Upton Westlea Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

There is a warm and caring culture at Upton Westlea Primary School. Pupils say that they feel safe and there are always staff to talk to if they have any worries. Many parents and carers appreciate leaders' actions to understand and meet their children's needs.

For example, pupils who join the school late and their families are well supported so that they can be fully involved in the life of the school.

Pupils are polite. They learn about respect for others and make new pupils and visitors welcome.

They value the frequent opportunities to work with their parents in school.

Pupils enjoy their lessons. They work hard and want to do well.

Pupil...s comment that staff help them to rebuild their relationships when they fall out with each other. Staff deal with the rare incidents of bullying quickly and effectively.

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils' learning across most of the curriculum.

However, there are gaps in pupils' knowledge across a range of subjects. They do not learn as well as they should.

Pupils enjoy helping to make their school a better place.

They are proud of the roles that they have within school. They feel that they are making the school a better place.

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

Leaders are ambitious for what pupils can achieve.

They have prioritised the improvement of the curriculum, starting with English, mathematics and the early years. They have provided training to improve teachers' subject knowledge in reading and mathematics. The new phonics and mathematics curriculums are supporting teachers to improve pupils' learning.

Where pupils have fallen behind in reading, they are provided with support that helps them to catch up.

In other subjects, improvements are at an early stage. In these subjects, leaders are only just beginning to define the precise detail of what they want pupils to know and when this key knowledge should be taught.

Where curriculum thinking is underdeveloped, it does not enable precise checks to be made on pupils' learning. Additionally, teachers do not always provide pupils with appropriate activities to enable pupils to know more and remember more over time.

Leaders have prioritised reading.

This starts in the early years, where children listen to stories and rhymes and have access to a wide range of books. Leaders have responded to low outcomes in phonics checks in 2022. The new early reading programme has improved pupils' reading accuracy.

Leaders have provided staff with clear guidance about the teaching of phonics. This means that teachers know which sounds to teach and when to teach them. However the books that pupils take home are not well matched to the sounds that children learn in class.

This hinders pupils when they are practising their reading.

The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified as early as possible when they join the school. Staff work closely with outside agencies and specialist providers to ensure that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need.

This allows pupils in mainstream classes to access the same curriculum as their classmates. Pupils in the provision for pupils with autism have a bespoke curriculum that is delivered by well-trained staff and meets their needs. These pupils are involved in school life.

They access assemblies, some breaktimes and some of the visits arranged by teachers across the school.

Children settle quickly when they join the school. Across the early years, clear routines help children to work and play safely and purposefully.

Staff support children to develop their play and build their vocabulary. The new curriculum ensures children are prepared for Year 1.

Pupils are polite, welcoming and have positive attitudes towards their learning.

Most pupils take pride in their work. Leaders make sure that there is a calm and orderly environment. Learning is rarely disrupted.

Leaders promote pupils' personal, social and health education and personal development well. Pupils can explain how to stay healthy and fit. Pupils enjoy learning about people from different faiths and cultures, and they have respect for different beliefs.

Leaders promote high aspirations for pupils. This includes access to a careers fair where pupils learn about jobs linked to their interests.

Governors are committed to the school and its pupils.

They understand the school and the community it serves well. They are aware of the school's strengths and know what needs to improve.

Staff feel supported.

They appreciate the professional support and training they receive. They value leaders' work to improve their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Issues in the local community and in school are identified and monitored. Leaders ensure that staff are well trained.

They know how to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

Staff report and record welfare concerns diligently. Records are meticulously maintained.

Leaders follow up on any safeguarding concerns appropriately. Leaders work closely with local support agencies to get pupils and their families help when needed.

Staff teach pupils about the risks that they may face in the local community and how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, leaders have not identified the most important knowledge they want pupils to learn and the order in which it should be taught. As a result, it is difficult for teachers to know what to teach and when they should teach it. It is also hard for teachers to check that pupils have learned all that they should.

This means that pupils are not learning in sufficient depth in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that, in all subjects, teachers know what key knowledge should be taught and the order in which it should be delivered. Leaders should also ensure that strategies are developed that help teachers to check that this key knowledge is being remembered.

• In some subjects, teachers sometimes do not provide pupils with work that enables pupils to learn well. As a result, pupils sometimes do not understand and retain key knowledge sufficiently well. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the skills to deliver all subjects effectively.

• Teachers do not ensure that the books selected for pupils to read match the sounds that the pupils have learned. This hinders how well pupils learn to read. Leaders should ensure that teachers choose the books that closely match the sounds that pupils know.