Winthorpe Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 March 2023

The school's motto of 'learning together, growing together' is evident in the day-to-day operation of the school. Pupils work hard and enjoy each other's company. As one pupil told an inspector: 'We get on well. We have high expectations of each other.' Pupils know the school's five values, which include being hardworking, ambitious, curious and respectful. They understand how all the values help them to make a positive contribution to their school community. Behaviour is consistently positive. Pupils are polite and courteous. They enjoy the weekly gold book assembly, earning certificates, school badges and earning tokens for their rainbow group. Poor behaviour is rare. Pupils value the wide range of extra-curricular activities that are on offer, including chess, yoga and reading club. They make good use of these. They benefit from a programme of residential visits, which culminates in a trip abroad. This year's trip to Paris is eagerly anticipated. Pupils make a positive contribution to their school. They are confident that they have a voice. The work of the school council is regarded highly. Prefects are linked to the school's values. They model these values to younger pupils and around the school.

What the school should improve

• The school's curriculum is well planned and sequenced. However, in a small number of cases, it does not make clear the most important content that pupils are expected to commit to their long-term memory. As a result, there are minor inconsistencies in which parts of the curriculum pupils can recall. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum consistently makes clear the most important content that pupils are expected to know and remember.
• The early years curriculum makes clear what children are expected to know and do term by term. However, the assessment criteria that leaders use does not fully mirror the intent of the curriculum. This means that assessments do not accurately assess how well children learn the planned curriculum. Leaders should ensure that assessments in the early years are closely aligned to the intent of the curriculum.
• In a small number of cases, teachers do not set work that caters for the full range of abilities in their class. This means that some pupils are set work that is too easy or too hard for them. Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently set work that caters for the full range of abilities in their class.

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