March 29th 2024Ofsted
We are delighted to report that at our most recent Ofsted inspection Windmill Primary School was judged to still be a Good School.
We are delighted to provide a link to our most recent Ofsted report, following the inspection at Windmill Primary School on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th December 2019.
In the report, there is praise for how much pupils enjoy coming to our 'friendly, calm and welcoming' school. Ofsted said that our pupils ‘feel safe and cared for’. It is pleasing to see that Ofsted recognised how much we emphasise collaboration, teamwork and the ability to make a difference in the classroom and beyond:
‘Pupils relish the recognition that they receive for working hard or making a positive contribution to school life. They are proud of their leadership roles in school. For example, they help as playground buddies, school librarians, digital leaders, house captains and junior secretaries.’
We want our children to want to make a positive difference to society and to be the best that they can be.
Ofsted also said that ‘the curriculum broadens pupils’ ambitions.’ You may have noticed that we have placed an increasing emphasis on offering a wide range of extra-curricular activities for our pupils. There are many to choose from before, during and after the school day. Again, it is pleasing that Ofsted recognised this when they state, ‘pupils spoke positively about the many clubs that are available.’
At Windmill Primary School, we have the highest aspirations for our pupils. As an academy, we are given the opportunity to create and offer excellence across the curriculum. We do so by developing thoughtful, knowledge-rich approaches to each subject, carefully weaving these together to create memorable teaching and learning experiences. Ofsted said:
‘Leaders, trustees and governors are passionate about providing the best quality of education for their pupils…the curriculum is organised so that pupils learn the right things.’
Overall, Windmill ‘continues to be a good school’ where ‘pupils behave well’ and ‘have positive attitudes to school…pupils respect adults and each other.’ In the context of a new inspection framework, which was only introduced in September 2019, this is a great achievement for our school.
Of course, Ofsted reports are only ever part of a whole picture. They should empower schools and school leaders to be even better, regardless of the inspection outcomes. We have been given two further action points to develop which match well with targets already on our school development plan:
- To help staff with subject knowledge across the wider curriculum – for example in Music, Design & Technology: to develop expertise that matches the high quality on offer in other subject areas.
- To provide even better support for pupils with SEND. Although there are examples of excellent support for pupils with additional needs, we need to ensure that this is consistent for all pupils, across all subjects.
We are committed to success in both of these areas and have already put plans in place to address them.
