Newlands Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 February 2025

Pupils are happy and safe at this school. Staff are committed to supporting the well-being of pupils. Pupils benefit from caring and supportive relationships with staff. The school has high ambitions for pupils at this school, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There is a high proportion of pupils with education and health care plans. These pupils are supported well, including within the school's specialist resource provision for pupils with communication needs. Leaders have a clear vision for implementing a high-quality education for pupils. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they should in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2. The school has begun to make improvements to the curriculum. However, in some subjects the school has not done enough to ensure that pupils are well supported to learn and remember the most important knowledge. Children in the early years develop positive attitudes to their learning. However, the school's early years curriculum does not contain the necessary detail to prepare children for key stage 1 well. Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. They follow the school's expectations set out in 'The Newlands Way'. This helps pupils to cooperate, work hard and be respectful to others. Pupils understand the importance of equality and they celebrate diversity. They enjoy the opportunities they have to discuss these issues in school.

What the school should improve

• Some of the subject curriculums do not clearly identify the most important knowledge pupils should learn over time. There is variability in how well the curriculum is implemented. As a result, pupils do not consistently learn as well as they should in all subjects. The school should ensure that the revised curriculum clearly identifies the important knowledge pupils will learn over time. Leaders must ensure that staff are supported to implement the curriculum consistently well to enable all pupils to know and remember more over time.
• The English curriculum does not clearly set out how writing should be taught, from the early years onwards. As a result, some pupils are not able to write with accuracy or fluency. The school should ensure that the curriculum clearly identifies the basic knowledge and skills children need in the early years and how this should be built upon progressively, so that pupils are able to write independently with confidence and fluency over time.
• The school's approach to improving attendance is not successful for a small group of pupils. These pupils are absent too often. They miss valuable learning and enrichment opportunities. The school should continue to work closely with these pupils and their families to remove barriers to attendance.
• The early years curriculum does not identify and order the precise knowledge and skills that children need to learn during their time in the early years. Learning opportunities and activity choices are not as effective as they should be. As a result, some children are not prepared well for Year 1. The school should ensure that the early years curriculum is carefully sequenced to build learning from children's early starting points and implemented effectively, so that children are well prepared for key stage 1 and beyond.

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