Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery Ofsted Report

Full inspection result: Good

Back to Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

  • Increase the quality of teaching further and continue to raise outcomes for pupils by:
    • ensuring that all teachers identify and challenge errors in spelling and number formation in pupils’ work and that all misconceptions are addressed
    • ensuring that all classes have the same expectations of presentation as the best
    • introducing systematic assessments of pupils in foundation subjects
    • extending coaching systems to spread good practice within the school.
  • Fully embed the new systems introduced to enable each identified pupil with special educational needs and/or disabilities to maximise their progress.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

  • The strong and cohesive senior leadership team work well together. They are ambitious and have made many changes to drive improvement. The headteacher has a relentless commitment to improving outcomes for the pupils and the community.
  • Leaders and governors have instilled a culture of high expectations among teachers and pupils based on a clear vision characterised in the school vision statement, ‘Live, Learn, Aspire’. Well-understood core values are embedded in all that happens in the school. The staff survey shows that the vast majority of staff are very supportive of the leadership team.
  • Leaders have an accurate understanding of how well the school is doing and what needs to be done next. They have provided staff with clear direction through comprehensive, sharp and regularly evaluated improvement plans. Middle leaders have been well supported by the senior leadership team, so that they have a clear sense of direction, understand their roles and perform their duties well. This is having a positive impact on teaching and pupils’ learning. They are enthusiastic and keen to develop their areas of responsibility further.
  • There are comprehensive and rigorous systems in place to check the quality of teachers’ practice by identifying where they can improve. Teachers have high-quality development coaching and can access training through a number of partners where they need to. This ensures good leadership of teaching and learning. The school’s own lead practitioner has successfully coached some less experienced teachers to substantially improve their performance. Teachers speak highly of the development they receive. Underperformance has been tackled promptly and decisively. Hard decisions have been taken when necessary to ensure that the quality of teaching is good. Leaders have been quick to direct resources to ensure that pupils do not suffer from any short-term, less effective teaching.
  • Leaders have introduced detailed assessment systems which are well understood by teachers across the school. Teachers and leaders use these regularly to analyse pupils’ progress and scrutinise work, which ensures that pupils falling behind are rapidly supported. Teachers regularly assess how well pupils are doing and provide additional help, for example through one-to-one sessions or in small groups. Teachers work with the local authority and other schools to ensure that their assessments are accurate. Leaders have introduced testing at regular points to ensure that teachers’ assessments closely align with test outcomes. Assessment in other subjects is in development. Teachers are recording pupils’ achievement in foundation subjects on an electronic system for the first time this term. Until this approach is fully established, leaders cannot gain a strategic insight into pupils’ achievement across all subjects.
  • The topic-based curriculum offers pupils exciting learning opportunities and the chance to pursue learning that interests them while developing strong subject-based knowledge and skills. Topic-based educational trips are planned, such as a trip to Cadbury World during a topic entitled ‘Should We Stop Eating Chocolate?’ The curriculum has been designed to support the school’s core learning skills and values and therefore supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. For example this topic also looked at the impact of production on growers and concepts of fair trade.
  • There is a wide range of additional opportunities to enhance the curriculum, such as a residential visit to Bradwell Outdoor Education Centre, visitors and trips. The school enhances the curriculum with a wide range of clubs which are chosen, through a voting system, by the pupils. These change periodically and currently include gardening, running, art and crafts, Lego, computing and Glee signing club. Pupils are taught economic awareness through Enterprise and Advent Fayres. The school offers excellent opportunities for outdoor learning through its own ‘Forest School’.
  • The sport premium is spent effectively. It provides for a specialist sports coach who is training staff to increase expertise within the school, while also expanding the range of sports on offer to pupils, such as gymnastics, multiskills and cricket. There is a very varied range of sport and physical activity on offer through clubs, which are popular. Pupils take part in regular sporting competitions.
  • The pupil premium grant is spent appropriately to reduce clearly identified barriers to learning for eligible pupils, including children in the early years. For example, the funding is used to provide, additional teaching programmes, play therapy and one-to-one reading support. Effective use of their family support provision and subscription to the Child First Trust offers support to families of pupils who have social and emotional needs and with concerns over their children’s attendance. The pupil premium grant is also used to enhance children’s experiences, for example through a trip to a performance at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
  • Through a local partnership, the school has employed a new, qualified and experienced special educational needs coordinator, who is now ensuring that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are quickly identified, well supported and make good progress. Parents are complimentary regarding the support their children are now getting. Funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well deployed to programmes which are having a positive impact. However, evaluation of programmes is not thorough enough.
  • Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Through assemblies, themes and strongly embedded values and learning behaviours, pupils develop a good understanding of current topical issues. They learn the importance of friendship and cooperation. There are good relationships between pupils, exemplified by their willingness to help each other.
  • British values are taught well, for example through ‘British Values Day’. Pupils have opportunities to exercise democratic choice through elections for posts of responsibility, such as on the active school council, prefects and monitors. The school holds weekly class forums where pupils can make their views known. The school teaches about other beliefs and pupils talk knowledgeably about the cultures and views of others. The school has an ethos of tolerance and understanding. The school values embody British values. During the general election, pupils made their own speeches and older children researched the manifestos of the different political parties.
  • The school has been working hard to engage parents in their children’s learning, for example, during the inspection, a large number of parents visited the school to observe lessons and take part in ‘Willow Talk’ day activities. All classes, including early years, undertook lessons with a focus on the core learning skills and developing speaking skills. This was identified as a barrier to progress for a significant number of pupils. Parents were enthusiastic about the learning and took away home learning to continue after the event.

