Westerton Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They consider it to be a welcoming and friendly place. The school has high expectations of pupils.

Pupils are highly motivated to work hard and do their best. Most pupils have high levels of attendance. The school has effective procedures in place to support pupils to attend regularly.

This helps pupils to benefit from all that the school offers.

Pupils behave exceptionally well. They are polite and friendly.

Adults and pupils demonstrate strong relationships across the school. The school has recently revised its behaviour policy. The introduction of the '6C's': courtesy, consideration, commitment, consistency, coo...peration and citizenship, make clear to pupils what is expected of them.

Pupils use these values well to guide their conduct around school. Pupils who struggle to regulate their behaviour are supported well by kind adults. Pupils with leadership roles, such as play leaders and school councillors, are strong role models to their peers.

The school has successfully prioritised the pastoral support of pupils. Pupils know that the mental health and well-being team are available to help them if they have a problem or concern. Pupils feel safe and happy in school.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school's leadership team has changed significantly in recent years. New and established leaders have made some impressive changes to the school. The impact of many of their actions is already clear to see.

Within a short period of time, the school has improved the standard of education pupils receive, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school has implemented a well-designed and ambitious curriculum. The knowledge and skills that pupils must learn have been carefully sequenced.

Subject leaders have ensured that curriculum plans build upon what children learn in the early years. This provides children with a smooth transition into key stage 1. Subject specialists from the secondary school in the trust have helped to inform the design of the curriculum.

Staff benefit from collaborating with these specialists through subject network meetings. This high-quality training develops teachers' practice. It enables them to teach the curriculum with confidence.

From a young age, pupils' work is of high quality. Pupils are rightly proud of what they produce.

In most subjects, clear systems are in place to support pupils to remember what they have learned.

For example, lessons begin with an opportunity for pupils to use and apply their prior learning in an increasing range of contexts. In some parts of the curriculum, the important knowledge that pupils must learn has not been precisely identified. Where this is the case, pupils struggle to recall and articulate what they have learned.

This makes it difficult for pupils to make connections to concepts across the curriculum.

Pupils with SEND are supported well in lessons. Adults are knowledgeable about the individual needs of pupils.

They make sure that tasks are suitably adapted. For example, teachers provide paper copies of the whiteboard display so that pupils are able to refer to information with ease. This inclusive approach enables pupils to fully access the school's curriculum.

The school has implemented a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Pupils read books that are matched closely to their phonics knowledge. They learn to read with increasing fluency and accuracy.

The school ensures that pupils at risk of falling behind are supported effectively. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 benefit from daily whole-class reading sessions. Over time, pupils become increasingly proficient readers.

They gain confidence in reading with intonation and expression. This makes reading interesting and enjoyable. Most pupils develop a love of reading.

Well-established routines in the early years enable children to become independent learners. Children enjoy learning through play in the indoor and outdoor areas. Adults provide purposeful opportunities for children to explore and develop new skills.

Children develop their concentration by engaging in activities for increasingly sustained periods. For example, during the inspection, some children in the Nursery class used different-size containers in the water tray to build an understanding of which held the most water.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy.

Visitors to the school, such as the police community support officer, help pupils to make informed choices about their safety and well-being.

Those with responsibility for governance provide appropriate support and challenge to leaders. They check that the decisions they make do not adversely affect staff workload or well-being.

Some parents and carers do not consider the school's communication strategies to be effective. They do not consider some of the information they receive as helpful or as informative as it could be.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some parts of the curriculum, the school has not broken down sufficiently the essential pieces of knowledge that pupils need to know. It is difficult for pupils to articulate connections to concepts across the curriculum and for teachers to check that pupils have learned what is intended. The school should further refine the curriculum so that teachers clearly understand the small pieces of knowledge that pupils need to know.

• Some parents do not consider the school's communication strategies to be effective. Parents do not feel appropriately informed about what is happening in school and how to support their child's learning. The school should work with parents to improve its communication strategies.