Henry Whipple Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 July 2024

Pupils, staff and governors are united in their ambition for pupils to 'Believe, Belong and Achieve'. These three words underpin all aspects of the school's work. Pupils know what each of these principles means for them, their education and their school. Pupils are proud of the diverse nature of their school community. They enjoy learning about and celebrating each other's backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. Diversity days are highly valued. Pupils know what British values are and why they are important. They describe these as 'Global Values', saying that they should be applied across the world. The school's high expectations of behaviour are understood and followed. Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils treat each other respectfully. They are courteous to each other, adults and visitors. They understand the school's approach to poor behaviour, including warnings, yellow and red cards. They say that bullying is rare. They will not tolerate 'banter', explaining that it can be disguised bullying. Pupils are proud of the wide range of leadership responsibilities that they undertake. They describe, with enthusiasm, the impact of their work as: well-being and emotional health leaders; junior leadership members; reading champions; 'ECO' leaders; attendance officers; and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) leaders.

What the school should improve

• The early years curriculum is not fully sequenced. In a small number of places, the milestones that children are expected to achieve are not fully established, which is not always helpful in supporting children to build their learning over time. The school should ensure that, across all areas of learning, the early years curriculum is fully sequenced.
• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not make clear the precise content that pupils are expected to know and remember. As a result, in these subjects, there are some minor inconsistencies in what pupils know and remember. The school should ensure that, across all subjects, the curriculum makes consistently clear the precise content that pupils are expected to commit to their long-term memory.
• In some cases, the targets for pupils with SEND are not precise enough. They do not make clear the small, short-term improvements that pupils are expected to make. The school should ensure that the targets for pupils with SEND are consistently specific and measurable.

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