Woodstone Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Woodstone Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They say that they take part in a wide range of activities, including sports and music.

Many pupils enjoy cross-country running and playing in school music groups. Pupils engage well in lessons and know that their teachers want them to do well. Pupils understand the importance of working hard.

Many pupils relish learning in English lessons. They love to read and can give examples of books they have enjoyed.

Teachers have high expectations for positive behaviour.

Pupils hold doors open for adults. They display good manners... in class and around school. Pupils are proud of their work and their school.

Leaders celebrate pupils' achievements in assemblies and display their work around the school.

Staff make sure that pupils understand how to keep themselves safe. Pupils say that bullying is rare.

They trust their teachers to sort out any problems. Parents and carers say that their children thrive in the nurturing school environment. Pupils are mature and responsible.

They told me how much they appreciate being school councillors and members of the eco committee. They talk with pride about the money they have raised for charity.

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

During their time in school, pupils study all the subjects of the national curriculum.

Pupils say that they enjoy topic work, which includes learning in subjects such as history, geography and the arts. Pupils benefit from high-quality facilities, including a dedicated radio studio.

Leaders make sure that phonics is well taught.

Pupils use their phonics knowledge confidently to read new words. Teachers make sure that the books pupils read are well matched to the sounds they have been taught in phonics lessons. The plans for the teaching of reading throughout the school are clear and carefully sequenced so that pupils can build on what they already know.

Pupils benefit from reading with adults regularly. They love listening to teachers read books about different places. For example, pupils were captivated by the story of a young girl trapped in a war zone.

They learned all about the culture of Beirut and the impact of conflict on a family. Leaders promote reading well. They ensure that books are available to read in all corners of the school.

Pupils enjoy getting rewards for their reading efforts. Leaders arrange regular visits from authors and book fairs for pupils to enjoy. This helps to develop pupils' love of reading.

Leaders know what pupils need to learn in mathematics in each year group. Pupils develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills well. Teachers use equipment well in some lessons to help pupils understand new ideas.

Teachers do not always use what they know about what pupils already understand to plan pupils' next steps in learning. Sometimes, teachers do not make sure that the work they provide is demanding enough.

The curriculum plan for science sets out what pupils should learn and when they should learn it.

The subject lead has good subject knowledge, which is used to model and explain ideas well. However, some pupils could achieve more. Leaders do not check that all teachers are delivering an ambitious science curriculum.

Some teachers have not benefited from training to improve their teaching of this subject.

Staff know pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. They understand their specific needs.

The special educational needs coordinator writes detailed plans to ensure that these needs are addressed by teachers. Pupil 'passports' provide parents with useful information about how well their child is doing. Leadership in this area of the school is highly effective.

Pupils behave well and concentrate in lessons. Leaders want pupils to become confident, active and healthy citizens. They can take part in a range of activities, including team sports.

All pupils can learn to play a musical instrument and take part in a performance. Staff plan a broad range of visits for pupils. For example, pupils travel to France to learn about the First World War and trench warfare.

They can order breakfast in a Parisian café and learn about the geography of the French coast.

Leaders have created a strong working community in which they help staff to look after their well-being. They carefully consider teachers' workload when they introduce new projects.

They try to avoid introducing unnecessary tasks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff know what to do if they have any concerns about the safety of a pupil.

They receive training to spot signs that a pupil might be at risk. The designated leaders for safeguarding receive regular training and pass on information about important issues to staff.

Leaders act swiftly to keep pupils safe from harm.

They work with the local authority and external agencies to ensure that pupils and families get the help they need. Leaders keep records of any pupils they know to be vulnerable and take action to keep them safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum in reading.

However, the curriculum in mathematics is not as ambitious for some year groups. Leaders should ensure that teachers build on what pupils already know and can do, providing the appropriate level of demand for pupils across all year groups in mathematics. They should ensure that the implementation of curriculum plans for mathematics leads to all pupils knowing and remembering more.

. Some curriculum leaders are new to role. They have made a positive start in ensuring that the curriculum in their areas of responsibility is well sequenced.

Leaders should now ensure that teachers receive appropriate subject-specific training to teach the subjects well. They must check that teachers are fully implementing curriculum plans.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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2016.

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