Whiteknights Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 February 2023

Pupils enjoy school, and value their teachers' high expectations and the education they receive. They do well at this school, and achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils like learning new things, such as Latin, which they start at the beginning of Year 3. Pupils work with positive attitudes. They settle to work quickly, try their best and are proud of their achievements. Pupils behave well and are respectful and thoughtful of others. They know the school's 'Golden Rules', and say that these help everyone to know how to behave. The school is a happy, cohesive community characterised by warm, respectful relationships. Bullying or any form of unkindness are never tolerated. Pupils feel safe, and know that staff are always there to support them and to sort out any worries. Pupils like the range of clubs on offer, with a virtual building game club being a particular favourite. Various trips, including residential visits, strengthen and enrich pupils' learning and experience of school. Pupils in Year 6 appreciate the opportunity to work towards the school's 'Knighthood' award. They value the various extra responsibilities they hold when they join Year 6.

What the school should improve

• Currently, a handful of foundation subjects are timetabled for very short blocks of time within the school year, sometimes for no more than one or two weeks at a time. This means that there are very long gaps of time between pupils' experiences of these subjects. Consequently, some pupils find it difficult to reconnect with or recall previous learning. As a result, they are not building their knowledge securely or deeply enough in these subjects. Leaders need to review their current arrangements for the implementation and timetabling of the foundation subjects to address this.
• During independent learning times in the early years, staff are not always quick to spot when some children are not engaging with activities. Sometimes, staff do not use these times well enough to engage children in dialogue, enrich their play or build on their learning. This means that some children are not always benefiting fully from the activities on offer or developing their knowledge and understanding as well as they could be.

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