Wickham Market Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. This is an improving school as a result of effective leadership by the headteacher and the good support from the deputy headteacher.

Pupils are now making good progress and attainment is rising in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Pupils feel safe at school and their parents agree.

No pupils have been excluded from school. Relationships across the school are strong. The majority of parents are content with what the school provides for their children.

Teaching is typically good with aspects of excellent practice because of regular checking by the headteacher and other le...aders. Teaching is outstanding in Year 6 and Year 4. Additional adults employed to support pupils' learning are effective and complement the work of the teachers.

Pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning and they derive great satisfaction from being set harder work by their teachers and achieving well. Governors are effective partners in leading the school and fully discuss how well the school is doing with school leaders. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Whilst teaching is typically good and sometimes outstanding this is not yet sufficient to secure exceptional performance, particularly for the more-able pupils.

Setting work which recognises that pupils are now making more rapid progress and therefore working at a higher level than in the past is not consistent across the school. Not all teachers ask sufficiently probing questions which encourage pupils to think more deeply about what they are learning. Expectations about the amount of work some pupils are capable of producing in lessons are not equally demanding in all classes.

Whilst marking is greatly improved, some teachers' marking is not focused enough to show pupils how they can improve.

Information about this school

The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The vast majority of the pupils are White British.

The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding (additional money given to schools for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children looked after by the local authority and some others) is lower than average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is broadly in line with that found nationally. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is significantly higher than average.

This is because some pupils were previously attending the Specialist Support Centre located within the school that closed in 2011 and almost all the pupils remained at the school. This unit catered for pupils with a range of complex, moderate-to-profound and multiple learning needs. The school met the government's floor standards in 2013, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.