Eton Wick CofE First School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Children relish learning at Eton Wick. They are proud to have their name added to the headteacher's 'golden book' when they have tried hard with their work. Pupils especially love reading and talk excitedly about the different books they have read.

They are very keen to improve their reading so they can choose to read any book.

Pupils are happy because everyone behaves well. Staff have high expectations of behaviour.

They help children to understand the rules and routines as soon as they start in Nursery. Staff are alert to any unkind behaviour and bullying is extremely rare. If pupils need reminding about making good behaviour choices, adults do this swiftly... and calmly.

Pupils use the buddy bench well to help them find friends to play with.

Pupils feel safe in this school. They are confident that staff will always help them if they have a problem.

Pupils know that adults listen to their suggestions to improve the school. They enjoy the range of leadership roles available, such as the school council, worship council and well-being warrior. In these positions, pupils contribute to the design of events such as 'Well-being Wednesdays'.

This gives them a powerful voice in this happy school.

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

Leaders and staff have worked well together to improve this small school. Since the previous full inspection, they have strengthened the teaching of mathematics and English.

Staff closely check pupils' understanding in these subjects and use this information to adapt their teaching. As a result, pupils are developing the knowledge and skills they need to achieve well.

Children get off to a good start in early years when learning to read.

Staff share rhymes and games from the very start of Nursery to help them begin to hear and recognise sounds. This ensures children are well prepared for the effective teaching of phonics from the beginning of Reception. Teachers support pupils well, so they become increasingly fluent and accurate readers.

Leaders ensure that pupils' reading books are closely matched to the sounds they have learned. Staff share with parents the sounds their children are learning each week so they can support them at home. Pupils who struggle to read have extra time and support to practise to help them keep up.

Plans in other subjects contain the broad content in the right order for pupils to learn. However, leaders have not yet identified what is the most important knowledge pupils need to remember for future learning. So, although teachers routinely check what pupils have learned during lessons, they do not always focus on the key knowledge they need to retain.

Leaders recently moved to subjects being taught individually rather than combined as a topic to improve this. They are developing subject leader roles to strengthen plans and staff's understanding of how pupils learn the curriculum.

Pupils' additional needs are identified swiftly.

Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well in English and mathematics. The special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) carefully reviews the progress that pupils with SEND make in these subjects and advises staff where needed. This is not yet the case in other subjects.

Respectful relationships are the heart of this school. Staff model how to speak to other people. They use consistent language when talking to pupils about behaviour.

This helps pupils respond well to adults and to each other. The calm routines help pupils to focus during their lessons. They have positive attitudes to learning.

For example, children in early years were observed enjoying a role-playing game together after a visit from a police officer. Pupils in Year 2 had high levels of concentration during a lesson putting the lives of significant people in chronological order.

Leaders have a strong ambition to provide a wide range of personal development opportunities.

Pupils learn about some of the celebrations from the world's main faiths, starting from their own experiences. This helps them to be welcoming of others' backgrounds and beliefs. Books and stories are used as a starting point to discuss important social issues, such as child refugees.

In the early years, children are encouraged to make good choices about eating well, and they are helped to manage their emotions. Older pupils learn the importance of having a healthy body and healthy mind through the wide range of clubs available.

Governors have provided appropriate support for the school, especially during the partial closures.

They have used visits to the school to review improvements with pupils and staff and to check on their well-being. However, they do not have the knowledge required to sufficiently challenge leaders about the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff confidently understand their roles within a strong safeguarding culture. This includes teaching pupils to safely manage risk and ensure they know how to keep themselves safe online.

Extra training has helped staff learn about different aspects of safeguarding.

They know what signs to be alert to, especially with the youngest children in early years. There are clear systems for reporting and recording concerns which lead to swift actions being taken. Leaders work well with families to offer support.

They are confident to request further action from external agencies if they are not satisfied with the response.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Science and foundation subject plans contain broad content, but they do not prioritise the key learning that pupils should remember or that teachers should check they have learned. Leaders should refine subject plans to precisely identify the most important knowledge and skills for all children to learn, starting from the early years.

Teachers then need to check that pupils have remembered it and use this information to adjust future lessons where needed. Leaders have already taken action to address this weakness over the coming year. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

• Most subject leaders are new to their role. They are not sufficiently experienced or skilled to lead their subjects. Senior leaders must make sure that subject leaders have training to support them to refine planning, support colleagues, monitor how well plans are implemented and check how well pupils are learning.

• Governors do not have enough understanding to challenge leaders about the curriculum. Consequently, they do not understand how effective the curriculum is in helping children to learn. Governors need to improve their knowledge and skills so they can sufficiently hold leaders to account for the quality of education.

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