Bush Hill Park Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 July 2023

Pupils are enthusiastic to learn here. Leaders foster a safe environment, where pupils feel happy. Teachers encourage pupils to respect others, act responsibly and to overcome challenges. Leaders have high expectations for the academic work and behaviour of all pupils. Low- level disruption is rare and teachers deal with it quickly when it happens. Pupils are safe. They said that everyone gets along, they are kind to each other and that they make friends easily. Leaders organise sports clubs, including football, gymnastics and basketball. The school choir is popular, too. Children in the early years attend educational visits to the local area, such as the park. All pupils learn about different world faiths and visit different places of worship, including churches and mosques. Leaders arrange leadership opportunities for pupils. For example, older pupils read to younger pupils and Year 6 rangers help younger pupils play sensibly during breaktimes. Pupils are taught to help in the local community. Some pupils go litter picking and others plant flowers in the local community. Leaders prioritise pupils' well-being. Pupils use the 'ask-it basket' as one of many ways to tell teachers how they feel.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, the school has not isolated and sequenced all the key knowledge that pupils need to learn over time. In these subjects, sometimes pupils cannot connect new knowledge to their prior learning and they do not develop the deep understanding of important concepts in these subjects that they could. The school should ensure that the key knowledge that they want pupils to know is clearly identified and sequenced across all subjects and phases.
• Teaching does not check that pupils understand and remember what they have been taught as routinely as it should. This means that pupils sometimes struggle to understand new and more complex knowledge that builds on prior learning. Leaders should ensure that teaching systematically checks that all pupils understand and remember what they have been taught and adapt future teaching as necessary.

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