Winslow Church of England School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this nurturing and inclusive school. Leaders and staff encourage pupils to embody the school's values of 'kindness, forgiveness, honesty, respect and love to learn'. A wide range of after school clubs help foster pupils' interests and talents.

These include outdoor learning, creative and sporting activities.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Those pupils needing support to manage their feelings and emotions are given the help they need.

Pupils feel safe and bullying is rare. They know that staff are always on hand to help them sort out any concerns or upsets quickly.

Children in early years get on well and fo...llow rules and routines.

Older pupils take responsibilities seriously such as being members of the school council, house captains, internet safety and reading ambassadors. Pupils told inspectors that everyone is encouraged to celebrate their own unique qualities. As one pupil said, 'We don't give anyone labels for who they are.'



Leaders and teachers want the best for pupils and help them to succeed, especially in mathematics and history. However, pupils' knowledge in other subjects is underdeveloped and pupils who struggle to learn to read are not given the right help to catch up quickly.

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

Leaders' work to improve how reading is taught is not finished.

They have recently introduced a new phonics programme. However, leaders have not yet made sure that all staff have the knowledge they need to deliver the programme effectively. This means that some pupils who struggle to read do not catch up as quickly as they should.

Leaders are keen to promote and nurture pupils' love of reading. They provide plentiful opportunities for pupils to read for pleasure. For example, pupils look forward to their weekly visit to the well-stocked school library and listen with concentration to adults reading to them.

While leaders are ambitious for all pupils to learn a well-structured and exciting curriculum there remains some work to do. In subjects such as mathematics, leaders have identified the essential knowledge they want pupils to learn and remember over time. In some subjects and areas of learning, teachers have strong subject knowledge and use it to check and adapt lessons to help all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

However, in other subjects and areas of learning, leaders have not identified the most important things they want pupils to learn and the order in which these should be taught. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

Pupils throughout the school, including in the early years, behave very well.

They are thoughtful towards others and try their best at all times. Overall, pupils attend school regularly and arrive on time. Staff identify and provide for the pastoral and wider needs of pupils with SEND.

Pupils learn about healthy relationships and appropriate behaviour within relationships in an age-appropriate way. Pupils know how to take care of their mental health and why this is important. They listen to different views with respect and consideration.

Pupils are appreciative of others and celebrate diversity. There are lots of opportunities for all pupils to contribute to decisions about the school. For example, pupils recently voted on what to name their school houses and reviewed the school values.

The early years curriculum is well considered. Leaders check the starting points of children and in areas such as early maths provide the most vulnerable children with the support they need to catch up. However, the provision for children's communication and physical development is not consistent.

Not all staff in the early years are sufficiently well-trained to deliver every aspect of the curriculum. As a result, children, including those with SEND, do not receive the help they need to achieve well.

Staff are proud to be part of this happy school.

They benefit from regular opportunities to discuss what works well in the classroom. Teachers appreciate learning from each other.

Governors are knowledgeable about the school and use this to challenge school leaders about the impact of their actions.

They care about pupils' personal development and use additional funding well to target support for the most vulnerable pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff receive regular training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities.

They know signs to be alert to and are confident about reporting concerns. Checks on adults who work in school are appropriate and monitored by governors.

Leaders work well with external agencies to access support when there are concerns about pupils' welfare and safety.

Leaders are clear about the support given and identify appropriate next steps to keep pupils safe. However, records show that sometimes, these incidents, and the actions that follow, are not recorded in enough detail. This means that leaders' oversight of safeguarding is not as precise as it could be.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Weaker readers, including older pupils with SEND, do not catch up in reading quickly enough. The support they get is not consistently effective. This hinders pupils' learning in other areas as well.

Leaders should ensure that pupils are provided with the right additional help so that they learn to read fluently and confidently. ? Pupils do not achieve consistently well across the curriculum. While there are some strengths in some subjects, in others, the curriculum is not yet designed effectively enough or consistently adapted for all pupils including pupils with SEND.

Curriculum leaders should think more carefully about the order in which pupils should learn key knowledge in all subjects. Leaders should also make sure that teachers have strong subject knowledge and know how to tailor teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. ? Children in the early years do not develop detailed knowledge consistently across all seven areas of learning.

At times, staff support for children with SEND does not meet their needs. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the right skills and knowledge to help pupils learn and achieve well overall. ? Leaders do not ensure that safeguarding records are always clear and detailed.

This places some limits on leaders' oversight of overall safeguarding concerns and individual cases. Staff and leaders are, however, vigilant and well trained, ensuring that concerns are identified and that pupils get the help they need. Leaders must build on this strong culture of safeguarding by improving safeguarding records.

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