The Willows School and Early Years Centre

Overview

The Willows School and Early Years Centre continues to be a good school, where pupils are happy and meet high expectations for learning and conduct. A sense of calm pervades classrooms, supported by an inclusive culture and a strong community feel that encourages pupils to become positive citizens.

Strengths

• Pupils are considerate, inclusive, and learn about healthy relationships and safety, knowing who their trusted adults are.
• Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum with well-sequenced subjects, particularly in mathematics, ensuring children are ready for key stage 1.
• Staff in Nursery and Reception expertly plan activities for early numeracy, literacy, and physical development, resulting in confident learners.
• Behaviour is consistently positive with extremely rare low-level disruption, creating purposeful learning environments.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties well, providing effective support and challenge to leaders.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure all subjects are well sequenced, as a small number of non-core subjects are not yet as precise as they could be.
• Support for pupils with the most complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) needs refinement, as not all staff are trained well enough to provide precise support across the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff trained to spot risks, concerns raised swiftly, and robust checks conducted on all staff.