Willow Lane Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 April 2025

Pupils enjoy attending this school. They have warm relationships with staff and with each other. Pupils typically behave well and are respectful towards others. Those who struggle to manage their emotions receive the support they need from skilled staff. The school ensures that pupils learn in a calm and happy environment, where everyone is welcome. The school is ambitious for pupils' achievement, academically and personally. It is taking effective action to improve weaknesses in pupils' learning. These steps include redesigning the curriculum and ensuring that children get off to a positive start with their learning in the early years. However, there is variability in how well pupils build on their learning across key stage 1 and key stage 2. Some pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge that have not been addressed. This hinders these pupils from achieving as well as they should. Pupils have opportunities to broaden their experiences and to develop their talents. They enjoy attending a range of clubs, including chess and Latin. Pupils also represent the school at external events and go on many trips, including to London. The school encourages pupils to be active. For example, pupils learn a range of different sports and take part in sporting competitions.

What the school should improve

• The school's teaching of writing is not as effective as it could be. This means that some pupils do not develop the foundational skills they need in writing and do not achieve as well as they could across the curriculum. The school should ensure that there is an increased emphasis on teaching pupils the key knowledge and skills that they need in writing, so that they can successfully tackle the requirements of each stage of their education.
• The school's checks on learning do not consistently identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge. Consequently, pupils have many gaps in their learning that are not closed, which hinders them from achieving as well as they could across a range of subjects. The school should refine its approaches to assessment, so that gaps in pupils' knowledge can be rapidly closed across all subjects.
• Learning activities are not consistently well matched to pupils' next steps in learning. Consequently, pupils' learning does not build securely over time. The school should ensure that activities enable pupils to build on their next steps in learning and to deepen their understanding, so that they develop a secure body of knowledge.

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