Water Mill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love school life at Water Mill.

They work hard and learn well. Leaders are aspirational for every pupil and seek to unlock their potential. The school's 'Owl-standing skills' and their values motivate pupils.

On a daily basis, pupils reflect on the application of these skills and values.

Pupils are proud of their diverse school community. Diversity is built into the curriculum and celebrated.

The school recently hosted an international week and invited parents along. They enjoyed a variety of experiences, such as playing musical instruments and sampling food from a range of countries.

Pupils value the education they receive and want t...o do their best.

The school motto, 'Anything is possible', underpins pupils' aspirations to be prepared for and positive about the future.

The school's work to support pupils' personal development is exceptional. Pupils enjoy experiences that build their character.

Pupils take on a range of extra responsibilities, for example being a school councillor and consulting with all classes about developing areas of the playground.

Around school, pupils are clear about the school's rules and routines. They behave well.

Pupils are not worried about bullying. They feel safe and know they could call on any adult to help them.

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

The headteacher and her leadership team have made significant improvements across the school.

Leaders have redesigned the curriculum, which is suitably ambitious. Leaders ensure that the curriculum enables all pupils to achieve well.

Children get off to a good start in their education.

They learn phonics as soon as they start in the Reception Year. Teachers regularly check which sounds pupils can remember. Pupils who are not sure about a sound receive extra support to help them catch up quickly.

Staff match reading books to the sounds that pupils know. This helps pupils to develop their confidence and reading fluency. Reading and a love of books are promoted throughout the school.

Pupils read books by a range of authors. They know why it is important to be a good reader.

In mathematics, curriculum plans set out the key knowledge and skills pupils should learn, from early years to Year 6.

Leaders ensure that pupils have a secure understanding of basic concepts. Pupils' books show that they learn content in a systematic way and know and remember more over time. Teachers benefit from training to help them teach mathematics well.

Subjects are taught through themes. Each theme overview breaks down the knowledge and skills taught as well as exciting activities. Subject leaders support their colleagues to develop the subject knowledge they need to teach.

Most have a clear overview of what is going well in their subject and what needs to be done to improve it further. Some subject leaders, who are new to role, have only recently started to check the implementation of the curriculum. This means that they are not yet able to measure the effectiveness of the curriculum in their subjects.

Leaders are working to improve this.

Teachers use assessments well in English and mathematics to find out what the pupils know and understand. However, in the foundation subjects, this does not always happen well enough, and teachers do not identify pupils' misconceptions quickly enough.

This leads to gaps in pupils' knowledge.

The school is an inclusive community. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or those who speak English as an additional language do well in school.

Leaders quickly identify any pupils with additional needs. Parents really appreciate the support that pupils with SEND receive.

Pupils behave well and enjoy their lessons.

Leaders monitor pupils' punctuality and attendance closely. They take positive steps to improve the attendance of pupils whose rate of attendance is lower than that of their peers.

Throughout the school, teachers plan rich and exciting experiences for pupils.

Pupils enjoy a variety of clubs, for example sports, movie making and science. They talk enthusiastically about how they organise events, such as the Jubilee party, for the whole school. Through all these experiences, their awareness of helping others and being a good citizen grows.

All pupils have equal access to all opportunities offered.

Governors know the school well. They are proud of the role that the school has in the community.

Governors use their knowledge effectively to hold leaders to account for all aspects of the school's work, including the quality of education. Governors are mindful of staff's workload and well-being. Staff feel valued and supported by leaders.

Parents and carers speak very highly of the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders understand their role in keeping children safe.

They ensure that staff attend regular safeguarding training. Staff record and report concerns swiftly. Concerns are followed up rigorously.

Leaders make referrals to external agencies appropriately to get pupils the help they need, including when pupils need support for their mental health and well-being. Record-keeping is meticulous.

Suitable checks are made on all adults who work with the children in school.

Pupils feel safe and happy here, and parents confirm this. The curriculum promotes learning how to keep yourself safe, including when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers do not always make use of assessment effectively in the foundation subjects to pick up pupils' misconceptions.

Consequently, they do not consistently identify gaps in pupils' learning. Leaders should continue to support teachers in their use of assessment in order to enable them to make accurate assessments of pupils' knowledge and understanding in the foundation subjects. ? Some subject leaders are new to their roles.

They have only recently started to check what happens in their subject. This means that they are not able to evaluate fully the effectiveness of their subject. Leaders should ensure that these subject leaders develop their monitoring and evaluation so that they can provide better support to teachers.