Ofsted downgrades Liverpool school from 'outstanding' to 'requires improvement'

A Liverpool primary school has been handed a poor Ofsted rating after previously being ranked as 'outstanding'.

Inspectors visited Windsor Community Primary School in Toxteth in October of this year, nine years after its last official inspection. Ofsted awarded the school 'outstanding' status back in 2014, and for a six-year period until 2020, it was exempt by law from routine inspection.

Ofsted is the regulatory body responsible for visiting schools across the country and grading them on a four-point scale. At the bottom of the scale is ‘inadequate’, followed by ‘requires improvement’, ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’.

- Best performing Merseyside secondary schools.

A new report, published on November 27, saw the education watchdog downgrade the school from outstanding to requires improvement, and called on leaders to ensure the governing body and staff tighten up procedures to prepare pupils for the next stage of their learning.

The report rated the behaviour and attitudes of pupils, as well as their learning development, as good. However, the three other key areas, including the quality of education and leadership, were rated as requires improvement.

Ofsted inspectors praised the school's SEND provisions, noting 'the school helps all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to feel that they are recognised and valued'. They added that pupils behave well, feel safe and are optimistic about life.

The report notes that pupils are enthusiastic about their learning, however, 'the variable quality of the curriculum, including in early years, means that more work is still required to fully realise the school’s high expectations for pupils’ achievement'.

Inspectors added that 'a few subject curriculums do not include all the required information set out in the national curriculum' and pupils are therefore 'not prepared well enough for the next stage of their education'.

Ofsted called upon governors to ensure amends to the curriculum were adhered to correctly. They wrote: “The governing body does not have a clear enough oversight of the actions that the school is taking to improve subject curriculums. 

“This limits the impact of the governing body on reviewing and challenging the work of the school. Governors should ensure that they are fully informed about the school’s improvement work.”

A spokesperson for Windsor Community Primary School said: “We are pleased that Ofsted acknowledged our achievements in celebrating diversity and supporting pupils who may face challenges outside of school and that we achieved a rating of ‘good’ for behaviour and attitudes, and personal development.

"We are also pleased that Ofsted has captured how the children respond so positively to the commitment of our staff to their personal and extra-curricular development and how we strive to involve parents and carers in the school community.

“We have been working with governors and have already made improvements to our curriculum documentation as recommended by Ofsted.”