White Bridge Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 May 2024

Pupils at White Bridge Primary School are kind, caring and curious. From the very start of Reception, they build strong relationships with adults and learn how to manage their emotions. Pupils feel safe and behave well. They focus in lessons, talking to their peers, asking questions and responding to teacher feedback. Pupils interact with their peers in a respectful way. They understand that everyone is different. From early years, pupils enjoy their learning. They know learning is important so that they can be successful in later life. They learn to love reading. Pupils learn a varied curriculum and benefit from clear examples from their teachers. They make good use of the exciting and challenging activities that staff plan, and as a result, pupils achieve well. Sometimes pupils find it hard to recall their prior learning. Pupils are keen to take on responsibility. They are enthusiastic about the leadership roles they have. These include being reading ambassadors, school council members and prefects. They enjoy representing their school at local, county and national competitions and proudly talk about their achievements. Pupils attend a range of clubs, including dodgeball and cyber-kids, and the choice of clubs is growing.

What the school should improve

• Staff do not check well enough that older pupils have books that are well matched to their reading stage. This means that the books they are reading are not always well matched, and they are not as fluent in their reading as they should be because they do not get enough practice. The school needs to ensure that staff check that the books that pupils are reading are suitable for their reading ability.
• Leaders are unclear if the curriculum in some areas is having the desired impact. Leaders need to ensure that they carry out checks on the curriculum to ensure that pupils are achieving well throughout the curriculum.
• In some subjects, staff do not systematically check what pupils have learned over time. They do not always know if pupils are ready for new learning or if they have retained prior learning. This means that pupils struggle to recall prior learning and make connections with learning that have come before. The school needs to ensure that staff are supported well to be able to accurately check what pupils know and remember.

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