Woodham Burn Community Primary School and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between all members of the school community are good.

The school is calm and well ordered. Pupils say they feel safe in school. Pupils say behaviour is much better than it was.

They trust adults to sort out poor behaviour when it happens. Adults deal with the few incidences of bullying thoroughly. They get to the root cause of poor behaviour and provide support to resolve it.

Pupils enjoy school. New starters say it is easy to make friends and that there is a wide range of interesting lessons. For example, pupils learned how to light a fire using a flint, like people in the Stone Age.

Pupils are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle be...cause life under national lockdowns meant they were less active. Each class takes part in daily activity. Pupils like using the outdoor gym at playtimes.

The varied range of school clubs has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are usually well attended. Pupils also learn to play musical instruments.

Leaders know that there are weaknesses in how some parts of the curriculum are planned and taught. They are working hard to make sure this improves.

Adults support pupils and families very well, especially when they need help.

Adults work closely with different agencies. They make sure families get the right support so pupils can come to school regularly and enjoy learning.

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

Senior leaders and the governing body are ambitious for the school.

They have a deep and detailed understanding of what works well and what needs to get better. Their plans precisely target how and what to improve. Leaders are not afraid to take difficult decisions if they are necessary.

Staff feel well supported by leaders. For example, workload is manageable and there are clear systems for the day-to-day running of the school. Subject leaders are enthusiastic.

Some are more experienced than others. Less experienced subject leaders are keen to take part in training that other leaders have planned. It will give them the skills to improve curriculum plans and help teachers.

Leaders know that curriculum plans for reading are not implemented well enough. Some adults do not have the expertise needed to teach the curriculum well. They miss opportunities to practise what has been taught already.

Assessment is not always used well enough to help some pupils progress well and become confident, fluent readers.

Pupils talk enthusiastically about the new library in school. Most adults make daily story time lively and engaging.

Leaders know that pupils do not read widely enough. Older pupils have limited knowledge of authors, for example. Plans are underway to increase the range of books pupils read.

In other curriculum subjects, including mathematics, plans include detailed vocabulary. However, plans in other subjects, such as religious education (RE) and science, are not sequenced in enough detail to ensure pupils in every class learn the right things in the right order. In some classes, plans are not well chosen.

Resources are not appropriate. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) struggle. Other pupils lose interest and become distracted.

Pupils with SEND who have an adult to help them are very well supported. The curriculum is tailored for each individual. They learn new knowledge in very small steps, so they succeed and progress well.

Children settle well in the early years. They form warm and trusting relationships with adults. They quickly learn routines.

They select their own resources confidently and choose what to play. This helps adults to implement curriculum plans well and extend children's vocabulary. This is not consistent across the early years.

Adults sometimes select resources which limit children's play and their vocabulary development.

Pupils respect adults. They are polite and friendly.

They are tolerant of each other's differences. However, they do not have deep knowledge of different cultures and faiths. Curriculum plans are not detailed enough.

New, more detailed plans are yet to be implemented. The school council are leading a review of school values to make sure pupils follow them more consistently.

Leaders greet families as they arrive at school each morning.

Parents have confidence in the leadership team. They have brought stability to the school after a period of turbulence. Parents praise the help and support leaders give their children.

They say their children are happy to come to school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is leaders' priority.

Staff have up-to-date training and regular updates. They are clear about signs to look for that might indicate there is a concern. They know what to do.

Detailed records are maintained. Leaders make regular checks and act swiftly when they need to. For example, they tenaciously follow up absences to make sure pupils are safe.

Governors make sure that procedures are being followed and challenge leaders regularly.

Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe. They know what to do if the fire drill goes off in school.

They also know that there are dangers associated with being online and how to deal with situations which are unsafe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum plans in subjects such as mathematics, RE and science are not detailed enough. There is insufficient information about the important knowledge pupils must learn and the steps needed to remember that knowledge securely.

This includes specific disciplinary knowledge. Teachers sometimes use the wrong resources to help pupils gain more knowledge. This means that pupils sometimes develop misconceptions or have gaps in their knowledge.

This makes it more difficult to know and remember more in future. Leaders know that curriculum plans need to be more detailed and that teachers need help to develop their expertise. Training for teachers has already been planned, as has time to develop more detailed curriculum plans.

Leaders should ensure these plans are put in place. ? Some staff do not have enough expertise to help pupils to learn to read. There is not a consistent approach to teaching phonics.

Opportunities for pupils to practise their phonics knowledge are missed. Assessment information is not used well enough to target pupils' next steps precisely. As a result, lower attaining pupils struggle to become fluent readers quickly enough.

Training and support to give all staff sufficient expertise is already planned. Leaders should ensure that the training takes place and that curriculum plans for phonics are implemented consistently. ? Subject leaders have different levels of expertise.

Some have more knowledge about their subject than others. Some know how to check what works well and what helps pupils increase their knowledge. They also know what needs to improve and how to do it.

Other subject leaders do not have the necessary skills to check how well their subject is implemented. Leaders know the support subject leaders need to help them be effective. They have begun to provide this help but know more needs to be done.