Bridgewater Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 November 2022

Bridgewater Primary School is a friendly and welcoming place to learn. Pupils are happy and safe. They have many opportunities to develop their talents and interests. Pupils share their successes and celebrate with others during assemblies. Teachers support pupils to become confident and resilient learners. Pupils get help with work when they need it, and this is reassuring for them. They enjoy talking about their learning and can explain what they learned in the past. Pupils enjoy opportunities to learn outside. Equally, they enjoy spending time reading in the library. Leaders have made some improvements to the curriculum that have had a positive impact on pupils' progress. Most pupils achieve well across the subjects they study. They learn what they need to be ready for the next stage in their learning. Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils behave well in and out of lessons. Pupils say that bullying is rare, but if it happens, the teachers resolve it well. Pupils learn to understand and respect differences. They show kindness and consideration towards others.

What the school should improve

• There is a small group of pupils in key stage 2 who still need to become fluent readers. They attend extra reading sessions. However, these pupils do not know all the phonics sounds. They need to learn the sounds and practise reading them. Leaders should ensure that extra support for these pupils teaches them the phonic knowledge that they need to read fluently and accurately.
• Occasionally, teaching in mathematics does not provide the instruction and explanation to help pupils to understand how to explain their thinking as leaders intended. This means that some pupils do not learn some important skills to help them build on what they already know and can do. Leaders need to ensure that teachers implement leaders' curriculum plans as intended in all subjects.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)