Broadwater Down Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 March 2023

The school's values of community, diversity and excellence are deeply rooted here. Leaders have built trusting and respectful relationships with every pupil. Pupils receive high-quality pastoral support. They feel happy and safe and are ready to learn. One parent commented, 'The school has a wonderful community feel,' while another said, 'Staff know every pupil well, and care for them all as individuals.' Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well. Pupils are enthusiastic in lessons. They enjoy learning and work hard to achieve the high expectations staff have of them. They know that teachers want them to do well. As a result, pupils are motivated to do their best. Staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour. Pupils work and play well together. Pupils understand clearly the school rules and why they need these. They appreciate the help that teachers give them to understand their feelings and make the right choices. Pupils know that it is important to be kind to each other. As a result, bullying hardly ever happens at this school. On the rare occasion that pupils fall out, they confidently use the 'power of five' to resolve conflict quickly.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, leaders have not identified the knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils need to learn precisely enough. Teachers are not always clear about what pupils must know and remember. In these subjects, pupils do not always achieve as well as they could. Leaders need to continue to refine the curriculum to ensure that teachers know exactly what to teach and the order in which to teach it, so that pupils can achieve well across the curriculum.
• In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment effectively to check whether pupils are keeping up. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that are not addressed quickly enough. Leaders should ensure that assessment is sharpened, so that teachers can make appropriate checks on what pupils need to know and remember in all subjects. This will enable teachers to identify and provide support for pupils who are at risk of falling behind.

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