Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school provides a nurturing environment where pupils and their families are valued and supported. Pupils enjoy coming to school.

They are happy. They feel well cared for and secure.

The school's values of faith, hope and love are embedded throughout the curriculum.

These values underpin the harmonious relationships between everyone in the school. Pupils cheerfully welcome visitors. They are kind and well-mannered.

The school has high expectations of pupils' academic success across each area of the curriculum. Most pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Children in the early years are wel...l prepared for key stage 1 and pupils in Year 6 are ready for their secondary education.

Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes. They enjoy the praise and rewards that they receive for behaving well and working hard.

Pupils value the range of opportunities on offer beyond the academic curriculum.

They spoke excitedly about visitors to school and the vast array of clubs on offer.Children in the early years, and pupils across the rest of the school, benefit from outdoor learning in the school woodland area. This helps pupils to learn more about the natural world and to develop their teamworking skills.

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

The school has been through a period of considerable change and uncertainty since it was last inspected, for example the instability in staffing levels. However, the school has made astute appointments to ensure that staffing is settled and all are on board with the direction that has been set for further development. The school has successfully overhauled the quality of education that pupils receive.

It has developed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum in most subjects from the early years to the end of key stage 2.

The school's well-designed curriculum means that staff know what pupils need to learn and when this should happen. Staff have benefited from a wide range of curriculum training.

This is evident in their subject knowledge and the way in which they present learning. However, on occasion, some pupils do not have enough opportunity to recap and consolidate their learning. At times, gaps in pupils' knowledge, including their subject vocabulary, go unchecked.

This sometimes makes it difficult for pupils to make connections between their existing knowledge and new learning.

Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. There are effective systems in place to identify pupils' additional needs.

The school ensures that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need to achieve well.

The school promotes a love of reading. Pupils benefit from reading a wide range of interesting books.

Staff have received training so that they deliver the new early reading curriculum effectively. As a result, most children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 gain a secure knowledge of phonics. However, a small number of pupils are not supported to catch up in phonics as well as they could.

This hinders these pupils from becoming fluent readers as quickly as they should.

Pupils behave sensibly in and around school. They know how to follow the school rules.

Low-level disruption is rare. Older pupils are proud to be positive role models for children in the early years. Pupils, including children in early years, have positive attitudes to learning and they work well together on tasks.

Most pupils attend school regularly.

The school ensures that pupils, including those most vulnerable, receive the support they need to thrive. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and how to keep themselves physically healthy.

They learn about the differences between people, for example different families and religions. Pupils understand the importance of treating everyone with respect. Over time, pupils develop into caring and thoughtful citizens.

Governors use their wide range of expertise effectively. They understand their statutory duties and fulfil their responsibilities well. Governors assure themselves about the quality of education that pupils receive by questioning leaders thoroughly.

The school is considerate of staff's workload and well-being. For example, it considers how best to implement new initiatives without overburdening staff.

The school provides useful guidance for parents and carers on how best to support their children's learning at home.

For example, 'reading cafes' and workshops about phonics help explain to parents how to support their children with reading at home.

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 few subjects, pupils do not get enough chances to recap on what they have learned previously.

Sometimes, gaps in their subject vocabulary and knowledge are not picked up well enough. This means that pupils cannot always apply what they have learned previously to new learning. The school should develop teachers' strategies to check prior learning and subject vocabulary in these subjects to ensure that pupils know more and remember more over time.

• A small number of pupils at an early stage of reading are not supported to catch up in phonics as well as they could be. This hinders how well some of these pupils develop reading fluency. The school should ensure that pupils who have gaps in their reading knowledge are supported to catch up with their peers as quickly as possible.

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