Wimborne First School and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this school. They thrive academically and emotionally.

This is due to warm and caring relationships throughout. From the youngest children in the Nursery to older pupils joining mid-year, staff quickly get to know them. This helps new arrivals to settle well.

Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They work hard and take pride in their learning. Pupils enjoy saving for rewards in the 'headteacher's shop'.

They display impeccable manners when talking to visitors. Pupils play well together in the extensive school grounds. Bullying is not an issue.

Pupils say staff help to resolve their worries through the 'chatterbo...x' system.

The school has continued to strengthen its quality of education. However, it has not stopped there.

It has created a high-quality offer beyond the academic. Pupils have a range of leadership roles such as play leaders and library monitors. The school council make a wider contribution to the community through their attendance at town council meetings.

This helps to deepen their understanding of democracy. Older pupils develop their independence through the annual residential visit.

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers would recommend the school.

They value how staff listen to their views.

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

The school has sensitively managed change in recent years. It has moved to a new building in a different location.

The number of pupils admitted to each year group has increased and a new nursery provision has opened. The school has converted to an academy. All of this has occurred against the backdrop of the pandemic.

Throughout this period, the senior leadership team, expertly led by the headteacher, has ensured that Wimborne has not lost its close-knit, family-feel. This is because they take decisions in the best interests of pupils. As a result, the school has continued to go from strength to strength.

The trust has supported the school well throughout this transition. It has provided extensive curriculum training for staff. This has helped to develop a well-sequenced, ambitious curriculum bespoke for the school.

It details the specific knowledge pupils should learn. This starts in the early years. The trust checks the impact of this so that it can make further improvements when necessary.

The trust and local governing body have an accurate view of the quality of education.

The high level of detail and clarity in the curriculum supports teachers to typically implement the curriculum well. As the school continues to grow, leaders ensure new staff know their expectations of how the curriculum should be taught.

Pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have adaptations made as necessary. As a result, pupils learn well across the curriculum. This is reflected in the high outcomes at the end of key stage 1.

Pupils also display impressive knowledge in the wider curriculum. For example, in art and design pupils use technical vocabulary accurately when describing their finished pieces. In history, pupils can describe the impact of the Roman Empire.

Reading is the foundation of the school's academic success. The school has trained staff rigorously in the teaching of the phonics code. This means they implement the curriculum to the high standards that the school expects.

Staff are adept at quickly spotting any gaps or misconceptions. Pupils who do fall behind, including those with SEND, catch up rapidly. This is because staff accurately address the specific gaps they have.

Consequently, outcomes in the phonics screening check are well above national averages.

In the early years and beyond, adults share stories to encourage a love of reading. The school carefully selects these books to ensure pupils encounter a rich range of material.

Pupils describe how this inspires them to read more of a particular author or genre.

However, beyond the subject of reading, systems for checking what pupils have learned need further work. In some subjects, the assessments are too restrictive for pupils to fully show what they know.

On some occasions teachers do not use the assessment information well enough to plan tasks that take into account what pupils can already do. Consequently, pupils do not develop their knowledge as extensively as they are capable of.

The school has a strong focus on pupils knowing how to keep themselves safe.

For example, they learn how to keep themselves safe near water or online. The school has a rich range of trips to further enhance the curriculum. For example, pupils visit a synagogue as part of understanding different faiths.

They gain an appreciation of the environment through the onsite forest school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some of the school's assessment systems need further precision.

Teachers do not always use assessment information well enough to adapt the tasks they give to pupils. As a result, some teaching tasks do not build on previous learning and pupils do not deepen their knowledge as extensively as they could. The trust should support the school to ensure assessment is used precisely, gives a full picture of how well pupils are achieving and that the information from it is used to plan teaching tasks that deepen pupils' knowledge more extensively.

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