The Weatheralls Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ruchi Sabharwal Headteacher The Weatheralls Primary School Pratt Street Soham Cambridgeshire CB7 5BH

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Weatheralls Primary School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 23 April 2025, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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Weatheralls Primary School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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Weatheralls Primary School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, the chief executive officer (CEO) and members of the advisory board and trustees the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. I visited lessons in each year group, met with staff, spoke to pupils, looked at pupils’ work from all classes and reviewed safeguarding documentation. I also reviewed curriculum documents and external notes of visits from the trust improvement adviser. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Main findings

Since the last monitoring visit in January 2025, the school has taken effective and swift action to accelerate school improvement. As a school and trust, you have overcome a period of turbulence and have now secured a stable staff team. The school has increased leadership capacity at senior and middle leader levels. This has resulted in more consistency in how well the curriculum is being implemented and overseen to meet its ambitious aims. Staff share this commitment to improving standards. The school is also in the early process of moving to a larger multi-academy trust to continue to strengthen school improvement support. This move is due to be completed by January 2026.

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Main findings

Together with other leaders, you have begun to address low published outcomes. You have strengthened systems and processes for identifying gaps in pupils’ knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. In addition, you have successfully made sure that staff know what pupils need to learn and when. You and your team are relentless in ensuring that learning is adapted to meet the needs of each class so that gaps and misconceptions are being addressed. As a result, most pupils are quickly catching up on missed learning, including in reading. Pupils are retaining this new knowledge, and most are now achieving well from their starting points. This is especially evident in phonics, mathematics and spelling. You have accurately identified that there is still some work to do on handwriting, sentence structure and times tables, yet work on this has begun and is having an early, positive impact.

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Main findings

Reading has remained a priority. Most pupils by the end of Key Stage 1 are now on track with national expectations in phonics. Pupils enjoy reading and have opportunities to read widely and often. Pupils read books that are suitably matched to their reading ability.

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Main findings

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the curriculum successfully and they benefit from well-considered adaptions to learning. Leaders have also put in place bespoke support for pupils with SEND who have significant needs. These pupils are benefiting from this tailored provision and engage in learning successfully. However, checks on how well these pupils with higher needs are meeting their specific academic targets are less robust. This hinders the rate at which they have gaps in learning filled. You have recently appointed an experienced special educational needs coordinator to improve oversight of this. In addition, work has started to ensure more timely referrals to external specialists are made to ensure pupils have needs accurately identified, and sooner. Leaders have this in hand, yet it is still in its infancy.

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Main findings

Leaders ensure that staff are well supported to fulfil their roles. Staff benefit from the tailored guidance and clear expectations they receive from knowledgeable leaders to teach the curriculum effectively. The advisory body and trust provide appropriate challenge. They hold leaders to account for pupils’ outcomes and carry out required checks on safeguarding. They are also mindful of staff’s workload and well-being.

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Main findings

Pupils continue to behave well. The school has been effective in ensuring pupils understand how to follow the school rules of ‘ready, respectful and safe’. Leaders have improved how they support pupils who need additional help to manage their emotions and feelings. Staff and pupils recognise the impact of this. Pupils talk positively about their learning, the friends they make and how they trust the adults around them.

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Main findings

You have been proactive in seeking external challenge and advice in order to sharpen further school improvement strategies. You have found the support of external advisers beneficial in improving teaching in school. Trustees have carefully considered the new trust they are joining to be assured the move is in the best interests of the school.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the CEO of Staploe Education Trust, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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