Westcliffe Primary School

Overview

Westcliffe Primary School is described as a “warm and welcoming environment” where pupils have “strong relationships” with staff and peers. Leaders ensure high expectations for behaviour and learning, resulting in a community where pupils are polite, respectful, and confident in their ability to seek help. The school provides a supportive setting for all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Strengths

• Reading and communication are taught effectively, with “effective daily phonics sessions” helping pupils become “more and more confident in their reading.”
• Staff provide targeted support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring reading and writing are “not a barrier” to accessing the curriculum.
• The school is inclusive, with pupils with additional needs encouraged to attend clubs and activities alongside their peers, such as the sign language club.
• Leaders maintain a “robust system for checking pupils’ attendance,” offering support like a free breakfast club to improve engagement.
• Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe online and avoid “harmful friendships,” demonstrating strong personal development.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must add more detail to the curriculum in some subjects so that “all the knowledge that pupils need to learn is clear for teachers,” addressing current imprecisions.
• Leaders and governors should focus less on analysing test results and more on improving the “substance of what is taught” and how well pupils retain it.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that staff are well trained to identify concerns and that leaders work with external agencies to protect children.