Newport Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 February 2025

Pupils at Newport Primary are happy, polite and welcoming to visitors. Pupils feel safe at school. This is because of the relationships they have with trusted adults. Pupils feel confident to speak to any member of staff about any concerns they have. The school has established a clear set of rules, which most pupils try extremely hard to follow. Sometimes, the behaviour of a few pupils disrupts learning for others. The curriculum pupils learn matches the scope of what is expected nationally. However, expectations of what pupils can achieve are not as high as they could be. Learning is not adapted well enough for all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils do not always develop the skills and knowledge they need. This limits some pupils' achievement, including in national assessments and, consequently, impacts upon their readiness for the next stage of their education. Pupils have opportunities to take on useful responsibilities, including serving as school councillors, playleaders, buddies or house captains. There are a range of clubs which pupils enjoy, for example arts and crafts, performing arts and multi-sports. This helps pupils develop their talents and interests.

What the school should improve

• Recent improvements to the curriculum are new and are not well established. Teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve are inconsistent. Until very recently, the school had not set out what pupils needed to learn precisely or been clear with staff about how it should be taught. This means that some pupils are not securing the knowledge and skills needed to achieve well. The school should ensure that staff receive the support they need to raise their expectations of what pupils can achieve and develop staff expertise, so they are able to deliver the curriculum effectively.
• The quality of the provision and support for pupils with SEND is variable. As a result, some pupils do not receive the adaptations they need to learn the curriculum successfully. This leads to pupils becoming frustrated, which in turn results in disruptive behaviour. The school should ensure that staff understand how to adapt their teaching to ensure pupils with SEND are fully engaged and learn the curriculum consistently well.
• In part, due to the turbulence in leadership over time, the subject leadership roles are not fully in place. This means the oversight of the impact of the curriculum is not being closely checked. Consequently, there are variations in the strength of subject knowledge across the subjects being taught. The school should continue to focus on establishing the leadership roles to strengthen leadership so that there is greater consistency in the checking of the quality of the curriculum and subject knowledge across the curriculum.
• In the early years, the learning environment and the curriculum delivery do not provide children with the foundational knowledge they need to be well prepared for Year 1. The school should ensure that the curriculum, including how this is supported by the learning environment, effectively supports children to learn what they need to be able to access key stage 1 successfully.

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