Westcliffe Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 November 2022

Leaders have ensured that the school is a warm and welcoming environment for all members of the community. Pupils, staff, parents and carers feel comfortable in the school. Pupils have strong relationships with the staff and each other. Pupils are polite and speak maturely for their age. They know the importance of being tolerant and respectful to all. Pupils talk about concepts like identity and the rule of law with real understanding. Staff have high expectations for pupils. This starts right at the beginning for children in Nursery who are taught to take turns and use equipment independently. Pupils continue to behave well throughout school because staff are clear with them what the rules are. Staff celebrate when pupils have done well through the signature system and 'What Went Well' assemblies. Pupils want to please their teachers and they know staff will help them if they are worried about something. This includes issues around bullying. Pupils have confidence that any unkind behaviour will be dealt with quickly before it becomes a bigger problem. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to borrow books from the library. Pupils take considerable care of these books because they enjoy reading them so much. Year 6 pupils still like reading and talking about books that they read in Year 1.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, leaders have not planned out the curriculum with enough precision about the key components of knowledge that pupils need to be taught. Teachers are sometimes not clear what to revisit or teach, and sometimes make activity choices that are not helpful for long-term memory acquisition. Leaders should add more detail to the curriculum so that all the knowledge that pupils need to learn is clear for teachers.
• Leaders and governors are not sufficiently prioritising the curriculum. Too much time and attention are used on activities that analyse symptoms of gaps in the curriculum, and this takes capacity away from the work to improve the substance of what is taught. Leaders and governors should develop systems and processes that monitor the quality of education, and focus on what is taught and how well this is retained by pupils.

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