Worfield Endowed CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Worfield Endowed CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend this warm and welcoming school eagerly. The values of respect, love, perseverance and friendship are evident in all aspects of school life. Staff model these values very well and pupils are quick to follow their lead.

Pupils are polite and well mannered. Strong relationships, underpinned by staff who care for all who attend, help pupils feel safe in school.

The school wants all pupils to do as well as possible, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

These high ambitions are realised particularly well in the co...re subjects. Pupils who find accessing the curriculum more difficult get kind, caring and effective support to help them emotionally and with their education when it is needed.

Pupils behave well.

The pastoral team take their responsibilities seriously in supporting any pupil who finds this more difficult. It is a high priority. This effective team approach helps to ensure that incidents of serious behaviour are rare.

Pupils understand the importance of being active and responsible citizens in their community. For example, they are currently working on initiatives to make the roads around the school safer by communicating why it is important, both to parents of pupils in school and local councillors.

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

Pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.

This means they are well prepared for their next stage of education. Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. A recently introduced phonics scheme is helping younger pupils grasp the skills of early reading effectively.

A small number of pupils need extra support sessions to keep up with their peers. These sessions, alongside books that match pupils' phonic ability, lead to many pupils achieving well and being able to read with increased accuracy and fluency. The mathematics curriculum is also effective in securing positive outcomes for pupils.

They are provided with a variety of ways in which to recall prior learning and they can do this well.

However, some other areas of the curriculum are not yet as well embedded as the core subjects. Some plans are new which means pupils still have gaps in their learning.

On occasion, misconceptions pupils have are not responded to swiftly enough. This can be in oral responses given in lessons or in the work they produce. This means that misunderstandings are not always addressed.

The school recognises that the way pupils present their work needs improvement. They do not routinely develop proper letter formation when they start to write. This continues as they move through the school.

The school expects pupils to behave well, and they do. Playtimes are calm and safe. Pupils enjoy suggesting equipment they would like to have available to enhance their playtimes and the school responds to these requests.

Older pupils support the younger pupils on the playground and in the dining room sensibly. They welcome this responsibility, and the younger pupils benefit from being guided and supported by their older peers. Pupils engage well with their learning most of the time.

It is most effective when lesson activities are appropriate for all learners.

The school understands the needs of pupils with SEND well. They are experts in identifying any barriers to learning pupils might have.

Staff are supported to ensure each classroom environment enables the pupils to learn alongside their classmates. This is effective.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to develop leadership roles and responsibilities, such as school councillors, the worship crew and playground helpers.

They make purposeful links with others in the wider community, including strong links with the local church. They also have the opportunity to visit other places of worship to help deepen their understanding of the world beyond their local, semi-rural community. Pupils help support charities that are close to their hearts.

They enjoy thinking of ways to help others. This is part of their distinct Christian ethos that encourages the children to 'grow in grace'.

The federation executive leaders work very closely with staff in school to ensure that a committed and dedicated team works in the best interest of all pupils.

Staff appreciate the care and support shown to them, particularly in times of need. This is a praiseworthy aspect of the school. They are ably supported by skilful governors.

They fulfil their responsibilities highly effectively and have a clear understanding of what the school needs to do to continually improve the offer already available.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils' mistakes or misconceptions are not consistently corrected or are not corrected promptly.

As a result, pupils repeat the same mistakes or are not being helped to work at the standard the school expects for their age. The school needs to make sure that all teachers identify and address errors and misconceptions promptly so that pupils' progress is maximised. ? The school does not place a high enough priority on how work is presented in books.

This affects the quality of work that pupils produce. The school should ensure there is a consistent and ambitious expectation of how pupils present their work, using neat and legible handwriting.

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 2014.