pupils have work at the right level for them. Those who find reading difficult are developing the confidence to become fluent readers.
The school encourages the love of a wide range of reading across the curriculum, for example by inviting a female scientist to speak about her non-fiction book.
In many subjects, the curriculum is well sequenced to build on previous learning.
Recap tasks help pupils to remember what they have learned. In English and mathematics, revisiting prior learning helps teachers to identify and address misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) from the start in the early years.
A small number of pupils with SEND have a bespoke curriculum to meet their needs.
In some subjects, teachers adapt lessons skilfully so pupils with SEND can join in learning with their peers. For example, staff adjust writing tasks or provide practical and visual resources.
You can view the full report by visiting – https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50271227
