This letter outlines the findings from the monitoring inspection of Newtown Primary School, which took place on December 13, 2022. The inspection was conducted on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, following two successive judgments of requires improvement at previous inspections. The inspection involved discussions with the acting headteacher, staff, governors, and local authority representatives, as well as classroom visits, review of pupils' work, and scrutiny of curriculum documents and the school development plan.
Newtown Primary School continues to require improvement. While leaders have made some progress in enhancing the school, further efforts are necessary for it to achieve a good rating. The school is advised to ensure that all staff possess strong subject knowledge in the subjects they teach and that the curriculum adequately meets the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. This is essential for these pupils to learn the full subject content.
Significant staff changes have occurred since the last full inspection, including at the leadership level. Governors are actively working to secure permanent leadership for the school, with a full-time acting headteacher and an executive headteacher overseeing the acting headteacher's work one day per week. Both leaders are seconded from the Academies for Character and Excellence multi-academy trust. The school has welcomed a new leader for special educational needs and two new teachers, while three teachers have left, and further staffing changes are anticipated in January 2023.
There have been steady improvements in the quality of education provided to pupils, including in the early years. Since September 2022, leaders have worked to raise staff expectations regarding what pupils should know and understand, which is positively impacting learning. Staff appreciate the comprehensive training and support they receive, particularly in planning lessons. Leaders monitor the curriculum implementation, ensuring that the expected teaching approaches are in place. For instance, staff are breaking down lessons into smaller, manageable segments, which is helping pupils learn and retain more in reading, writing, and mathematics. However, improvements in the wider curriculum are still in the early stages, and inconsistencies in staff subject knowledge remain in some areas.
Leaders have recently enhanced support for staff in identifying the needs of pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language. However, inconsistencies persist in how well staff utilize this information to shape curriculum content, which can hinder some pupils' learning. Leaders have noted improvements in the teaching of early reading, with more pupils keeping up with the phonics program. Nonetheless, some staff do not address pupils' misconceptions promptly.
The emphasis on positive learning behaviors is proving effective, with pupils demonstrating hard work and focus in lessons. Although lessons are rarely interrupted and pupils feel safe, some report unkind behavior during lunchtime that is not always resolved quickly by staff. Governors collaborate closely with the local authority and the multi-academy trust, using external audits to hold leaders accountable. They have focused on strengthening the culture of safeguarding, ensuring staff understand and apply safeguarding policies effectively. Increasingly, governors are engaging with external partners to verify that the quality of education is improving. The letter concludes by indicating that it will be shared with relevant stakeholders and published on the Ofsted reports website.
