Westgate Hill Primary Academy Featured in Ruth Miskin's Newsletter

Westgate Hill Primary Academy, a member of the Laidlaw Schools Trust, recently featured in Ruth Miskin's Teaching Updates newsletter, which celebrated the school's 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating. 

In October 2021, Ofsted rated Westgate Hill Primary Academy 'Outstanding' on every category of assessment—a remarkable improvement since its last inspection in 2016 in which the school was judged 'Inadequate'. 

Ruth Miskin, one of the UK’s leading authorities on teaching children to read who developed Read Write Inc., highlighted Westgate Hill's achievement in her most recent Teaching Updates newsletter. 

Below is an excerpt from Ruth's newsletter.

Read the full version

Inadequate to Outstanding in 5 years

Westgate Hill Primary Academy in Newcastle upon Tyne has recently been awarded Outstanding across all areas by Ofsted. This is a far cry from the Inadequate inspection outcome in November of 2016. After academising as part of the Laidlaw Schools Trust in September 2017, rapid improvements took place. The school prioritised reading and inspectors noted, 'Children make a fast start to learning phonics In Years 1 and 2, pupils develop their phonics knowledge to become confident and fluent readers.' Ofsted also reported, 'Pupils in the earliest stages of reading catch up quickly. Pupils apply phonics knowledge to spell words and write at length.'
 
Nick Watson, Head of school EYFS & KS1, said, "We are all immensely proud of the team at Westgate Hill. It is a huge achievement to receive such a judgement, especially given our starting point. RWI has really been the driver for improving phonics and early reading and that has clearly paid off. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank our local consultant trainer, Paul Daglish, for his support and guidance over the last few years."