Highfield Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 July 2022

At the very heart of Highfield Church of England Primary School are the values of love, serve and trust. These values are instilled in children from the very start of their school journey in Reception. Threaded through every part of the school is the Christian ethos. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are encouraged to make friends. They do so readily and get on well together. They share their thoughts, take time to hear the views of their friends and think about others before themselves. Positive relationships between staff and pupils ensure that pupils are known as individuals. Their different needs are identified, and staff support pupils well so that each of them makes good progress. Pupils say that everyone is included. High expectations and clear routines are important and are regularly reinforced by staff. This leads to a calm, purposeful learning environment. As a result, pupils behave consistently well across the school and do well in class. A committed and active school council enables pupils to have a voice about what they want to change in the school. They use their collective voice wisely to influence decision-making about improvements to many aspects of the school.

What the school should improve

• A small number of subjects are not implemented as well as others. This is because teachers' subject knowledge in these subjects is not as developed as it is in other subjects. Teachers also lack an understanding of the most effective approaches to teach these subjects. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is consistently well implemented in all subjects.
• There is not a strategically formulated plan to further develop staff subject knowledge across subjects or to develop leadership at all levels. As a result, improvements in these areas have been slower than in other areas. Leaders need to ensure that all leaders and staff receive appropriate professional development to have maximum impact.
• Leaders' monitoring and evaluation are not strong enough. This means that the actions they take are not focused precisely enough on what it is that needs to improve. Leaders need to ensure that they know how and when different aspects of the school's work, including the implementation of the curriculum, will be monitored, so that this monitoring can routinely inform the actions they take.

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