Westminster Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and settled at this friendly school. They value learning in the friendly, family atmosphere. Everyone is made to feel welcome and included.

Pupils benefit from the care that they receive from staff, who know them well. Staff notice quickly if any pupil needs extra support and make sure that they receive the help that they need with their learning or to manage their behaviour.

In recent years, the school has raised its expectations of what pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), should achieve.

Improvements to the curriculum have enabled pupils to achieve increasingly well across a range of subjects.<...br/>
Pupils typically behave well. They are attentive in lessons and work hard.

This means that learning is rarely disrupted. Pupils of all ages enjoy playing and learning together.

Pupils are proud to take on roles of responsibility in the school, such as becoming play leaders and school councillors.

They spoke with enthusiasm about how they are making the school a better place to be. The school provides a wide range of clubs and educational visits to broaden pupils' experiences. This helps them to discover new talents and interests.

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

Support from the multi-academy trust has driven forward improvements to the quality of education for pupils. This means that current pupils attain better than some of the most recent published data would suggest, particularly in mathematics.

The school has created a highly ambitious curriculum.

The small steps of knowledge that pupils should learn are carefully ordered, from the Reception Year to the end of Year 6. This ensures that staff are clear about what pupils need to learn and when subject content should be taught.

Staff, including those in the early years, are well trained to deliver the curriculum effectively in most subjects.

Support from the trust has helped them to develop their subject-specific expertise. Staff make regular checks on how well pupils have understood what has been taught. This helps them to spot any gaps in pupils' learning and provide extra support to address these gaps.

As a result, most pupils remember their learning well. They make meaningful connections between their current and previous learning. This prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education.

In a few subjects, the school does not have enough oversight in how well the curriculums are being delivered. Recent changes to the way in which a few subjects are led mean that some staff are familiarising themselves with the expectations of new roles. This means that the school is not as adept at picking up weaknesses in teachers' expertise.

At times, this hinders some pupils from making the progress that they should through these curriculums.

Reading is at the heart of the school's curriculum. Children in the early years eagerly anticipate their daily story sessions.

Older pupils benefit from the high-quality texts that their teachers share with them. This helps most pupils to expand their vocabulary and develop their knowledge across the curriculum. However, the school does not ensure that older pupils practise their reading as often as they should.

On occasion, this hinders how fluently and confidently some of these pupils read. In turn, this affects how well these pupils access the wider curriculum.

From the beginning of the Reception Year, children follow a well-structured phonics programme.

Staff are adept at spotting any pupils who struggle to keep up with the programme. These pupils benefit from regular support. Pupils typically develop into accurate readers by the time that they leave the school.

The school identifies the specific needs of pupils with SEND at the earliest opportunity. It ensures that the support it provides meets these needs effectively. Teachers make sure that the delivery of the curriculum is carefully adapted so that these pupils access the same ambitious curriculum as their friends.

This enables pupils with SEND to achieve well and to participate in all aspects of school life.

The school places a high priority on supporting pupils' well-being. Winston, the school dog, enhances this work and is a much-loved member of the school community.

Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful. Pupils conduct themselves well around the school. From the early years to Year 6, pupils demonstrate a positive attitude to learning.

This helps them to achieve their best. As a result of the school's determined efforts, most pupils attend school more regularly than they did in the past.

The school has designed an ambitious programme to support pupils' wider development.

Pupils learn to recognise and value the richness and diversity found in modern-day Britain. This helps them to build an increasing knowledge of differences between people.

Staff enjoy working at the school.

They appreciate the support that they receive from the trust and the school to fulfil their roles effectively. Trustees and members of the local governing board have a keen understanding of the school's strengths. They have prioritised appropriate areas for further improvement.

Trustees and governors challenge and support the school well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some older pupils do not practise their reading as often as they should.

As a result, some of these pupils do not read with confidence and fluency as well as they could. The school should ensure that pupils have sufficient high-quality opportunities to practise their reading and become increasingly confident, fluent readers. ? In a few subjects, the school's checks on curriculum delivery are underdeveloped.

This means that the school is not sufficiently alert to gaps in staff's expertise in making sure that pupils learn all that they should. At times, this slows some pupils' learning in these subjects. The school should ensure that it increases its oversight of these curriculums so that pupils develop a deeper body of knowledge in these subjects.