Outwood Primary Academy Newstead Green

Overview

This is a “warm and inclusive school” where pupils are “kind and considerate” and enjoy positive relationships with staff. Leaders have shown “relentless determination” to provide the best education, resulting in an “ambitious curriculum” that ensures high-quality learning across subjects. The school fosters a strong culture of respect, with pupils actively engaged in their personal development and citizenship.

Strengths

• Leaders have “rapidly accelerated the pace of school improvement” since the predecessor school’s last inspection.
• The curriculum is “ambitious” and “well sequenced,” with subjects like design and technology being “exceptionally well planned and delivered.”
• Pupils are “passionate about books,” demonstrating a strong love of reading supported by “pupil reading ambassadors.”
• Staff receive effective training and support, creating a “culture of respect and teamwork” with positive coaching and mentoring.
• Leaders ensure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can “access the whole curriculum” through practical resources and tailored support.

Areas to improve

• Pupils who struggle to read are not given books that “accurately match the phonics that they know,” leading to a lack of confidence.
• These pupils do not have “regular opportunities to practise reading to an adult,” resulting in reading that lacks accuracy and fluency.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with a “strong culture of safeguarding” and clear systems for reporting concerns and making timely referrals.