Woodside Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders, governors and representatives from the trust have worked highly effectively to improve many areas of the school since it opened as an academy.

The curriculum has been carefully designed to enable pupils to leave the school with a comprehensive range of knowledge and skills. This curriculum design shows clear impact in key stage 2, where outcomes for pupils are very strong across many subjects. This is not the case in key stage 1 in subjects other than English and mathematics.

The local governing body fulfils its role highly effectively. Members have an in-depth understanding of the context of the school and use this to ensure tha...t the right decisions are made. Leaders use training and professional development opportunities judiciously to support improvements to teachers' practice and subject knowledge.

Relationships are exceptionally strong across the school. Leaders have created a really warm, caring environment where pupils feel safe because they know adults will look after them. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is extremely well promoted.

Pupils said that one of the main things they will take away from this school is the importance of being kind and respectful. Pupils conduct themselves well at all times. They have excellent attitudes to learning which really support the progress that they make.

Leaders place great importance on attendance. Consequently, pupils attend well. Any pupils whose attendance declines are quickly identified and helped to get back on track.

Children get off to an excellent start in the highly stimulating early years environment. Parents and carers have positive attitudes to the school. Parents who spoke to inspectors were very happy with their children's education.

Information about this school

This is a larger than average-sized primary school. This school joined the Synaptic Trust in September 2016. Its predecessor school was judged to require improvement at its inspection of June 2016.

The trust's directors delegate much of the work of running the school to the local governing body. These roles and responsibilities are clearly explained on the trust's website. The early years consists of three Reception classes and a Nursery with additional provision for two-year-olds.

Year 1 and Year 3 comprise three classes, and Years 2 and 4 to 6 comprise four classes. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average. The proportion of pupils with SEND is lower than average, although numbers are rising.

The school serves a very diverse community with almost three quarter of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. A higher-than-average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language. Many of these pupils are at the very early stages of English acquisition.

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