Wharton CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school.

They benefit from warm and caring relationships with staff which help them to feel safe.

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and they work hard in their lessons to meet leaders' and teachers' high expectations. That said, some pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not get the support that they need to catch up with reading.

Most pupils behave well. Pupils said that although there are occasional arguments on the playground, they are dealt with by staff straight away. Similarly, pupils are confident that staff would sort out any concerns that they reported about bullying.

Pupil...s appreciate the extra support that they receive from staff in the 'ELSA' room to help them with their emotions and feelings. However, some pupils who struggle to regulate their own behaviour do not receive appropriate support to access a sufficiently broad curriculum.

Pupils, including children in the early years, learn about the importance of treating everyone with respect.

They are proud of their efforts to help others by collecting donations for a local food bank. Pupils are looking forward to the return to a full calendar of enrichment activities. Pupils in Year 6 spoke enthusiastically about their recent trip to a local museum.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is suitably broad and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND. Subject leaders have had training to better understand and carry out their roles. However, the quality of guidance that they provide to help teachers deliver the curriculum effectively varies between subjects.

In some subjects, such as mathematics and science, subject leaders provide clear guidance to teachers to help teachers understand how to teach the curriculum. The curriculums in these subjects have been implemented consistently well from early years to Year 6 so that pupils can achieve well. Well-trained teaching assistants support pupils with their learning and provide them with extra help when it is needed.

Curriculum plans in foundation subjects are not as well developed. In some of these subjects, although it is clear what pupils should be able to do by the end of each year, leaders have not identified or ordered the building blocks of knowledge that pupils should know. This makes it difficult for teachers to plan the next steps in pupils' learning.

Leaders place an important emphasis on making sure that pupils learn to read. Children in the Reception class learn sounds and letters soon after they join the school. Most staff have been trained to deliver the phonics programme in a consistent manner.

Teachers make sure that most of the books that pupils are given to practise their reading are matched carefully to the sounds that they know. This helps pupils to gain confidence in their reading ability. That said, pupils, including children in the early years, who fall behind in reading, do not receive the focused support that they need to catch up soon enough.

This means that some pupils are not fluent and confident readers by the end of Year 2. Added to this, some older pupils lack the confidence to read independently.

Leaders have started to improve their systems and approaches to make sure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified as early as possible.

Teachers have been trained recently in how to adapt their approaches so that pupils with SEND can access a full curriculum. However, weaknesses in leaders' systems in the past have resulted in delays, both in the time taken by staff to identify the needs of this group of pupils and access to appropriate support.

Over time, leaders have not ensured that pupils who struggle to manage their own behaviour can benefit from specialist support.

However, this is beginning to improve. More recently, leaders have ensured that some staff have been able to access specialist training. This means that they can support pupils with their emotional well-being and help them to successfully regulate their own behaviour.

Typically, the atmosphere in the school is calm, welcoming and purposeful. During lessons, pupils can get on with their learning without distraction.

Leaders plan plenty of opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of the world in which they live.

Pupils talk enthusiastically about religious festivals, such as how Diwali is celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs.

The leadership team has recently returned to full capacity after a period of considerable instability. This situation has resulted in concerns from a number of parents and carers.

More recently, leaders have prioritised areas for improvement appropriately and are acting to ensure that they address parents' concerns.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, governors have offered support to school leaders. However, members of the governing body have not focused enough on ensuring that leaders take appropriate action to improve the quality of education, particularly for those pupils with SEND.

Staff appreciate that governors and leaders consider their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a positive culture.

Leaders are fully trained to carry out their safeguarding roles effectively. They communicate regularly with the local authority to ensure that vulnerable pupils and their families access appropriate support.

Staff receive suitable information and training so that they can spot the signs that may indicate that a pupil may be suffering or at risk from harm.

This includes when pupils may be at risk from peer-on-peer abuse.

Leaders plan many opportunities, such as visits from the fire service and community police officers, to help pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including online safety.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, curriculum plans do not identify the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn.

This means that teachers are hindered in their attempts to design learning that helps pupils to build on what they already know. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans outline the necessary building blocks that pupils should know. This will help teachers to plan learning and deliver curriculums that support pupils to know and remember more from the early years to Year 6.

• Leaders have not ensured that pupils, including children in the early years, receive the support that they need if they fall behind in reading. This means that those pupils who do fall behind are unable to catch up quickly and fall further behind their peers. As a result, some pupils are unable to read confidently and fluently by the end of Year 2.

Leaders should ensure that those pupils who require help with reading benefit from timely and appropriate help. ? Leaders and governors have not ensured that pupils with SEND benefit from a good-quality education. In the past, leaders' systems have not ensured that pupils' needs have been identified in a timely manner.

This has resulted in a delay in diagnoses and support for some pupils. Leaders and governors should continue to improve the provision and support for pupils with SEND, ensuring that this group of pupils benefit from the specialist help that they need to access a suitably broad curriculum. This includes keeping parents up to date with information about their children's progress.

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