Governance of the school

  • The governing body is skilled and committed and the chair is highly experienced. It meets its statutory obligations. Governors have assessed their own skills and development needs and have attended a range of training. The governing body works well with the trust to improve the monitoring of the school’s performance. They have a good understanding of the school assessment information and have made use of nationally available materials to challenge leaders and set challenging targets for pupils currently in the school. The trust has supported governors strategically and has committed significant resources to improving the estate.
  • Governors have supported the headteacher to ensure that the performance of teachers is checked, resulting in improved teaching. Headteacher’s reports and well-planned regular visits linked to their areas of responsibility enable the governing body to follow the progress of groups of pupils and to check that teaching continues to improve and that staffing provides value for money.
  • Governors take a prominent role and have a presence at all public school events. They are well known to parents and teachers.
  • Governors are aware that disadvantaged pupils have not always achieved as well as other pupils nationally and are able to demonstrate that they have put resources into supporting this group. A nominated governor scrutinises spending of the pupil premium grant and has worked with the deputy headteacher to ensure that monitoring and evaluation of the school’s strategy is rigorous.
  • The trust has recently put in place arrangements to enable school leaders to work more closely with other partners in different locations within the trust.

Safeguarding

  • The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. A nominated governor ensures that the school’s safeguarding procedures are robust.
  • Safeguarding information for staff and parents is clear. Parents are confident that their children are safe. Pupils say that they feel safe and are taught how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, including on the internet. Pupils spoke confidently to inspectors about the potential dangers of social media.
  • Regular trust audits of health and safety ensure that the school maintains a safe environment. The school site is secure, all aspects of health and safety meet requirements and risk assessments are in place for all school trips.
  • Safeguarding procedures and employment checks on staff meet all statutory requirements. The headteacher is trained in safer recruitment and other governors are awaiting their training. All members of staff and governors have been recently trained and are up to date with the latest government requirements for safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty training. The trust also offers support with safeguarding issues. Members of staff are clear about the school’s procedures. The school is vigilant and has followed through rigorously on a recent potential radicalisation incident.
  • Child protection procedures are compliant and robust. Leaders are tenacious in the way they support and monitor pupils who are deemed to be at risk of harm. Leaders act swiftly to provide support for such pupils, bringing in outside agencies when needed. Decisions about when to refer pupils to the local authority for further support reflect a detailed understanding of local child protection arrangements and the levels of risk pupils face.
  • Children in need of support are identified quickly. Staff work closely with a range of external agencies to ensure that children are well supported. Records of concerns are full and well organised. They are analysed regularly to identify trends or risks and stored securely. The school designated safeguarding lead is rigorous in taking up concerns with the local authority and other agencies and checking that agreed actions have been followed up.
  • Attendance is monitored closely and all absences are followed up swiftly. Attendance patterns are monitored and analysed to identify any risk.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

