Heathwood Lower School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 May 2023

Heathwood Lower School is a calm and purposeful place to learn. Pupils are happy here. They are polite, friendly and confident talking to adults. Pupils respond very well to leaders' high expectations of behaviour. Pupils learn an interesting and stimulating curriculum. They are focused and engaged in lessons. They learn to read fluently and accurately. Pupils who need it get additional support to help them learn successfully. Kindness is important and is routinely demonstrated by pupils and staff. Pupils' relationships with each other are very positive. They understand the difference between bullying and falling out with their friends. Pupils say that bullying rarely happens and are confident that staff deal with it effectively. Leaders and staff provide high-quality pastoral support. Pupils feel safe in school. Pupils celebrate their achievements in assemblies and appreciate the recognition they receive. Pupils enjoy taking on roles that contribute towards improving the school for everyone. For example, pupils can become sports leaders or stand for one of the various school councils. Parents are very positive about the school. One parent, typical of many, commented 'there is a lovely family feel at Heathwood where everyone is welcomed and included'.

What the school should improve

• The new curriculum for the foundation subjects has been in place for a relatively short time and has been implemented across all year groups. This means that the older pupils have not benefited from the experience which younger pupils are now getting due to the different sequencing of the previous curriculum. Leaders must continue to develop the use of assessment in these subjects so that gaps in experience and knowledge are identified and topics adapted to take this into account.
• Recent changes in subject leadership mean that some curriculum leaders are not yet fully familiar with their new areas of responsibility. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders are supported to develop their own subject expertise, so that they can accurately monitor and evaluate the implementation of the curriculum.

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