Newport Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Newport Primary School Frambury Lane, Newport, Essex CB11 3PU

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school’s work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Newport Primary are happy, polite and welcoming to visitors. Pupils feel safe at school. This is because of the relationships they have with trusted adults. Pupils feel confident to speak to any member of staff about any concerns they have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has established a clear set of rules, which most pupils try extremely hard to follow. Sometimes, the behaviour of a few pupils disrupts learning for others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum pupils learn matches the scope of what is expected nationally. However, expectations of what pupils can achieve are not as high as they could be. Learning is not adapted well enough for all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils do not always develop the skills and knowledge they need. This limits some pupils’ achievement, including in national assessments and, consequently, impacts upon their readiness for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have opportunities to take on useful responsibilities, including serving as school councillors, playleaders, buddies or house captains. There are a range of clubs which pupils enjoy, for example arts and crafts, performing arts and multi-sports. This helps pupils develop their talents and interests.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Since the previous inspection, standards at the school have declined. Weaknesses in the design and teaching of the curriculum had not been identified quickly enough and so pupils’ achievement is varied. More recently, the school has identified where there are 11 and 12 February 2025

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weaknesses and has taken effective action. While there are examples where recent action has been effective, work to improve the school is in its early stages of development.

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The school has introduced a new, ambitious curriculum. To support this new curriculum, updated systems for checking how well pupils are learning are being put in place. The curriculum is designed to build pupils’ knowledge and skills gradually over time. However, teachers’ expectations of pupils and their work are inconsistent, including in the presentation of their work. Learning is not adapted well enough to meet pupils’ needs. This disproportionately affects pupils with SEND. Because of this, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. When some pupils struggle with their learning, they become frustrated, and this leads to poor behaviour at times.

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The school has not fully established subject leadership roles. Consequently, the responsibility for monitoring and improving teaching and learning is not developed throughout the curriculum. This leads to too much variation in the accuracy of teachers’ subject knowledge and, consequently, affects the quality of the curriculum delivery across different subjects.

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The school prioritises reading and has recently introduced a new approach to the teaching of phonics. Staff receive training to ensure they teach the letters and sounds pupils need effectively. Pupils read frequently. This helps them to improve their fluency. Pupils who require additional help, receive the support they need to become more confident readers.

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Children in the early years settle into school life quickly. They are given opportunities to explore, for example, painting, drawing and building. However, leaders are aware that the curriculum in the early years does not promote children’s development across all areas of learning effectively enough. Often, children’s learning does not successfully enable them to learn the basic knowledge they need. This leaves children poorly prepared for key stage 1.

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The attendance of some pupils has previously been too low. Effective and robust systems for checking and promoting good attendance are now in place. This has reduced the level of absence.

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Pupils receive meaningful support for their wider personal development. Assemblies and enrichment activities are planned systematically and implemented consistently. Class trips to local museums provide opportunities for pupils to travel by train and learn more about ancient Egypt, as part of a history project. Pupils are taught to respect diversity and individual difference, and they learn about different types of families, faiths and cultures that make up modern Britain. Pupils explain confidently that ‘everyone is welcome in our school’. Pupils are given the opportunity to take part in at least one sporting event on a regular basis. Pupils are well prepared for moving on to their secondary schools.

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Parents feel increasingly positive about the school. Staff feel and are well supported. More recently, staff have received useful training and eagerly anticipate this continuing. 11 and 12 February 2025

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Governors worked diligently last year, during a period of significant turbulence in staffing and leadership. The school and governors recognise there is more to do to develop the curriculum, raise expectations and improve curriculum leadership. Governors have made key appointments that have re-established stability in leadership. Governors support leaders and are fully committed to helping the school improve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Recent improvements to the curriculum are new and are not well established. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are inconsistent. Until very recently, the school had not set out what pupils needed to learn precisely or been clear with staff about how it should be taught. This means that some pupils are not securing the knowledge and skills needed to achieve well. The school should ensure that staff receive the support they need to raise their expectations of what pupils can achieve and develop staff expertise, so they are able to deliver the curriculum effectively.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The quality of the provision and support for pupils with SEND is variable. As a result, some pupils do not receive the adaptations they need to learn the curriculum successfully. This leads to pupils becoming frustrated, which in turn results in disruptive behaviour. The school should ensure that staff understand how to adapt their teaching to ensure pupils with SEND are fully engaged and learn the curriculum consistently well.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In part, due to the turbulence in leadership over time, the subject leadership roles are not fully in place. This means the oversight of the impact of the curriculum is not being closely checked. Consequently, there are variations in the strength of subject knowledge across the subjects being taught. The school should continue to focus on establishing the leadership roles to strengthen leadership so that there is greater consistency in the checking of the quality of the curriculum and subject knowledge across the curriculum.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In the early years, the learning environment and the curriculum delivery do not provide children with the foundational knowledge they need to be well prepared for Year 1. The school should ensure that the curriculum, including how this is supported by the learning environment, effectively supports children to learn what they need to be able to access key stage 1 successfully. 11 and 12 February 2025

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2020.

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Victoria Sullivan

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 March 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator have been recently appointed.  This school uses one registered alternative provision for its pupils.  The school runs a breakfast club for pupils providing childcare.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the school.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also discussed the curriculum with leaders. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 The inspector met with leaders including the headteacher and the deputy headteacher.  The inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector spoke to a representative of the local authority.  The inspector met with a range of staff, including teachers and support staff.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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 inspector took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and minutes of the governing body meetings and local authority visit reports.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at other times around school

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and discussed behaviour with pupils throughout the inspection. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey.  The inspector considered the views of staff through Ofsted’s staff survey. He also considered the views of parents and carers through responses to Ofsted’s parent survey, Parent View, including free-text comments and other correspondence received during the inspection. The inspector also gathered the views of pupils and staff through interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Nick Rudman, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 2025

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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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