Worth Valley Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a warm, friendly and welcoming school. The pupils are rightly proud of it. The staff are proud to work at it.

The headteacher is proud to lead it.

The headteacher is determined that pupils will do as well as they can. She has put her pride in the school and the community it serves at the heart of what is happening at the school.

She shares her high aspirations for pupils with all staff.

To lift everybody's expectations, the headteacher has brought in a new curriculum. Much of it is planned and in place already.

It has raised the bar for teachers and for pupils. Everyone is responding to the challenge. Pupils have discovered or increa...sed their enjoyment of reading.

Pupils are safe in school and they feel safe. They are not worried about bullying. Their behaviour is good.

Right from the early years, pupils understand how to conduct themselves in a courteous and respectful way.

This is a school which teaches its pupils about tolerance and respect for others.

The school is best summed up by the comment of one pupil, who said, 'At Worth Valley we are one big team.'



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

The school provides a good quality of education. Leaders have considered what pupils should learn, when and why. Some subjects have already got well-planned programmes of study in place.

Here, there are clear links from what pupils learn in Year 1 to what they learn in Year 6. The teaching in these subjects is very effective. Teachers have strong subject knowledge.

This means that they teach the 'units' with confidence and skill.

In a few subjects, curriculum plans are being finalised. However, leaders have made sure that teachers have got stuck in with what is planned so far.

Leaders are training subject coordinators and teachers in how to plan and teach the new units. Due to the newness of these plans, some of the teaching in these subjects is a little less confident at the moment.

Leaders have made the teaching of reading a priority.

Everyone teaches early reading to the Reception Year and Year 1 in the same way. As well as this, they have made reading for pleasure a big thing in school. Pupils told inspectors how much they enjoy reading.

Due to these actions, pupils are quickly getting the skills they need to be good readers.

The behaviour of pupils is a strength of the school. They are polite and welcoming.

Pupils said that bullying is very unusual but gets sorted out if it happens. In class, pupils are well behaved and listen for most of the time. The relationships between staff and pupils are respectful.

Pupils get on well with their learning.

School does lots of work to improve attendance. It is getting better, but it is still not as good as it needs to be.

Leaders provide lots of opportunities for pupils to experience things which help them to grow as young people. They learn about other people's faiths and cultures. One pupil told an inspector, 'No matter where you are from, whatever faith or language, you are welcome here.

Everyone is respected.'

The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well met most of the time. Leaders have got a firm grasp of support needed, and how to put it in place.

Pupils with SEND feel very supported at school. Yet a couple of parents do not think school's support for SEND is as strong as they would like.

The school is well led and managed.

The staff are overwhelmingly proud to work at the school. Governors have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and where there is still work to do. The headteacher and senior staff are well supported by the trust.

The early years foundation stage provision is good. Staff make sure that they teach reading from the start. Due to this, children in the Reception Year learn their sounds and letters correctly.

The early years base is a welcoming area. There are plenty of play-based activities for the children to try. Staff use these activities well to encourage the children's use of language.

Leaders have put in place a curriculum which prepares the children for key stage 1. Children's behaviour is very good. The staff are skilled at helping the children learn how to get along with others.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school. The necessary checks are made on staff who work there.

Staff receive training in appropriate safeguarding matters. Leaders keep safeguarding at the forefront of staff minds. The systems for identifying and helping those pupils who need extra help are strong.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently coherently planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear from the actions leaders have already taken to plan the curriculum and train staff in how to deliver it that they are in the process of bringing this about. .

In respect of the bullet above, leaders should continue the work they are already doing in the foundation subjects where plans are not yet finished. They should also continue the training of staff, so that there is the necessary level of subject specialist knowledge. This is essential, as leaders' curriculum design is founded on discrete subjects rather than cross-curricular topics.

. Leaders are aware of where 'quality first teaching' is less strong than elsewhere in school. They know that where quality first teaching is at its best, pupils with SEND receive provision which is particularly effective.

Leaders should continue the actions they have already started, to make sure that quality first teaching is uniformly strong, so that provision for pupils with SEND is consistently at the highest level. . It is recognised that leaders have worked very hard to improve rates of attendance and to reduce the rate of persistent absence.

This is a quickly improving picture. It is also recognised that leaders need greater support from some parents in improving attendance further. Leaders should continue to take all necessary action to maintain the improving trend in rates of attendance.