Woodplumpton St Anne’s CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Woodplumpton St Anne's CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school radiates a friendly and caring atmosphere. Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils, including children in the early years, for their behaviour and achievement.

Children and pupils respond well to them. Pupils are polite and respectful. Staff foster positive and trusting relationships with pupils.

Pupils achieve well in most subjects.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and are happy here.

Pupils embrace the school's values. They learn abo...ut the importance of respecting differences between people.

Pupils behave well.

In lessons, they are keen to learn and support each other well. On the very rare occasions on which bullying occurs, it is reported and dealt with effectively.

Pupils benefit from well-chosen experiences that bring learning to life.

These include visits to places of interest, such as Ribchester to learn about Romans and Brockholes to learn about aspects of geography. Pupils enjoy taking part in clubs and sports, such as dodgeball, dance and cookery. Many pupils have opportunities to learn to play the ukulele.

Pupils have won competitions in football and gymnastics.

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

Leaders, governors and staff want all pupils to succeed. Leaders have developed a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils.

Staff organise a range of visitors and workshops to enrich pupils' learning. Pupils enjoyed an animal workshop. This helped them to develop their knowledge of classification in science.

In most subjects, leaders have identified the knowledge they want pupils to learn from the early years to Year 6. Leaders ensure that knowledge is well ordered within each of these subject curriculums. This helps children and pupils to build on what they know and achieve well across many areas of the curriculum.

However, in a small number of subjects, leaders have not finalised their curriculum thinking. Leaders are still developing what they want pupils to know and the order in which this new learning should be delivered. In these subjects, a small number of pupils do not achieve as highly as they could.

Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to present and explain information clearly to pupils. Teachers revisit prior learning. This helps to deepen pupils' understanding.

In most subjects, teachers use a range of assessment strategies well to check what pupils know and to address any errors and misconceptions that they may have.

The teaching of phonics and early reading is strong. Children start to learn phonics as soon as they start in the early years.

They enjoy listening to stories and singing songs. Staff are well trained in phonics. Leaders and staff ensure that the books that children and pupils read are carefully matched to the sounds that they are learning.

Children and pupils use their phonics knowledge well to read unfamiliar words and tricky words. They read with increasing confidence and fluency. Staff provide effective support for pupils who find reading difficult.

This helps these pupils to catch up quickly. Pupils have many opportunities to read for pleasure in school. Leaders have invested in high-quality books from different genres and eras.

This helps to foster pupils' love of reading.

Leaders are quick to identify the needs of pupils with SEND. They share information about these pupils with teachers and teaching assistants.

Staff provide effective support for pupils with SEND. This helps them to learn well.

There is a calm atmosphere around school.

Children in the Reception class and pupils get on well together and look after each other. In classrooms, children and pupils are able to listen to each other's views and work hard because lessons are rarely interrupted by poor behaviour. During breaktimes and lunchtimes, they play sensibly with one another and develop positive social habits when eating together.

Leaders place a strong focus on pupils' wider development. Pupils' physical and mental health is promoted well. The curriculum provides pupils with age-appropriate information regarding relationships, sex and health education.

Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities, where they can make a difference, such as school councillors. They learn about different religions and religious festivals. This helps pupils to become tolerant of others.

Pupils spoke knowledgably about democracy and the rule of law. They are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

Staff morale is high in this family-orientated school.

Staff feel well supported by leaders. They value the time that they are given by leaders to do their work. Staff recognise that the leaders do the best they can within the demands of working in a small school.

Governors are committed to the ethos of the school. They are well informed about leaders' work to improve the school. They provide leaders with effective support and challenge.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of vigilance in the school. Staff and governors receive up-to-date safeguarding training.

They know how to spot the signs that pupils are at risk from harm and swiftly report any concerns. Leaders work effectively with a range of external agencies to ensure that pupils and their families receive the right support when they need it. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and when they are out and about.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a very small number of subjects, leaders have not finalised their curriculum thinking. They are in the process of refining exactly what pupils should learn and in what order. This is hindering some pupils from learning as well as they could.

In the remaining few subjects, leaders should ensure that they refine the curriculum further to identify the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn. This will help pupils to develop their understanding over time in these subjects.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2017.