Exwick Heights Primary School

Inspection of Exwick Heights Primary School Exwick Lane, Exwick, Exeter, Devon EX4 2FB

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Gemma Wills. This school is part of the Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Moira Marder, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Philip Bostock.

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Overall effectiveness Good

Ofsted has not previously inspected Exwick Heights Primary School as an academy under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 as, until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection of the predecessor school. 17 and 18 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Exwick Heights Primary School thrive. They love coming to school. This is demonstrated by their high attendance. Pupils value their education experience. One pupil said, ‘This school is a safe and welcoming place where we learn new things every day.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils. Staff are determined for pupils to succeed. Pupils live up to these expectations and learn well. They are polite, well mannered and considerate of others. Equality is important to pupils. They ensure that everyone is valued and treated fairly. One pupil said, ‘In our school, everyone is unique and treated the same; we are all special.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ wider development is a strength of the school. The school go above and beyond to put in place a range of opportunities that develop pupils to be responsible, respectful and active citizens. For example, the school invites visitors from a diverse range of backgrounds to support pupils’ leaning about civil rights in history.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents speak highly of the school. They praise the care staff provide as well as the many opportunities available to pupils.

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better?

The school has an ambitious curriculum in place to help pupils build their knowledge well. Across all subjects, the essential knowledge the school wants pupils to know and remember is identified and sequenced well. Training is prioritised to develop staff expertise. This helps staff to teach the curriculum effectively.

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better?

Teachers use a variety of strategies to help pupils learn. Pupils build their knowledge and make links with what they have learned before. For example, ‘elicitation tasks’ are used across subjects to draw out prior knowledge before pupils begin a new unit of work. Revisiting prior learning helps pupils to remember the important knowledge they need to know. For example, in music, pupils speak confidently about musical terms, such as beat, rhythm, melody and pitch.

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better?

Warm relationships between staff and children mean children in the early years settle well. Within adult-led activities, staff model new learning and help children to develop language. For example, in mathematics, children learn the properties of a square before going on a shape hunt. However, during independent learning, the precise knowledge staff want children to know and remember is less clear. Consequently, some children are not supported as well as they are in adult-led sessions to deepen their understanding. This stalls progress for some children.

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better?

The school are ambitious to make a difference to disadvantaged pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Adaptations 17 and 18 October 2023

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are in place to help these pupils learn the curriculum. For example, targeted questions and individual feedback supports learning for these pupils.

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There is a strong culture of reading at this school. Staff have received the training they need to teach the phonics programme with accuracy. Pupils who need extra help are identified and supported to catch up. Most pupils read books that match the sounds they know. This helps them to build their fluency in reading. The school ensures that all pupils have access to a wide range of high-quality texts. As a result, pupils develop a real enthusiasm for reading.

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The school is calm and orderly. There are high expectations of pupils. This means pupils show positive attitudes to their learning, both in lessons and around the school. This starts in the early years where children learn routines well. The school provides additional support for pupils who might struggle to manage their behaviour.

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The school has placed pupils’ personal development at the heart of the curriculum. Enrichment activities are mapped out to enhance pupils’ experiences. Pupils reap the benefits of a huge array of opportunities to develop their talents and interests. Popular clubs include creative writing and musical theatre. Participation is tracked to ensure all pupils have access, including disadvantaged pupils where involvement is high. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They have a lived experience of democracy through elections for pupil leadership roles. These include school councillors and ambassadors. Pupils have high regard for these positions and look up to these role models.

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Staff value the support for their workload and well-being. Those responsible for governance know the school well. They receive the training they need to monitor and evaluate the school effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 When children are learning independently in the early years, the small steps of knowledge they need to know and remember lacks precision in some areas of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not deepen their understanding as well as they do in adult-led activities. The trust should ensure that learning intentions are clear for all areas of the curriculum, so that children in the early years are supported to build their knowledge well over time. 17 and 18 October 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 17 and 18 October 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  Since the previous inspection, there has been a change in headteacher. The current headteacher joined the school in September 2023.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 17 and 18 October 2023

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 The inspectors spoke with school leaders, subject leaders, parents, pupils, governors and representatives from the trust.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, science and music. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a trusted adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspectors spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the

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school.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents. The inspectors considered comments made by parents online during the inspection and met with some parents on both days. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Esther Best, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ian Robinson Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 October 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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