Northbrook Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 May 2024

Everyone is made to feel welcome at this caring school. Pupils are taught about the importance of treating others with respect. They value the supportive relationships that they have with staff. The school has raised its expectations of how well pupils should behave. Pupils walk sensibly around school and behave well in lessons. They enjoy the roles of responsibility provided to them, such as being part of different school leadership teams. Pupils are happy in school. They value the opportunities provided to them to develop their talents and interests. Pupils attend a range of clubs. They enjoy belonging to various groups, including the ecological team and the school choir. Older pupils support children in the Reception class to help them to settle into school and to develop their social skills and confidence. The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, due to weaknesses in the previous curriculum, a number of pupils, including those with SEND, have gaps in their learning that have not been fully addressed. This means that these pupils do not achieve as well as they should in a range of subjects, including reading and mathematics.

What the school should improve

• Some children in the early years, and pupils across key stage 1, who find reading difficult do not receive the support that they need to catch up. Some pupils read books that do not match the sounds that they know. This hinders their reading fluency and accuracy and hampers them from accessing the full curriculum. The school should ensure that staff are well equipped to offer support that enables pupils to read with confidence.
• Weaknesses in the previous curriculum mean that some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This makes it difficult for them to build on what they know when they learn from the newly refined subject curriculums. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to identify and address these gaps so that pupils are equipped with the knowledge that they need to approach subsequent learning with confidence.
• Some pupils struggle to recall what they have learned about different religions and cultures and how to maintain a healthy diet. This is because their knowledge of these concepts is not sufficiently developed. The school should ensure that pupils have greater opportunities to learn about these aspects so that they are fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

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