Wyborne Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Wyborne Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, staff and families are proud of their school. Parents and carers are positive about the school, with many commenting that 'the school has a feeling of community and coming together'.

Pupils value school life.

There is a broad range of subjects on offer. Staff make lessons interesting and exciting and help pupils to learn and remember new knowledge. Pupils work hard and enjoy their learning.

Staff know them and care for them very well. From the moment they start in the Nursery, pupils at Wyborne rise to the high expectations that staff have of them, and they achieve... highly.

Pupils behave well and are respectful to each other and to adults.

Wyborne is a safe and happy place to be. Working relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. Many pupils said that the best thing about the school is the teachers and how they help them.

Staff swiftly sort out any poor behaviour, including any rare cases of bullying.

Pupils are supported to contribute well to school life. They do this in a range of ways, including through their roles as pupil governors and subject ambassadors.

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

Leaders have put together a well-sequenced curriculum across a range of subjects. They have thought carefully about the subject content that is learned and practised in all year groups. They make sure that what is taught in the early years supports children when they move to Year 1.

Teachers think carefully about how to teach new knowledge and help pupils remember it. They also think of ways to engage pupils in their learning. For example, some lessons are taught in the 'museum of everything', which is a classroom that has been transformed into a museum.

Pupils explained how much they like this special feature of their school, saying that it inspires them with their learning.Pupils recall past learning with enthusiasm. For example, Year 5 and 6 pupils could confidently recall what they had learned about significant people and events in the past, showing a good understanding of chronology.

In mathematics, pupils were keen to explain how patterns in times tables could support them with calculations when solving problems.

Leaders aim to enhance pupils' learning across the curriculum through providing a wide range of visits, for example to the Houses of Parliament. Pupils also have opportunities to attend a range of clubs, from bird watching to coding.

As soon as they start school in the early years, staff identify children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders and staff ensure that these children receive the right support, and this continues as pupils move through the school. Staff receive guidance to help them adapt learning to meet pupils' needs.

They make sure that all pupils, including those with SEND, work through the planned curriculum, and achieve well. In mathematics, for example, support staff are carefully deployed to provide help to those pupils who need it. In addition, teachers choose and adapt resources to help pupils understand the subject content being taught.

Teachers keep a careful check on pupils' learning. Teachers spot when pupils are struggling, or at risk of falling behind, and help them to catch up.

Leaders have prioritised the development of phonics and reading.

They have recently implemented a new early reading programme. From the earliest stages of learning to read, staff focus on helping children to learn and apply phonics knowledge in a logical way. Older pupils read a wide range of literature.

They also read widely to support their learning across a range of subjects. Staff actively promote a love of reading. Pupils are encouraged to read a range of books online when they are at home.

This approach forms a core part of leaders' new early reading curriculum. However, leaders' oversight of the books that pupils read and how often is still developing. This means that they do not know if pupils learning to read are practising with books that match their ability.

Leaders make sure that staff receive the right training to develop their subject knowledge. However, there remain some pockets of underdeveloped subject knowledge in relation to phonics and reading. On occasions, adults do not help pupils to secure and extend their reading skills.

Leaders are aware and plan to address these inconsistencies appropriately.

Pupils are taught to respect and celebrate differences between them. They learn about the importance of treating others equally and listening to different views, for instance, through the debating club.

Any issues between pupils are dealt with swiftly and effectively by leaders. This is a respectful, harmonious community.

Staff feel well supported by leaders and governors in managing their workload and in taking care of their well-being.

They appreciate the headteacher's 'open-door' policy.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff know pupils well.

They do everything they possibly can to keep pupils safe in school and protect them from harm when they are out of school.

Staff are well trained and highly vigilant to any safeguarding concerns. Leaders work with a wide range of external services to get pupils and families the support that they need.

Governors keep a careful check on safer recruitment procedures for new staff. Leaders commit funding to make sure that pupils get the therapy or counselling that they need.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online.

They have a strong awareness of potential threats to their safety, such as from drugs and knife crime.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' oversight of the books that pupils practise reading with at home is still developing. This means that leaders do not know if pupils who may be struggling or in need of extra support are practising with books that are appropriately matched to their stage of reading.

In further developing their recently introduced approach to early reading, leaders should check and make sure that pupils practise reading with materials that are appropriate to their reading skills. Leaders should use what they find out from their checks to accurately evaluate the impact of the reading curriculum on all pupils. ? A few staff lack confidence in supporting pupils' reading development, including in phonics.

At times, this can affect how well pupils' progression in reading is promoted. Leaders should continue their work to ensure that they identify staff's specific training needs and that these are addressed through appropriate guidance and support.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2017.

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