Wargrave CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Wargrave C of E Primary school's values of truth, friendship and respect underpin the way that pupils here treat others.

Pupils have warm relationships with adults in the school. They feel happy and safe.

The school has high expectations of what pupils can and should achieve.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), live up to these expectations. Typically, pupils achieve well and are prepared for the next stages of their education.

Pupils, from the early years to Year 6, engage fully in their lessons.

Their positive attitudes mean that there is rarely any disruption to their learning. Pupils rightly... trust adults to deal quickly with any concerns that arise.

Pupils embrace the trips, clubs and events that the school carefully plan to enhance the curriculum.

They talked excitedly about going to the theatre by train and going to local museums. Pupils enjoy developing new skills in cooking, photography and cricket clubs.

In addition, pupils take pride in their work in the community, for example by reading and singing at a local old people's home and by helping to host a local schools' annual rugby tournament.

These opportunities add considerable value to pupils' learning and wider development.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has undergone a period of considerable change. Despite this, it has ensured that the curriculum is mostly well designed.

In the majority of subjects, the school has identified the most important knowledge for pupils to learn in the early years to Year 6. Children in the early years are ready for the demands of key stage 1. Pupils in Year 6 are prepared for their secondary education.

In a few subjects, however, the precise knowledge that pupils should learn is not clear enough to staff. Where this is the case, the curriculum does not provide enough support and guidance for teachers to enable them to plan consistently meaningful learning activities.

Staff are adept at addressing pupils' misconceptions.

They use the school's checking systems well to identify where pupils may have gaps in their knowledge, skills and understanding. Adults use this information well to shape future teaching.

The school's expectations for pupils' handwriting and grammar are not consistently high enough across subjects.

Some pupils cannot form letters accurately or write legibly with punctuation by the time they leave Year 2. This hampers their ability to write fluently and neatly in later years. Furthermore, the high levels of concentration needed to write leaves these pupils less able to focus on the meaning or context of their writing.

Children in the Nursery class and the two-year-old provision get off to a flying start in reading by learning to hear rhythm and rhyming patterns. By the time they reach the Reception Year, they are ready to learn phonics. Most pupils become fluent readers by the end of Year 2.

Staff quickly identify pupils who struggle with early reading and make sure that they are supported to catch up. A love of reading is evident throughout this school. Younger pupils are keen to recount their favourite stories and older pupils enjoy reading a wide range of diverse genres and authors.

Pupils in the school's specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision) are nurtured and championed along with all those with SEND. Staff assess and identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. Staff adapt the delivery of the curriculum well to meet these pupils' needs.

Pupils move seamlessly from resource bases to mainstream lessons. They achieve well from their starting points and join in with their classmates in all aspects of school life.

There is a calm, friendly atmosphere across the school.

Pupils conduct themselves appropriately. The school prioritises attendance. Where pupils' attendance rates are low, the school takes prompt action to reduce absence.

The school's excellent partnerships with families help these actions to be effective.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online and how to stay physically and mentally healthy. They know about different religions and faiths.

Pupils have a well-developed understanding of differences and treat everybody with respect. They are well prepared to grow up in modern Britain.Governors are well informed about the school.

They know the community well and carry out their statutory duties competently. They support staff and leaders' well-being and management of workload, while also holding leaders to account for the quality of education that pupils receive. Staff are happy and proud to work at this school.

The school is considerate of their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not identified the exact knowledge that pupils should learn.

This makes it difficult for teachers to ensure that pupils learn all that they should. The school should clearly identify the key knowledge that pupils will learn in these subjects so that they can build a secure body of knowledge over time. ? The school's expectations for pupils' handwriting and grammar across all subjects are not consistently high.

Some pupils have not mastered legible and accurate letter formation by the time they leave Year 2. This hinders their writing fluency, communication and presentation as they move through the key stage 2 curriculum. The school should refine its expectations around children's handwriting and grammar skills from the early years upwards.