A primary school in Royton could have its 'good' Ofsted grade removed after an inspector judged its curriculum to be weak.

Thornham St James CE Primary School on Castleton Road was once deemed an 'outstanding' school in 2007, which then dropped slightly to 'good' in 2018.

However, an Ofsted inspector said after visiting the premises in November this year that the school might not be graded as high as 'good' anymore.

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This means there will be a graded inspection of the school within the next two years.

Despite the potential downgrade, inspector Ben Hill had plenty of praise for Thornham St James in his report.

Mr Hill said the pupils are "happy" and described the school as "caring" and "supportive".

The youngsters told the inspector that the kindness they show to each other is "one of the best things" about the school - and that they know staff take care of them and listen to their worries.

They also spoke "enthusiastically" about the trips and activities they enjoy at the school, such as a visit to a local Roman site.

Mr Hill wrote the children "do their best" to behave well and follow the school's ethos of respect, love and tolerance.

They are attentive, contribute with enthusiasm and have a positive attitude which means learning is "rarely" disrupted by poor behaviour, he added.

Meanwhile, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are also well supported at the primary as staff adapt lessons and leaders identify pupils in need as early as possible.

The school's emphasis on reading was one key positive in the report as Ofsted found many of the children to be "confident and enthusiastic readers" by the time they reach key stage 2.

Beyond the curriculum, the pupils also enjoy an increasing number of opportunities, such as leadership responsibilities which include leading worship in church and encouraging one another to be environmentally conscious.

The inspector said: "These experiences prepare pupils to be confident and responsible citizens."

However, the report continued that while the school is "ambitious", there are "weaknesses in the curriculum" that have "hindered pupils' learning".

For instance, while phonics is taught from reception and helps many to become accurate and fluent readers, some pupils who fall behind "do not catch up quickly" and strategies to fill in the gaps "are not effective".

Mr Hill said the school is currently in the process of strengthening the curriculum but found the work is "at an early stage".

The school is currently in a period of transition, which includes redesigning the curriculum.

In the past, governors "did not have a thorough enough oversight" of the quality of education at the school, which Mr Hill said is "no longer the case".

But the inspector suggested subjects beyond reading and mathematics need attention as, while pupils achieve well in these core subjects, in others the school "has not finished identifying the essential knowledge".

He wrote: "As a result, staff are not always sure what to emphasise in lessons.

"Pupils do not learn as well as they should in these subjects."

When it came to staff, Mr Hill said teachers have "secure knowledge" and explain new ideas clearly, but in "many" subjects, strategies are less effective as staff don't know whether pupils need to revisit missed or forgotten learning.

He added: "Some pupils learn unevenly as a result."

Staff are also "proud" to work at the school but recognise improvements are needed and that this may increase their workload.

To keep its 'good' grading or achieve higher, Ofsted gave the school three areas to improve on.

This includes finalising the curriculum and ensuring teachers have the expertise to deliver it, improving its assessment strategies to mitigate any gaps in pupils' knowledge and ensuring staff can deliver the phonics programme "faithfully".

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