Exeter Road Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 February 2025

Pupils enjoy coming to this welcoming and inclusive school in the heart of Exmouth. They form strong relationships with staff and know who to talk to if they have a worry. Pupils trust staff to act on any concerns about bullying. As a result, they feel safe in the school. The school is ambitious for 'every child to succeed'. In the early years, children make a strong start to their education. However, in the rest of the school, much of the curriculum is in an early stage of implementation. Pupils struggle to remember what they have been taught. Published outcomes in 2024 show that not enough pupils in Year 6 leave the school able to write or apply their mathematics well enough. The school has high expectations for how pupils behave. Pupils understand the 'ready, respectful and safe' rules. They show respect to others, including visitors. Pupils enthusiastically participate in their learning and are keen to join in. Pupils support one another on the playground and in the 'talking shelter.' Here, mental health ambassadors greet other pupils with a friendly smile and talk about any concerns they may have. Pupils enjoy the clubs on offer like Spanish and football.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects the school has not defined the key disciplinary knowledge that pupils must learn and the order in which they should learn it. As a result, sometimes pupils do not develop a body of subject-specific skills and gain the deep understanding of the topics they study. The school must ensure that disciplinary knowledge is sequenced so that pupils know more and remember more.
• The school has not ensured staff have the expertise to check where pupils have misconceptions in their learning and adapt their teaching to address them. Consequently, pupils do not learn the important knowledge as securely as the school expects. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and expertise to identify and address misconceptions in learning when they arise. The school must continue its work to refine assessment so that learning builds on what pupils already know and closes gaps in knowledge across the wider curriculum.
• In some subjects, the school's oversight of the curriculum is at an early stage of development. This has limited the school's work to evaluate the impact of actions taken around how well pupils are achieving the aims of the curriculum. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to enable the intended curriculum to be delivered consistently.
• Historically, the school has not ensured that governors have the knowledge to evaluate the school well enough. Therefore, they do not challenge the school as effectively as they should. The school should ensure that governors have the expertise to robustly challenge leaders to ensure they secure rapid and sustained improvement.

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