Whiteknights Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school, and value their teachers' high expectations and the education they receive. They do well at this school, and achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils like learning new things, such as Latin, which they start at the beginning of Year 3.

Pupils work with positive attitudes. They settle to work quickly, try their best and are proud of their achievements. Pupils behave well and are respectful and thoughtful of others.

They know the school's 'Golden Rules', and say that these help everyone to know how to behave. The school is a happy, cohesive community characterised by warm, respectful relationships. Bullying or any form of u...nkindness are never tolerated.

Pupils feel safe, and know that staff are always there to support them and to sort out any worries.

Pupils like the range of clubs on offer, with a virtual building game club being a particular favourite. Various trips, including residential visits, strengthen and enrich pupils' learning and experience of school.

Pupils in Year 6 appreciate the opportunity to work towards the school's 'Knighthood' award. They value the various extra responsibilities they hold when they join Year 6.

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

Leaders have high expectations, driven by their vision for all pupils to 'grow greatness'.

Their strong focus and successful approach to reading, writing and mathematics have enabled pupils to shine in these subjects. As a result, published outcomes, year-on-year, remain consistently high. However, pupils' achievement in some other subjects is not as deep or secure.

Currently, some foundation subjects are timetabled for very short blocks of time. This results in significant periods of time between pupils' experiences of these subjects. Consequently, some pupils find it difficult to connect with and remember previous learning.

This limits the impact of the curriculum.

Reading is at the heart of the school's work, reflecting leaders' understanding of its pivotal place in pupils' education. Sound awareness begins in Nursery and flows through to phonics in Reception.

Effective phonics teaching gets children off to a secure start to reading. Leaders keep reading under review and address any minor inconsistencies. Daily practice helps pupils to read accurately and fluently.

Swift support is put in place for any pupils at risk of not keeping up.

Across the school, pupils learn from many texts, often linked to their curriculum topics. Staff read daily to their classes and introduce pupils to new vocabulary.

This helps pupils to get to know and enjoy many stories. Through this, they acquire new vocabulary, develop their comprehension and cultivate their own reading preferences.

Ongoing checks enable staff to identify any pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff ensure that pupils with SEND, and those who speak English as an additional language, are supported well to fully access the curriculum. Leaders provide timely pastoral support, including nurture groups, for pupils who need help with social issues, mental health or anxiety.

Teachers plan sequences of lessons that build on what pupils already know.

They check pupils' understanding and address any gaps or misconceptions in their learning. Most teachers know when pupils are ready to move on. However, this is not always the case in early years.

During independent learning times, staff do not use these times of the day to build on and develop children's learning as well as they could. They do not consistently intervene when children lose focus or are not engaging well with learning.

The school offers pupils a good range of enrichment activities, including clubs, sporting events and musical performances.

Pupils learn about the work and influence of significant people from the world of music, the arts, history and science. Older pupils learn about political figures who have brought about positive change in the world to issues such as equality and democracy.

Leaders and trustees are united in their ambitious vision and high aspirations.

The trust's regular reviews support them well in fulfilling their roles and holding leaders to account. Staff benefit from sharing good practice with their counterparts in other trust schools. They enjoy working at the school and appreciate leaders' work to help them manage workload.

New entrants to the profession value their good-quality training.

Parents hold the school in high esteem and are full of praise for the education and care that their children receive. They appreciate the opportunities they have to attend one of the school's regular 'SPLAT' sessions.

This helps them to find out more about what their children are learning and how they can support them at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in this school.

Staff know pupils well. They are alert and responsive to anything that may indicate the slightest concern. Leaders waste no time in involving outside agencies or in putting in place early help when this is needed.

Record-keeping is systematic and enables leaders to build a complete picture of any worries about pupils. Recruitment processes are equally thorough. The trust has strong processes to enable trustees to maintain close oversight of safeguarding.

The curriculum helps pupils to learn how to keep safe, including when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Currently, a handful of foundation subjects are timetabled for very short blocks of time within the school year, sometimes for no more than one or two weeks at a time. This means that there are very long gaps of time between pupils' experiences of these subjects.

Consequently, some pupils find it difficult to reconnect with or recall previous learning. As a result, they are not building their knowledge securely or deeply enough in these subjects. Leaders need to review their current arrangements for the implementation and timetabling of the foundation subjects to address this.

• During independent learning times in the early years, staff are not always quick to spot when some children are not engaging with activities. Sometimes, staff do not use these times well enough to engage children in dialogue, enrich their play or build on their learning. This means that some children are not always benefiting fully from the activities on offer or developing their knowledge and understanding as well as they could be.