Chelmsford primary school curriculum 'not fit for purpose'

Ofsted said school leaders did not respond urgently enough to weaknesses in the curriculum

A school previously rated "outstanding" has been downgraded to "requires improvement" after inspectors found its curriculum not "fit for purpose".

Boreham Primary School in Chelmsford was last inspected 15 years ago, having previously been exempt from routine inspections due to its rating.

Ofsted found some pupils were not learning to read well enough to support future learning.

Head teacher Ian Bowyer said the school had an action plan in place.

According to the inspection report, based on a two-day visit in November, "too many" pupils were not achieving well enough and the curriculum was not fully established, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In their report inspectors noted: "Leaders have not designed and implemented a curriculum that is fit for purpose from the early years through to Year 6. 

"This has led to inconsistencies with how the curriculum is delivered across the school."

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The report also said leaders did not respond urgently enough to weaknesses in the curriculum and that they lacked ambition for the early years.

Inspectors said this was in part due to the pandemic, but was leading to inconsistencies among children of the same age.

The report also said some teachers had not received training to be able to teach reading well.

However, the report noted pupils felt safe and happy at school, and that there was a high standard of care.

Mr Bowyer said in a statement that the school was "very disappointed with our overall outcome judgement".

"The leadership team is 100% committed to implementing the recommendations in the report and is already beginning to tackle the key areas identified for improvement," he said.