Newton Westpark Primary School

Overview

Newton Westpark Primary School is rated as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories. The report describes a school where pupils feel ‘happy and safe’, benefit from ‘warm and caring relationships with staff’, and work with ‘enthusiasm’. Leaders have high aspirations, and the curriculum is generally well-designed to prepare pupils for their next steps, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Pupils are ‘kind and caring towards each other’ and behave well, with leaders dealing ‘quickly and effectively with any rare incidents of bullying’.
• Teachers use assessment strategies effectively to check learning, ensuring pupils’ knowledge is ‘secure before they move on to new learning’.
• Reading is prioritised, with staff delivering a new phonics programme well; pupils ‘learn to read fluently and accurately’.
• Leaders identify pupils with SEND quickly and work with external specialists to ensure these pupils ‘access learning alongside their peers’.
• Staff feel ‘well supported by leaders to manage their workloads’ and appreciate leaders’ consideration of their well-being.

Areas to improve

• Curriculum leaders must finalise thinking on ‘subject-specific vocabulary’ in some subjects so teachers know what to teach and when, addressing gaps that hamper pupils’ ability to communicate confidently.
• Leaders should take effective action to improve the attendance of a small number of pupils who are ‘persistently absent’ and miss out on important learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are ‘effective’, with a ‘robust culture’ established where staff are trained to identify risks and respond swiftly to concerns.