Woden Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. All leaders, governors and trustees have high expectations for the quality of teaching and for pupils' achievement. They have taken all necessary actions and allocated the resources required to ensure that all pupils achieve these expectations.

Pupils across the school are making outstanding progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment has risen rapidly. From well below average levels at the time the school became an academy, attainment is currently average.

The attainment of pupils who stay at the school for two years or more is above average. Pupils who are new to the school and who speak English as an additional la...nguage are given highly effective individual support to enable them to quickly access learning in lessons. Children in Nursery and Reception classes make exceptional progress in their speaking skills and personal development.

They are extremely well prepared for learning in Year 1. Teaching is outstanding. Pupils enjoy the challenging tasks they are set and they persevere until they complete them.

When given the choice, pupils often choose the most challenging task. Teachers ask questions that encourage pupils to talk about and explain their learning. This helps to deepen the pupils' understanding and to consider reasons for their answers.

Pupils' outstanding attitudes in lessons support their learning exceptionally well. Pupils across the school have a thirst for learning in whatever subject is being taught. Pupils receive clear guidance about how to complete the challenging tasks and activities in lessons through individual support or by following the steps to success.

As a result, almost all pupils are successful. Teachers and teaching assistants have regular conversations with selected pupils during and after lessons to review, consolidate and extend learning. Written feedback is not always of the same high quality.

Topics and homework activities provide interesting opportunities for pupils to apply their learning and to practise computing, reading, writing and mathematics skills in a number of different subjects. Pupils say they feel safe and are happy in school. They cannot recall any incidents of bullying and say pupils hardly ever fall out.

Behaviour is exemplary at all times of the day. Pupils show great respect to adults and each other, and are polite and courteous at all times. All pupils move around the school sensibly, with little supervision required.

Information about this school

Woden Primary School is larger than the average-sized school. Nursery children attend for three hours in the morning or in the afternoon and are taught in one class. Reception-aged children are taught together in two classes and attend full time.

The school became a sponsored academy in April 2013. It is part of the Central Learning Partnership Trust and works in partnership with one local school. The academy's predecessor school was last inspected by Ofsted in March 2012, when it was judged to be inadequate.

Pupils are from a number of different minority ethnic backgrounds. A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language. More pupils than in other schools nationally join and leave the school throughout the year.

Many are new to the country and speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is high. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6. The breakfast and after-school clubs that are run on the school site were inspected at the same time as the school.