Primaries’ English curricula are “often weak” and schools are not ensuring that all pupils learn the knowledge they need, Ofsted has warned.

The inspectorate published a critical report today on the way schools secure the foundational knowledge and skills that it says every child needs by the end of key stage 1.

As a result of its findings, Ofsted will now be reviewing and updating guidance for inspectors to ensure that they focus more on how well curriculum, teaching and assessment are enabling children in Reception and KS1 to learn foundational knowledge.

The report’s conclusions are based on 20 visits to schools and also draw on findings from Ofsted’s previous research through its subject reports.

Here are the seven main concerns raised about pupils’ first years of schooling in today’s Ofsted report:

1. Primary English curricula ‘often weak’

Ofsted says that schools’ curricula for English, and literacy in the early years, beyond the teaching of phonics, are often weak.

It adds that schools introduce complex reading and writing tasks too early. The watchdog says schools do not give children enough teaching and practice for them to become fluent in skills such as handwriting, and in composing simple sentences.

But it also says the teaching of reading is improving. The report adds that government policy and guidance, and research on how well schools teach children to read, have highlighted the important role of systematic synthetic phonics in early reading.

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2. Teachers don’t know what to prioritise

The inspectorate is also concerned that curricula “are often overloaded with activities that do not focus on helping children to build fluency in foundational knowledge and skills”.

Its report says that some schools do not identify clearly enough the knowledge that children need to learn during Reception and KS1.

This means that teachers do not know what to prioritise in their teaching and assessment.

3. Pupils’ learning ‘left to chance’

The inspectorate warns that schools’ curricula, particularly in some Reception classes, leave children’s learning too much to chance.

“When there is a choice about whether to take part, some children, often those who need the most teaching and practice, opt out,” the report says.

Ofsted says that if the Reception curriculum is not clear enough about what all children need to learn, it can become “merely a list of activities”.

“Simply providing experiences that children can choose from is not enough. A typical child might pass much of the day engaged and busy but may not spend enough time learning new concepts and encountering new ideas,” the report says.

4. Staff ‘interact less with vulnerable pupils’

Children who begin school with the lowest starting points and those who start to fall behind are the most affected by weaknesses in curriculum, teaching and assessment, according to today’s findings.

Ofsted says this “vulnerable minority of children are more likely to suffer when opportunities to learn are not equitable”. The report adds that adults tend not to interact with them as much as they do with other children.

“Although they need the most teaching and opportunities for practice, these children often get the least. As a result, the gap between them and their peers widens,” it adds.

5. KS1 assessments ‘unhelpfully’ influence decisions

Ofsted found that end-of-KS1 assessments can “unhelpfully influence the schools’ decisions about the English curriculum”.

These assessments are no longer statutory. However, Ofsted warns that many schools still provide children with activities that replicate these tests “well before they have taught them what they need to know to complete them successfully”.

6. ‘Ineffective use’ of play-based learning

The watchdog’s report notes that “well-planned play is important” because it “gives children opportunities to practise using their knowledge and skills to explore and make sense of the world around them, learn to focus their attention and learn to communicate and cooperate with others”.

However, Ofsted raises concerns about play-based learning being used ineffectively. It “sometimes does no more than occupy children’s time”, the report says.

“If it does not challenge their thinking, problem-solving, persistence and collaboration, it is ineffective in developing their executive functioning. Such poorly planned play keeps children busy but does not support their development: their hands and bodies are active but their minds are not.”

7. Coverage ‘at the expense of understanding’

Ofsted says a common finding in its subject reports was that when teachers focus on covering curriculum content rather than making sure that it is learned, pupils do not develop secure knowledge.

It also warns that if the curriculum does not set out clearly the important knowledge that children need to learn, staff are less likely to emphasise it in their teaching. The result is that pupils are left with gaps and misconceptions in important knowledge.

The watchdog says this means that errors in spelling or inaccurate letter formation can take hold.

Ofsted’s earlier report on history teaching also noted that “accepting significant gaps between pupils, in knowledge of important content and concepts, means that these gaps will widen over time.”

However, Ofsted says it found that the schools visited for the latest report tended to make good use of the structure and guidance in published programmes, such as those for maths and phonics.

Commenting on the overall findings, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said it was encouraging that there has been some “good progress in improving the teaching of early reading and mathematics in primary schools”.

But schools are “still having to navigate the impact of the pandemic, and many children are still catching up on lost learning”, he added.

“I hope this report helps teachers and school leaders in developing a curriculum that provides all children with the knowledge and skills that they need.”

Fear over Ofsted’s ‘increasing role’

Responding to the report, Tom Middlehurst, curriculum, assessment and inspection specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said that “all school leaders” understand the importance of early years education and providing pupils with the tools they need to succeed.

Schools are “still navigating the impact of the pandemic and the resulting developmental delays they are seeing in some children”, he said, adding that there had been ”a lack of sufficient investment to help schools manage this situation”.

“We are concerned about the increasing role Ofsted appears to be playing in influencing, as opposed to merely inspecting, what schools are doing,” he said.

James Bowen, assistant general secretary at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that while curriculum choices made by teachers are important, they are only one part of a much bigger picture.

“The previous government’s failure to invest properly in Covid recovery and the decimation of crucial early support services has meant that young children who need extra support often struggle to access it,” he said.

Mr Bowen added that to ensure that every child is able to thrive at the start of primary school, pupils who need specialist support will need to receive it “as early as possible”.