Waterloo Primary Academy

Overview

Waterloo Primary Academy is described as a “calm and happy place in which to learn” where pupils have a “deep sense of belonging.” The report highlights that leaders have established a culture where “everyone can thrive,” resulting in pupils who “behave well and make progress.” While the school meets the expected standard across most areas, it notes that some older pupils have “legacy gaps in their knowledge” from previous years.

Strengths

• Early years leadership is “highly effective,” with a “relentless focus on teaching all children the basic skills they need.”
• The behaviour culture has been “transformed,” with pupils described as “kind, polite and courteous” and bullying being “rare.”
• Leaders have implemented a “rich and relevant curriculum” that is “interesting to pupils” and helps to “engage and inspire them.”
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are “typically well supported” by “well-trained and informed staff.”
• Staff build “warm and caring relationships” with pupils, helping them to “feel safe” and fostering a united understanding of the ‘Waterloo Way’.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should support teachers to ensure tasks “consistently match pupils’ learning needs and starting points.”
• Leaders should ensure that “pupils’ gaps and misconceptions in learning are addressed swiftly in lessons.”
• Leaders should further support pupils’ regular attendance to reduce the proportion of those who are “persistently absent.”

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing “an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and concerns being “actively identified, acted upon and managed.”