East Park Primary School

Overview

Leaders have fostered an environment where “respect is embedded and success is celebrated,” resulting in pupils who are “extremely positive about their education.” The school benefits from a “strong” safeguarding culture and “exemplary” behaviour, with staff managing routines consistently to maintain a “calm and orderly atmosphere.”

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate “exemplary” behaviour and understand clear expectations, with bullying being rare and concerns addressed promptly via “worry boxes” and “emotionally available adults.”
• The curriculum is well-structured, identifying “key concepts, knowledge and vocabulary” for long-term retention, supported by a “one, three, five model” for checking understanding.
• Early reading and phonics are prioritised from Nursery, with targeted support ensuring pupils read books matching their phonics knowledge.
• The school is highly inclusive, with leaders going “above and beyond” to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Staff benefit from effective professional development and collaborative working across the trust, while governors actively hold leaders to account for curriculum development.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure activities consistently support pupils to develop their use of “subject-specific vocabulary” in lessons and written work, as this is not currently routine.
• Staff in the early years should be confident in knowing “curricular intentions” to avoid missed opportunities to build on what children already know.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with a “strong” safeguarding culture where pupils know how to stay safe online and can identify trusted adults.