Devonshire Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

Devonshire Primary School is a welcoming and friendly place where everyone is valued. Staff take the time to greet pupils warmly each morning. This creates a positive start to the day. Nurturing relationships exist between staff and pupils. This inspires pupils to be kind to classmates, staff and visitors. In the early years, children play well together, take turns and share. Pupils feel proud to be part of this inclusive school community. The school provides a broad and balanced education. This begins in the early years, where secure foundations for learning are built. The school has high expectations for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, pupils want to learn and enjoy their learning. They understand and embody the school vision to 'be determined, positive and supportive'. At lunchtime, pupils participate in art, sports games and building activities. All pupils take part in lessons about nature and the outdoors. Pupils also have the opportunity to attend a range of clubs, including choir, philosophy, martial arts and creative writing. These experiences support pupils to demonstrate the school's '6R' values, which include resilience, relationships and resourcefulness. The school has built a strong community ethos. Parents and carers speak of the nurturing environment and warm pastoral care provided to their children.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, the knowledge, vocabulary and skills pupils need to learn year-on- year is not designed effectively enough. Consequently, some pupils do not build this knowledge well enough as they progress through the school. The school should ensure that the curriculum in these subjects is designed and implemented in a way that helps pupils build on prior learning and develops a deep and rich understanding of the full curriculum.
• On occasion, the school does not check pupils' understanding carefully enough. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning and are not fully ready to learn new content. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to check pupils' learning systematically and respond to any gaps or misconceptions swiftly so that pupils achieve well in all subjects.
• Although safeguarding is a key priority in the school, and there is an open culture of vigilance, the school does not always communicate or record its concerns with regard to safeguarding appropriately. This means that sometimes key information is missing from records. The school needs to ensure that all staff communicate and record any concerns in line with the school's safeguarding policy. Safeguarding records should contain accurate and sufficiently clear information of the concerns raised by staff and the steps taken to ensure pupils' safety and well-being.

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