Wormholt Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending this school.

They feel safe and well supported. There is a warm working relationship between teachers and pupils. Pupils engage fully in lessons.

They enjoy their learning and progress well through the curriculum. They also learn about respecting others, and they are encouraged to develop confidence and kindness.

Leaders ensure that all pupils follow a broad and balanced curriculum.

They are ambitious for all their pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. Leaders provide regular opportunities for pupils to enrich their learning through, for ex...ample, regular trips.

Pupils behave exceptionally well, consistently demonstrating considerate attitudes towards others.

They spoke enthusiastically about their school ethos, which emphasises the importance of respecting everyone's rights. They explained how this helps them to talk about and manage their feelings. They gladly take responsibility across the school and feel that the school belongs to everyone.

Serious incidents such as bullying are very rare, but they are dealt with effectively.

Leaders ensure that the school is a welcoming and pleasant place. Pupils relish the time they spend playing in the well-equipped playground.

Many attend the free breakfast and after-school clubs.

Teachers and staff make sure that they know their pupils well. Pupils' achievements are valued and regularly celebrated.

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

Leaders ensure that all pupils follow a rich curriculum. Subject leaders have invested in and developed schemes of work that reflect the scope and ambition of the national curriculum. Pupils' learning in a subject is coherent and well sequenced, and this helps to ensure that they learn and remember more over time.

Subject leaders also plan carefully to ensure that children in early years are ready for their learning in each subject when they start Year 1.From early years onwards, the ambitious approach to early reading ensures that all pupils become confident and motivated readers. Leaders provide effective training to staff on how to support pupils' development of their phonic knowledge.

Pupils are assessed regularly and accurately. When they are in need of additional help, this is swiftly provided. Pupils practise reading often with books that match their phonic knowledge.

They enjoy choosing books from class and school libraries, and they are encouraged to sample a variety of authors and genres. Pupils also enjoy story time and the 'pop-up bookshop', through which they are given six new books a year.

Leaders support subject leaders and teachers to develop their subject expertise so that the curriculum is demanding and delivered well across all subjects.

In history, for example, the curriculum enables pupils to gain an increasingly detailed understanding of ancient and modern societies and civilisations. Educational outings are incorporated into the curriculum to enrich pupils' learning. For example, pupils go on visits to the River Thames to support their understanding of human and physical features in geography.

While pupils learn well overall, sometimes, teachers are not checking with precision if pupils have understood securely what they have been taught. Equally, there are instances where pupils are given tasks and activities that do not match up with what leaders and staff expect pupils to learn and remember. Subject leaders are aware of what needs to be improved.

For example, they are supporting teachers to strengthen approaches to checking pupils' understanding.

Leaders are swift to identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Leaders and staff put in place suitable adaptations so that these pupils are able to follow the curriculum and are motivated to do well.

Pupils behave very considerately. They respond to the high expectations of staff. They learn to be extremely understanding of others and are keen to support one another.

At play time, pupils enjoy a range of energetic games before returning sensibly to class and settling sensibly back to their learning.

Leaders ensure that pupils learn to talk about their feelings and have safe spaces to do so. Pupils follow a well-crafted programme of personal, social and health education.

Pupils thrive in positions of responsibility, such as 'rights-respecting ambassadors', recycling leaders and members of the arts council. For instance, pupils on the arts council recently organised an art gallery in which every pupil had a piece of work exhibited. They also raised money for the arts materials by running a bake sale.

Pupils enjoy taking part in a very wide and rich set of opportunities. The school offers an impressive range of free clubs, which are well attended. Pupils also enjoy numerous school events and trips, and they participate in competitions like the Mayor's Cup.

Leaders ensure that these opportunities are open to all by, for example, giving priority invitations to pupils who they think may particularly benefit. Take-up is exceptionally strong, including by pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.Governors have a detailed understanding of the school.

They work hard to provide support and challenge to leaders.

Staff are proud to work at Wormholt. They appreciate the training opportunities and the support offered by leaders for well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and teachers are well trained. They understand the challenges faced by some families.

They carry out checks to ensure that only suitable adults are employed in the school.

Staff are alert to where pupils may need support. They report concerns promptly.

Leaders follow these up swiftly and make referrals to wider agencies, where this is needed, to secure appropriate help.

Leaders ensure that pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe. Pupils trust staff.

They talk to them and report worries that they may have. Leaders make sure that pupils receive the help they need, organising both internal and external support. This includes support available from art therapy and mentoring.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some cases, the work given to pupils is not matched closely to what leaders aspire for pupils to learn and remember. This reduces how successfully pupils are supported to acquire knowledge cumulatively and in turn achieve the ambitious end points of the curriculum. Leaders need to ensure that teaching aligns consistently and fully with their agreed expectations.

• In some subjects, checking on whether pupils remember long term what has been taught is not well established. This affects how well teaching is able to respond to and address any aspects of learning that pupils have not grasped fully. Leaders need to continue their work to ensure that checking for understanding is linked closely to the ideas and concepts identified in curriculum thinking.