Walkeringham Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are great ambassadors for this small village school.

They are courteous, friendly and welcoming. They know the importance of the 'Walkeringham Ways'. Pupils are nurtured by staff to be 'resilient, responsible, curious, truthful, independent and respectful'.

Pupils are very well cared for. There is a strong family feel. Relationships are positive and respectful.

Pupils get on well with each other. Older pupils play with, and look out for, younger children. Pupils are proud of their school.

Pupils are safe and happy. Behaviour is good. The school is calm and focused.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They work hard in lessons.... They are keen to learn and do well.

The school provides many opportunities and experiences to develop pupils' personal development. For example, they can enjoy the gardening and sports clubs. They have happy, lasting memories of friendships, staff and the annual pantomime visit.

They are supported to develop a deeper understanding of right and wrong. Pupils are supported to gain self-confidence, independence and resilience.

Many parents and carers value the school.

One parent, whose comment was typical of several, said, 'Walkeringham is a wonderful school. It feels like one big family. My children have loved attending.

The smaller classes allow children to gain close friends of all ages, and they look after each other.'

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

Leaders have established a curriculum that is broad in its scope for all pupils. This extends beyond the expectations of the national curriculum in that younger pupils begin to learn to speak Spanish.

Leaders have developed ambitious curriculums in all subjects. For instance, in mathematics, pupils gain key knowledge and a strong understanding of mathematical concepts. They re-visit and build on this learning across each year, and from one year to the next.

Staff have strong subject knowledge. They check pupils' learning through, for example, questioning and end of unit assessments. The school uses this assessment information to identify next steps, and to address errors or misconceptions, in pupils' learning.

Staff make sure that the work pupils are given to complete is appropriately ambitious for them, including for those in mixed-aged classes. Pupils are challenged to deepen and extend their learning. The school makes sure that pupils know more and remember more over time in all subjects.

Pupils make good progress through the well-planned curriculum.

The school has prioritised reading. Leaders have embedded phonics.

Staff are trained to use the phonics resources well. Staff enable pupils to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence that they need to become fluent readers. Children get off to a good start with reading in the early years.

Pupils develop their comprehension skills well. Staff assess pupils' reading regularly. Adults support pupils who need help to keep up with their reading.

Pupils read for learning and pleasure. They gain a love of reading and books. Older pupils speak knowledgeably about their favourite books and authors.

The school has established systems to identify and support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff know these pupils and their needs very well. Teachers adapt their teaching, enabling these pupils to learn well.

Several parents recognise the positive provision for pupils with SEND.

Children in early years get off to a good start in their literacy and numeracy. They learn the basics about numbers and understand key vocabulary, such as more, less, bigger and smaller.

Children enjoy looking at books, story time and rhyme time. Staff care for children very well. The school is mindful of children's personal, social and emotional development.

Children mostly play well together. However, the school has not ensured that the non-structured continuous provision time for pupils to learn, play and explore is sufficiently purposeful.

The school provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils' personal development.

Leaders have developed an appropriate personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. Pupils learn how to be healthy and safe. For example, they learn about the importance of exercise, sleep and a healthy diet.

They learn to recognise and respond to risks in different situations, for example when online and in the community. Relationships and sex education is age appropriate. Pupils are prepared well for life in Britain.

However, not all of the school's personal development provision is structured and coordinated in such a way that it enables all pupils to benefit fully from a range of planned experiences.

Leaders, including governors, know the school's strengths and priorities. They fulfil their responsibilities well.

Overwhelmingly, staff morale is positive. Staff are proud to be part of, and enjoy working at, the school. The school supports staff well-being and is mindful of staff workload when managing changes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not ensured that all aspects of the well-planned early years curriculum are implemented consistently. As a result, children do not gain as much from the non-structured activities for learning and play, as they do from the more structured adult-directed sessions.

The school must ensure that non-structured opportunities for play and learning are purposeful, thus enabling children to gain from all aspects of the planned curriculum. The school has a coherent and ambitious curriculum for PSHE that supports pupils' personal development. However, the school has not clearly set out the range of opportunities that it wants pupils to experience to build and consolidate pupils' personal development over time.

As a result, not all pupils benefit from structured opportunities and experiences. The school should ensure that it coordinates and consolidates the planned range of opportunities that pupils should experience during their time at the school. Thus strengthening pupils' personal development.