Willow Tree Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 15 October 2024

Pupils at this school are polite, charismatic and friendly. They readily welcome visitors and confidently engage others in thoughtful conversation. Pupils relish their education and their experience of school life. Their happiness shines through in the enthusiastic, friendly and purposeful atmosphere. The school is focused and driven in its desire to offer pupils a high-quality education as their gateway to a successful future. Many pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), meet the school's high aspirations for both academic achievement and in flourishing socially. Pupils behave exceptionally well. They are extremely proud of their school. Pupils, and children in the early years, reflect this in their highly positive attitudes towards their learning. Pupils relish being at school. Their calm conduct around school shows high levels of self-management. Pupils want to follow the school rules. Many do so independently. Pupils benefit from the thoughtfully considered programme to support their personal development. They learn about how to stay safe, including when they are online. Pupils are considerate and respectful of others who may have different backgrounds to their own. Pupils can take part in a range of opportunities to develop their talents and interests such as art, board games and cookery clubs.

What the school should improve

• On occasion, spelling and grammatical errors in pupils' work go unchecked. Additionally, a small number of pupils are not given sufficient opportunity to correct these mistakes. This means that some pupils do not have a secure enough grasp of spelling, grammar or punctuation principles and carry misconceptions over time. The school should ensure that staff identify and address these misunderstandings to enable pupils to convey the content of their writing more effectively.
• Some pupils have not been taught the correct letter formation or transcription practices, leading to a lack of automaticity in their writing. This hinders their ability to become effective writers and to create legible pieces of writing across the curriculum. The school should further refine the key transcriptional knowledge that pupils learn, including in the early years, and develop staff expertise to deliver the practice of handwriting effectively.

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