Ryecroft CofE Middle School

Overview

Ryecroft CofE Middle School continues to be a good school, maintaining a strong Christian ethos where pupils embrace values of humility, inspiration, perseverance and trust. Leaders have established an ambitious curriculum with detailed planning, and staff hold high expectations for behaviour and learning. However, inconsistencies in how some teachers implement the curriculum and assess pupil progress mean that learning is not always well sequenced or built upon effectively.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe, with bullying being rare and dealt with quickly and effectively.
• The curriculum is enhanced by many trips, visits, and over 30 popular lunchtime and after-school activities.
• Staff know pupils well, and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn the same curriculum as everyone else.
• Leaders ensure staff have a reasonable workload and a manageable work–life balance.
• Careers education is strong, extending beyond national expectations to all year groups.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should support staff to ensure the ambitious curriculum plans are implemented as intended, so work is always well sequenced and logical.
• Leaders should support staff to make sure assessment is more consistent and used well to plan learning, ensuring new work builds on current knowledge.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a strong culture where staff receive regular training and know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil.