Whitefriars School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 March 2024

Pupils are happy at this calm, inclusive school. There has been much change in the last 12 months. The new leadership team is clear in its ambition for the school and the standards it has set. The impact of the changes can be seen and felt in every area of the school. Staff expect pupils to do well, and pupils are learning to rise to this challenge. This is a school where everyone is welcome and encouraged to do their best. There is a sense of community and belonging forged between the primary and secondary phases. When new pupils join, they are welcomed into the community. Pupils are kept safe and feel safe because there are systems in place to support them if any problems should arise. Bullying is rare. If it does occur, pupils know staff will act swiftly to resolve it. Pupils behave well in lessons and during unstructured times. They are given opportunities to develop their own leadership skills through the community group, who are working to improve the school and the local environment. They relish the opportunities to learn outside the classroom, for example by taking part in the primary 'mini-Duke of Edinburgh's Award' scheme.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the knowledge pupils should learn and remember has not been as clearly identified. As a result, there is not a consistent focus on these concepts and assessment is not used precisely to check what pupils have learned. This means that misconceptions are not routinely identified or addressed which limits pupils' achievement in these subjects. The school should ensure that the knowledge pupils need to learn is clarified across the curriculum so that teaching and assessment can be more closely matched with what pupils should be learning.

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