Howitt Primary Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 27 June 2023

Pupils are at the heart of this inclusive and caring school. The values of 'achieve, care and enjoy' are central to school life. Pupils model these values well. They look after each other, love learning and achieve well. Leaders have high expectations of pupils' learning and behaviour. They are determined that all pupils will succeed. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Comments such as, 'This is a fantastic school, the staff go above and beyond' are typical. Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe. Staff know pupils well. They provide strong pastoral support. Pupils are polite and confident. They understand that 'everyone is treated with respect and care'. Pupils have positive attitudes to each other and adults. They behave well in lessons and around the school. Pupils understand what bullying is. They say that it rarely happens. Pupils say that staff would deal with it quickly if it did. Leaders encourage pupils to earn an 'embark award'. Pupils strive to receive medals for undertaking activities based on the core beliefs of 'family, integrity, teamwork and success'. Pupils benefit from many enrichment experiences. These include trips to the theatre in London, singing in the choir, and sporting competitions.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, leaders have not broken knowledge down into precise components. This makes it harder for pupils to learn new concepts. Pupils' knowledge is not as well developed as it could be in these subjects. Teachers are not always able to check how well pupils are learning new knowledge. Leaders should identify the precise knowledge that teachers need to teach in all subjects, so that pupils learn and remember more, and teachers have a clear understanding of what knowledge pupils have secured.
• Individual targets for some pupils with SEND are not precisely matched to their needs. Pupils' work shows that they have met their targets, but leaders do not identify exactly what pupils need to do to further progress with their learning. Leaders must ensure that pupils with SEND have targets that are matched more precisely to their needs, and regularly reviewed and checked.
• Despite leaders' best efforts, the proportion of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, who are regularly absent from school is too high. As a result, they are missing out on vital learning. Leaders and staff should continue to work with pupils and their families to reinforce attendance expectations and to make sure that pupils attend school regularly, so they can achieve as well as they could.

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