Riddlesden St Mary's CofE Primary School

Overview

Riddlesden St Mary’s CofE Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The report describes a “warm and welcoming” environment where pupils feel safe, behave well, and show “kindness and consideration for each other.” The school is “well led and managed,” with staff acting as “excellent role models” and a curriculum that generally interests and challenges learners.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy “excellent relationships with staff” and willingly embrace opportunities to develop leadership skills and contribute to school life.
• The curriculum is “broad and ambitious,” with staff using “well-chosen range of resources” and systematic checks to address misconceptions.
• Children in the early years are “particularly engaged,” settling well into school and building a “love of reading” from the start.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are “identified quickly” and receive tailored support to learn successfully alongside peers.
• The school offers “high-quality enrichment activities,” enabling pupils to develop talents in areas such as music, chess, and cooking.

Areas to improve

• Ensure all pupils get sufficient opportunities to practise foundational writing skills, such as letter formation and spelling, before tackling complex tasks, to prevent errors from becoming embedded.
• Clearly define the essential knowledge pupils need to learn across all subjects, particularly in those areas where this has not been identified clearly enough, to help pupils connect new learning to prior knowledge.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.