Westbourne Primary School

Inspection of Westbourne Primary School River Street, Westbourne, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 8TG

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 8 and 9 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the school’s values well. They know that respect is ‘being kind to people and looking after each other’s property’. Pupils enjoy coming to school and most attend well. Many pupils show kindness towards each other and feel safe in school. If pupils have a problem, they know staff will help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have increasingly high expectations of how pupils should behave. However, this is not yet consistent. The experiences of some pupils are variable. A few pupils do not demonstrate the respect they should to each other or to staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years settle well when they join the school. They rise to meet the high expectations their teachers have of them. The expectations of what pupils can achieve in the rest of the school are not as high. Sometimes, the activities pupils complete do not challenge them enough. As a result, the school’s ambitions for its pupils are not fully realised.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have regular opportunities to develop their talents and interests through the many clubs on offer. They enjoy the residential trips that help them to build good friendships. The school regularly celebrates pupils’ achievements. Pupils eagerly look forward to assemblies to find out if they will be ‘star learner’ of the week.

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

The school has developed a clear intent for the curriculum. It is broad and designed to build pupils’ knowledge over time. In mathematics, the school has thought about how to adapt the curriculum to enable pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to understand important knowledge. However, this is inconsistent in the wider curriculum. The school does not always make adaptations to the curriculum to enable pupils with SEND to achieve as well as they should.

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

Teachers have good subject knowledge. Most pupils are supported to produce high-quality work. However, checks on what pupils know and understand are not yet effective. This means that teachers do not consistently understand what pupils can already do to provide work that challenges pupils to learn well. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their understanding and do not achieve as well as they should.

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

In contrast, children in the early years have a better experience. The curriculum promotes children’s language and communication development. Children have frequent opportunities to share and discuss ideas. Staff use questioning effectively to enable children to talk with complexity about their learning. Children take part in meaningful activities that help them develop their curiosity and independence. Children have a positive start to their education.

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

Reading is prioritised from the early years. Knowledgeable staff deliver the phonics programme enthusiastically and with consistency. The school regularly checks how well pupils can read. Those who need extra help are given effective support to keep up with 8 and 9 July 2025

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their peers. This is helping younger pupils to read with greater fluency. Pupils develop a love of reading as they move through the school. The school chooses interesting books that pupils enjoy reading together as a class. The school motivates pupils to read for pleasure through regular assemblies that celebrate their achievements in reading.

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Children in the early years have positive attitudes to learning. They listen well and are calm and focused during activities. In the rest of the school, behaviour is generally calm. While most pupils are focused in lessons, staff do not always have consistently high expectations of how pupils should behave. At times, older pupils become distracted and are not quickly redirected to focus on their learning.

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The school has effective systems in place to closely monitor the attendance of pupils. However, too many disadvantaged pupils are not attending school regularly enough. As a result, they miss out on important learning.

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The school prioritises pupils’ mental and physical health. Pupils benefit from the range of sporting and physical activities on offer, including tri-golf, football and dance. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online through the programme of assemblies and computing curriculum. However, pupils are not prepared well enough for life in modern Britain. This includes not having an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values and the protected characteristics.

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Governors have improved how they monitor the school’s work. They now have effective systems in place to hold leaders to account. Staff value the support that the school provides to manage their workload. They appreciate how well staff work together and support each other. However, some staff do not feel that they are well supported to manage some pupils’ more challenging behaviour.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not consistently adapted to meet pupils’ needs. Therefore, some pupils with SEND struggle to access their learning and make the progress that they should. The school needs to ensure that staff receive appropriate training and monitor the impact of how lessons are being adapted for pupils who need the most support.  In the wider curriculum, checks to evaluate what pupils know and can do are not as effective as they should be. Sometimes, pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not understand knowledge securely before new curriculum content is introduced. The school should ensure that staff identify and resolve misconceptions to help pupils build their learning more securely over time. 8 and 9 July 2025

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 The school’s expectations of behaviour are not securely embedded. Behaviour is variable, both in lessons and throughout the school day. The school needs to establish its expectations fully and ensure that staff reinforce these consistently to continue the shift towards a positive culture of behaviour.  Too many disadvantaged pupils do not attend school as regularly as possible. As a result, they miss essential elements of the curriculum and do not achieve as well as they should. The school should review and adopt successful strategies to tackle low attendance and ensure that disadvantaged pupils attend school as well as their peers.  Pupils do not have an age-appropriate understanding of the values that underpin modern Britain. This hinders their preparation for life in wider society. The school should ensure that the school’s personal development provision is strengthened to prepare pupils for life beyond the school.

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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). 8 and 9 July 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 28 and 29 March 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school runs a before- and after-school club, overseen by the governing body.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 8 and 9 July 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other school staff and members of the governing body, including the chair. The lead inspector also had a telephone call with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at a sample of pupils’ writing books.  The lead inspector listened to a range of pupils read to a known adult.  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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of the local governing body meetings and records of attendance and behaviour incidents.  Inspectors met with groups of staff and considered the views expressed through the staff survey.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Stephen Cattell, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Carl McCarthy His Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 July 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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