William Westley Church of England VC Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of William Westley Church of England Voluntary

Controlled Primary School Following my visit to the school on 9 July 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2016.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your school is welcoming and inclusive.

Pupils feel valued and are rightly proud of their learning and their many successes. You and your senior leaders have ensured that the whole school environm...ent is vibrant and celebratory. The leadership team has given considerable thought to how the curriculum can be both rich and broad.

As a result, pupils experience many engaging activities that deepen their understanding of the world around them. Parents and carers appreciate the level of care and support that staff provide for their children. Parents warmly praise the school's sense of community and the warm welcome they receive.

The overwhelming majority know that their children are happy at William Westley and would recommend the school to another parent. Staff appreciate that they are treated fairly and with respect. They are proud of the school; morale is high and turnover of staff is low.

Parents recognise staff's skills and approachability. During the inspection, I saw examples of strong teaching in English and mathematics. Teachers' good subject knowledge was evident, as were their high expectations for pupils.

The school's approach to teaching and learning is implemented consistently. This has guaranteed continuity between year groups and has supported pupils' transition between the key stages. The governing body is well informed and works effectively in the school and across the community.

Governors have a wide range of skills and experiences and a good knowledge of the school. They fulfil their roles effectively. Governors recognise the school's strengths and are diligent in checking on the effectiveness of new initiatives.

The governing body holds you and your team to account for pupils' achievement. Governors have actively encouraged your teachers to work more closely with local schools to share good practice, and in this way they ensure that the quality of education continues to improve. Governors know that the relationship between the school and community is strong.

They speak highly of how the school empowers pupils and allows their voice to be heard. Pupils have lobbied your school meals provider to ensure that their provision is environmentally sustainable. Consequently, they have reduced their use of palm oil and no longer rely on single-use containers.

Pupils have a strong sense of social responsibility. One pupil described how, stemming from topic learning, they had raised funds to buy an area of rainforest to ensure its preservation. Another commented, 'It shows that children can make a difference to the world.'

Pupils' behaviour is delightful. They are polite and friendly towards each other and the adults who work with them. They listen carefully in their lessons and try hard to do their best.

They tell me that learning time is seldom lost. One parent's comment that their children are 'so happy and have the skills, knowledge and character to succeed thanks to this wonderful school,' was typical of many. Those pupils whom I spoke to were confident and articulate.

They were able to talk positively about their time in school and the activities they enjoy most. Your kind, caring and happy pupils are a credit to the school and community. Safeguarding is effective.

Leaders have made sure that all staff understand their responsibilities regarding safeguarding. The school's arrangements for safeguarding are fit for purpose. You make sure that all necessary training is up to date and that staff are fully aware of the importance of this issue.

As a result, they are vigilant and proactive. Your team works well with other agencies to ensure pupils are kept safe. Recruitment processes are secure, and legal requirements are met.

Pupils feel safe in school. Health and safety arrangements are secure and pupils are always appropriately supervised. They are aware of rules that are designed to keep them safe.

Pupils have a good understanding of issues such as online safety and the importance of mutual respect. When asked, pupils said that bullying is very rare but that they know how they would react to incidents or problems should they arise. Inspection findings ? I explored a number of lines of enquiry in this inspection.

The first of these was to do with assessment and how your system is used to identify and support those pupils who are at risk of falling behind in reading. The majority of pupils achieve well, but I wanted to be sure that all pupils were receiving the necessary help to ensure they make good progress. To do this, I explored the school's teaching of phonics and how teaching promotes the development of early reading.

• Phonics teaching is effective. The majority of pupils attain the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. Teachers check on pupils' progress and group pupils appropriately in their lessons.

They use early assessments as a starting point against which to measure future progress. Teachers provide appropriate additional support for those pupils who need a boost with their learning. Teachers are currently using a wider range of early reading catch-up programmes and approaches than previously and are making judgements about their impact.

• Pupils read regularly in school and progress through the school's chosen graded reading scheme. Pupils who read to me were all confident and eager. They used a range of strategies, including their phonics knowledge, to break down unfamiliar words to read them.

They could recall information and were starting to develop skills of interpretation and reasoning. ? I also explored how well the school works towards securing good outcomes for its disadvantaged pupils. Your recently appointed special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) leads on this work and this has reviewed and improved the school's approach.

The school's detailed and thorough records of pupils' progress give you and your staff a good understanding of their needs and any barriers to their learning. Leaders have given careful consideration and have allocated funding to support to pupils' emotional and social needs. This work has resulted in pupils' increased self-confidence and improved engagement in lessons.

• Leaders are also using additional funding well to provide intervention for those pupils who need a boost or support to catch up with their learning. Effective systems for checking the impact of additional support mean that staff have a more accurate view of their effectiveness. Teachers are better able to assess small steps of progress and plan more specifically for individual needs.

This has enabled pupils to make good progress from their starting points and the attainment gap is reducing. ? Historical data indicates that pupils' attainment in writing was not as good as for other subjects. I found that writing is very well taught and pupils have a strong understanding of what they need to do to improve their work.

Teachers provide the right amount of challenge and support to ensure that pupils make good progress. Teachers plan the curriculum carefully to ensure that pupils have every opportunity to write in a range of genres across subjects. Pupils say that they enjoy their written work and take pride in their handwriting, which they learn to join from an early age.

• During the inspection, I saw many examples of good-quality writing in pupils' books and on display. Progress for pupils in upper key stage 2 was evident. They were writing using adventurous vocabulary and a range of sentence structures.

They used figurative language and carefully crafted adjectival phrases. Spelling was accurate. Their use of punctuation was good, with the appropriate use of speech marks and demarcating commas.

• Finally, I wanted to check on the school's wider curriculum to see if it was rich and varied and planned in such a way that pupils would be able to develop and apply their skills and knowledge. The school has a lively curriculum with a wide range of learning experiences in which pupils fully engage. The curriculum is enriched with many memorable experiences, such as trips and visitors to school.

The standards in music, art and physical education are high. ? The curriculum is carefully structured. Pupils look forward to new topics and leaders have ensured that pupils have full access to all subjects in the national curriculum.

Assessment in subjects in the wider curriculum is not as advanced or as effective as it is in English and mathematics. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? they continue to rigorously monitor and evaluate the impact of teaching interventions to ensure that these achieve the desired outcomes for progress and attainment ? leaders and teachers use assessment effectively to secure progression in knowledge and skills across the wider curriculum. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Ely, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Cambridgeshire.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely James Richards Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection My inspection activities included meetings with curriculum subject leaders, members of staff with responsibility for safeguarding and several governors. I also spoke to a representative from the local authority.

I carried out learning walks with the headteacher, briefly visiting most classes. I looked in depth at pupils' writing and topic books and listened to readers from Years 2 and 3. During the inspection, I reviewed a range of school documentation.

This included leaders' evaluation of the school's effectiveness, and documentation relating to assessment, provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), attendance and safeguarding. I spoke with parents in the playground and held a meeting with a group of pupils. I considered 108 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View, alongside 90 pupil and 16 staff returns.

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