Exwick Heights Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Exwick Heights Primary School thrive.

They love coming to school. This is demonstrated by their high attendance. Pupils value their education experience.

One pupil said, 'This school is a safe and welcoming place where we learn new things every day.'

The school has high expectations for all pupils. Staff are determined for pupils to succeed.

Pupils live up to these expectations and learn well. They are polite, well mannered and considerate of others. Equality is important to pupils.

They ensure that everyone is valued and treated fairly. One pupil said, 'In our school, everyone is unique and treated the same; we are all special.' ...

Pupils' wider development is a strength of the school.

The school go above and beyond to put in place a range of opportunities that develop pupils to be responsible, respectful and active citizens. For example, the school invites visitors from a diverse range of backgrounds to support pupils' leaning about civil rights in history.

Parents speak highly of the school.

They praise the care staff provide as well as the many opportunities available to pupils.

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

The school has an ambitious curriculum in place to help pupils build their knowledge well. Across all subjects, the essential knowledge the school wants pupils to know and remember is identified and sequenced well.

Training is prioritised to develop staff expertise. This helps staff to teach the curriculum effectively.

Teachers use a variety of strategies to help pupils learn.

Pupils build their knowledge and make links with what they have learned before. For example, 'elicitation tasks' are used across subjects to draw out prior knowledge before pupils begin a new unit of work. Revisiting prior learning helps pupils to remember the important knowledge they need to know.

For example, in music, pupils speak confidently about musical terms, such as beat, rhythm, melody and pitch.

Warm relationships between staff and children mean children in the early years settle well. Within adult-led activities, staff model new learning and help children to develop language.

For example, in mathematics, children learn the properties of a square before going on a shape hunt. However, during independent learning, the precise knowledge staff want children to know and remember is less clear. Consequently, some children are not supported as well as they are in adult-led sessions to deepen their understanding.

This stalls progress for some children.

The school are ambitious to make a difference to disadvantaged pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well.

Adaptations are in place to help these pupils learn the curriculum. For example, targeted questions and individual feedback supports learning for these pupils.

There is a strong culture of reading at this school.

Staff have received the training they need to teach the phonics programme with accuracy. Pupils who need extra help are identified and supported to catch up. Most pupils read books that match the sounds they know.

This helps them to build their fluency in reading. The school ensures that all pupils have access to a wide range of high-quality texts. As a result, pupils develop a real enthusiasm for reading.

The school is calm and orderly. There are high expectations of pupils. This means pupils show positive attitudes to their learning, both in lessons and around the school.

This starts in the early years where children learn routines well. The school provides additional support for pupils who might struggle to manage their behaviour.

The school has placed pupils' personal development at the heart of the curriculum.

Enrichment activities are mapped out to enhance pupils' experiences. Pupils reap the benefits of a huge array of opportunities to develop their talents and interests. Popular clubs include creative writing and musical theatre.

Participation is tracked to ensure all pupils have access, including disadvantaged pupils where involvement is high. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They have a lived experience of democracy through elections for pupil leadership roles.

These include school councillors and ambassadors. Pupils have high regard for these positions and look up to these role models.

Staff value the support for their workload and well-being.

Those responsible for governance know the school well. They receive the training they need to monitor and evaluate the school effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• When children are learning independently in the early years, the small steps of knowledge they need to know and remember lacks precision in some areas of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not deepen their understanding as well as they do in adult-led activities. The trust should ensure that learning intentions are clear for all areas of the curriculum, so that children in the early years are supported to build their knowledge well over time.

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