Westover Primary School

Overview

Westover Primary School is described as a “friendly, welcoming and caring” environment where pupils are “happy” and “feel safe.” Leaders maintain “high expectations” for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, fostering a culture of “kindness, resilience, curiosity and creativity.” The school has improved significantly since its previous inspection, with leaders demonstrating “ambitious” goals for a “broad, interesting and stimulating” curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils “thrive” and are “absorbed in their learning,” striving to “earn rewards” for hard work and good behaviour.
• Reading is a “top priority,” with staff delivering a new phonics programme “effectively” and providing support so pupils read with “fluency and with comprehension.”
• The school fosters a “respectful culture” where pupils act in a “kind and considerate manner” and understand that “everyone deserves to be treated the same.”
• Staff use “strong subject knowledge” to help pupils “securely build their knowledge over time” across most subjects.
• Leaders actively support staff well-being and are “mindful of their workload,” while trust leaders provide “robust systems” for monitoring effectiveness.

Areas to improve

• In “a few subjects,” pupils do not achieve as well as they could because “some teachers’ subject knowledge is variable.”
• Leaders must continue providing training to develop teachers’ expertise so they can “deliver the curriculum successfully” and ensure pupils develop their knowledge and understanding fully.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with leaders prioritising pupil welfare, carrying out timely recruitment checks, and working effectively with external agencies to secure support for pupils and families.