Wymondley Junior Mixed and Infant School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending their school. Strong relationships are a notable feature of the school culture.

Pupils feel safe and well cared for. If they have any worries, they tell an adult. That is because they know the adults will help them.

Adults teach pupils how to manage their well-being. For example, pupils learn helpful strategies such as using breathing techniques to feel calm.

Pupils, including children in Reception, quickly settle in after joining.

Adults are proactive in making sure that pupils feel a strong sense of belonging. Pupils benefit from the clear routines that are in place. Older pupils are supported to look after the younger childre...n.

This helps older pupils feel responsible, and it makes the younger children feel welcomed.

The school has high expectations for pupils' success. Pupils are expected to work hard, and adults support them to do so.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of enrichment opportunities on offer and are very positive about sports such as swimming and football. Many pupils enjoy singing in morning choir. They really like playtime.

The playground includes a variety of activities that the children enjoy engaging with, both with their friends and with adults. Pupils particularly love dancing, ball games and climbing on the equipment.

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

The school has ensured that pupils benefit from an education that is both challenging and enriching.

Within the curriculum plans, staff are clear about the important skills and knowledge that pupils need to acquire. Teachers know what to teach pupils and when.

Overall, teachers are skilled at delivering the ambitious curriculum.

They consider what pupils know before moving them on with their learning. If there are gaps in pupils' knowledge, teachers quickly spot them, and they adapt their teaching to address this.

Staff are equally confident adapting teaching to ensure they deliver the curriculum in a way that meets the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Teachers use their knowledge of pupils' needs and what pupils with SEND know to plan effectively. This ensures that pupils with SEND are able to achieve well and access the same curriculum as their peers successfully.

The curriculum is not delivered as effectively in some areas because teachers do not check closely enough how well pupils are doing.

Pupils receive work that is not well matched to their needs. This can result in pupils becoming disengaged with their learning or falling behind their peers.

In Reception, children benefit from leaders' high expectations of what they should achieve.

Staff plan activities that support children to achieve well. Despite only recently joining the school, children are settled and motivated to do well. Adults have ensured that the environment is engaging and offers ample opportunities to develop children's curiosity and interest.

Children start learning phonics as soon as they join the school. Strategies are used to develop children's language skills. For example, songs and nursery rhymes are an important part of children's learning.

Adults further support children with developing their communication through high-quality talk and interactions. This contributes towards children being well prepared for Year 1.

Many pupils read regularly with an adult.

Most older pupils are skilled readers. However, while this is the case, the school has not gone far enough in supporting a minority of pupils who are at an early stage of reading. Although most pupils keep up with the phonics programme, some do not.

There are some inconsistencies in the way adults deliver the lessons. A minority of pupils who are struggling to keep up do not receive the most appropriate help. A small minority of pupils are too slow in gaining the skills they need to read confidently.

Most staff are highly skilled in supporting pupils to display excellent behaviour. They purposefully teach pupils how to manage their feelings. Adults model the behaviours they expect to see.

Pupils are very polite and friendly to adults and each other. Pupils celebrate each other's achievements and praise each other for doing well. Lessons are very rarely disrupted due to off-task behaviour.

The opportunities provided to support pupils' wider development are rich and varied. Many pupils attend a club that they enjoy, such as gardening, reading or tag rugby. There is a wide variety of activities in which all pupils participate, such as forest school, playing the violin and trips to Wymondley woods.

Pupils not only enjoy these opportunities, but they also develop their skills and confidence.

School leaders have excellent relationships with the school community. Governors are proactive in supporting the school to do well.

All parents would recommend the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• A small number of pupils who are at an early stage of reading do not do as well as they should.

In these cases, staff do not deliver the phonics programme consistently well. When pupils fall behind, staff do not give the weakest readers the most appropriate support to catch up. The school needs to ensure that all staff are equally well trained to deliver the phonics programme effectively.

The school must prioritise pupils who are not keeping up and give them the effective support they need so they catch up swiftly. ? In a few instances, the work provided is not matched closely enough to what pupils already know and need to learn. The school needs to ensure that teachers check what pupils know and use this information accurately to set work that supports pupils to learn more.

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