Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being at school. They find their learning interesting and fun.

Children begin to develop resilience and independence as soon as they join the school in the early years. Pupils strive to live out the school's vision by being strong in mind, body and spirit.

The school is a nurturing and welcoming community that celebrates diversity.

Pupils carry out an impressive array of leadership roles with diligence and enthusiasm to support the school's work. They develop highly attuned skills in noticing when and how to help others. For example, pupils' contributions through acting as ambassadors for mental well-being or being eco-councillors, enhance the sc...hool's calm and well-ordered atmosphere.

Pupils value the strong friendships that they develop. They cooperate well in class and play together happily at breaktimes. Pupils behave well.

They trust adults to sort out any minor worries or problems that might arise. Strong and positive relationships across the school enable pupils and staff to focus on learning.

The school has high aspirations for all pupils.

It ensures that pupils access additional support when they find learning difficult. This is especially true for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils typically achieve well across the curriculum.

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

The school has a well-embedded and ambitious curriculum. There is a clear and logical order in which the school expects pupils to learn key information as they progress from the Nursery Year to Year 6. The skilful delivery of this and the 'Wider Whittle' curriculum enhances and deepens pupils' learning.

Pupils develop a secure body of useful knowledge as a result. They are well prepared for the secondary phase of their education by the time they reach Year 6.Teachers are clear about the most important aspects of the curriculum that they need to focus on with their classes.

Teachers usually check that pupils' knowledge is secure before moving on to new learning. They make effective links with what pupils have learned previously. This helps pupils to make sense of new information and strengthens their understanding.

At times, for pupils with SEND, however, this is not consistently the case.The school ensures that teachers know how to identify and support pupils with additional needs, including those with SEND. It provides useful information to help teachers adapt the delivery of the curriculum to meet these pupils' needs.

Despite this, sometimes, teachers do not consistently make effective use of this information. At times, some pupils with SEND repeat learning unnecessarily. Occasionally, their misconceptions or specific needs are not addressed as well as they could be.

This affects how well some of these pupils achieve.Reading and developing an understanding of a wide range of vocabulary has a high priority within the curriculum. Pupils benefit from the high-quality texts that the school provides.

Most are competent readers by the end of Year 6. This begins in the Nursery Year, where children enjoy sharing much-loved stories, songs and rhymes with their teachers. Adults in the early years skilfully support children's developing understanding of language by providing strong role models.

Consequently, children benefit from a firm foundation on which to begin to learn to read, including making effective use of phonics in the Reception Year.The school makes sure that teachers are well equipped to deliver its chosen phonics programme. In the Nursery Year, children begin to recognise different types of sounds.

Skilled staff provide ample support for pupils as they develop and strengthen their early reading knowledge. Pupils quickly become fluent and accurate readers in Years 1 and 2. Pupils who find reading more of a challenge receive effective support.

They build up their confidence in reading by practising regularly with books that contain the sounds that they know.Pupils benefit from the high priority that the school places on their personal development. This supports pupils to develop into well-rounded individuals.

They respond with impressive maturity when they reflect on local and global issues that affect themselves and others. The positive attitudes that pupils develop about themselves, and others, contributes extremely well to their success at school. They learn not to be fazed by making a mistake, but to learn from it.

This stands them in good stead for their next stage of education.The school is committed to ensuring that all pupils benefit from the highest quality of education possible. It reflects and adapts its practice when initiatives are not working as well as it would like.

Governors work closely with staff to ensure that they are well-equipped to manage their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teachers do not use the information they have about pupils with SEND well enough.

When this happens, teachers do not support these pupils as well as they could in what they most need to learn next. This affects how well some pupils with SEND achieve. The school should make sure that teachers meet the differing needs of pupils with SEND consistently well.