Whittingham Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The executive headteacher, the multi-academy trust, the local governing body and other leaders have worked extremely well together to secure significant improvements in pupils' achievement, personal development and welfare. The capacity of leaders at all levels is strong.

The trust capitalises on using the best practice to improve the quality of leadership, teaching and learning across the three schools. The school has some outstanding features. These include the quality of leadership and management, the provision in the early years and the promotion of pupils' welfare and behaviour.

Pupils are exceptionally polite and respectful. They ar...e encouraged to always consider their own and others' behaviour and learning, as reflected in the school's ethos of being a 'thinking' school. Teaching, learning and assessment are good.

Staff plan work that is precisely matched to pupils' needs. Pupils make rapid progress in their writing. The teaching of reading consistently secures strong outcomes.

A new scheme for mathematics has been introduced which is securing good progress. Most subject leaders are key drivers for success. They plan and implement relevant actions to improve the quality of teaching and pupils' outcomes.

Children in the early years make phenomenal progress in all areas of their learning, particularly in their communication and language. This is the bedrock for their outstanding achievement in other areas, and especially so in their literacy and mathematical development. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Assessments are not sufficiently focused on what pupils know and understand in mathematics.

Hence, the most able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in their thinking. Other ability groups are not always supported effectively in mathematics due to inconsistencies in the quality of guidance given to them. There are too few opportunities for pupils to deepen their mathematical and scientific understanding and skills through problem solving and investigative work.

Information about this school

Whittingham Primary Academy is larger than the average-sized primary school. It is one of three schools which form the Silver Birch multi-academy trust. The executive headteacher is also the chief executive officer of the trust.

The primary school converted to academy status in February 2013. Pupils come from a range of different ethnic backgrounds. The largest groups are of Asian and White British heritage.

Nearly two thirds of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is well above average. A third of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals, which is also well above the national average. Recently there has been a high turnover of staff, including several teachers.

The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities is above average; the majority of these have speech, language and communication difficulties or moderate learning difficulties. The school meets the government's floor standards, which set minimum expectations for attainment and progress. The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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