Warden Park Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

This school is a happy and harmonious community. Pupils of all ages are curious, enthusiastic and try hard in lessons. From the start in Nursery, the school has high expectations of children's capabilities and behaviour. Lessons are calm and focused. Pupils are proud to explain what they learn and remember from previous topics. The school promotes a keen sense that everyone has a part to play in creating such a positive community. The warm, friendly atmosphere in school is testament to the school's success. Pupils' conduct around the school is polite and respectful. Older pupils have a wealth of leadership roles to aspire to. They understand the purpose of these roles, responding maturely to the trust that the school places in them. The school is committed to helping all pupils have the best possible future life chances. In terms of pupils' attitudes, personal qualities and character, the school is already very successful. However, there is more to do to place pupils well academically as they move on to their next schools. Recent leavers have often not secured the English and mathematics knowledge and skills that they should. The school is already taking appropriate steps to address this.

What the school should improve

• In 2024, outcomes of national tests at the end of key stage 2 were significantly below average in reading, writing and mathematics. This has meant that too many pupils have not been prepared as well as they should for their secondary education. The school should ensure that its strategies to raise attainment are implemented rigorously and reliably, and check that they are making the difference intended.
• The quality with which some of the school's teaching strategies are adopted is too variable. This variability is sometimes about how well tasks are designed, demonstrated and/or adapted for the intended purpose. At other times, teachers do not check pupils' understanding carefully and adjust their teaching accordingly. These inconsistencies mean that pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that classroom practice is consistently of sufficient quality to promote effective learning for all pupils.
• Those responsible for governance rely too heavily on the local context to interpret the school's performance. They do not use available information that statistically compares the school's context and performance with other schools nationally. This means they are less well equipped than they should be to challenge the school and hold it to account. Trustees and the local governing body should ensure that they are familiar with available information about how the school compares with other schools nationally and use this in their work to hold the school to account constructively.

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