  • Teachers forge positive relationships with pupils and plan and teach engaging lessons that support good progress. Pupils remark on how helpful teachers are and how they enjoy learning because the topics they study are interesting. They say that their lessons are fun.
  • Teachers know their pupils well. Typically, they make sure that pupils with lower starting points get the support needed to grasp the task and the most able are suitably stretched.
  • Teaching helps pupils understand the learning expected of them. Pupils learn to reflect on their work and identify where they need to improve. They are encouraged to challenge themselves, and the vast majority of pupils choose tasks which stretch them. Teachers’ effective verbal and written feedback together with pupils’ own assessment enable good progress in most classes.
  • Phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) is taught well and supports pupils to become successful readers. Lower-ability pupils are equipped with strategies for tackling tricky words and most read daily at home.
  • There has been a substantial investment in a programme which encourages pupils to read more widely and more frequently and which tracks their improvement as readers. This has been successful in raising the profile of reading. Teachers have also improved the way they guide pupils’ reading in small groups. The school has also engaged in specific events such as celebrating ‘World Book Day’, bringing in visiting authors, highlighting an author of the month, reading stars awards and reading assembly. Teachers monitor pupils’ progress closely, and pupils who are falling behind have additional teaching. These endeavours have rapidly accelerated the progress made in reading across the school.
  • In mathematics, pupils benefit from regular opportunities to tackle open-ended tasks which prompt them to think and apply their mathematical knowledge, thereby deepening their understanding. The school has focused on developing problem-solving skills. Pupils are frequently called upon to apply their mathematical skills in other subject contexts, for example pupils in Year 5 use trigonometry to answer the problem of how they might measure the height of a tree without climbing it. Teachers also apply pupils’ mathematical skills in other subjects, for example pupils compare and chart the sizes and rates of growth of cities across the world in geography.
  • The school has focused on developing pupils’ vocabulary and formal spoken English though a major initiative, ‘Willow Talk’. This is improving pupils’ spoken grammar, which in turns supports their written grammar. During the inspection, the school was undertaking a focused day with parents whereby, through a range of other subjects, pupils’ talk was being developed. In Year 3, pupils worked confidently in teams to create a persuasive speech to get customers to buy their products, while pupils in Year 4 worked in teams with adults to discuss and demonstrate how many different uses they could find for an everyday object. Pupils are confident to express ideas and challenge each other’s and those of the adults.
  • Teaching of writing is a particular strength. Across the school, pupils write at length and often. Teachers enable pupils to tackle a suitable range of writing styles and for a variety of purposes in English lessons and in other subjects through their topics. Teachers offer pupils models of writing, which helps them to create their own pieces. Pupils learn to think about and plan their writing before tackling their final piece. Pupils are able to select from a range of helpful resources such as menus of different grammatical devices to support their planning. Teaching encourages pupils to review and edit their own writing and they become increasingly confident in this as they get older.
  • Subject leaders in English and mathematics provide teachers with helpful plans for teaching, which define the expectations for what pupils should be learning in each aspect of each subject in each year. Leaders in these subjects regularly check pupils’ books and offer support to less experienced colleagues.
  • In the foundation subjects, the school follows a well-laid-out online curriculum model, which provides teachers with clear guidance, plans and resources to build on for topic work and ensures that all subjects are covered. This enables teachers to plan teaching that supports good progress, based on the needs and interests of their own classes. In science, pupils are taught scientific methods and undertake frequent practical tasks. Through this, pupils are developing sound knowledge and skills in science. For example in Year 6, within the topic ‘What’s Out There?’, pupils designed and undertook experiments to test which materials would best keep an astronaut warm. Pupils are taught subject-specific skills well across a range of subjects, applying the correct subject vocabulary. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used to develop pupils’ learning, and coding is well developed. In art, pupils learn techniques used by prominent artists, use these in their own works and evaluate the effectiveness of their pieces.
  • Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported in class by skilful teaching assistants. They are also taught through a variety of additional teaching programmes, such as one-to-one reading, speech and language support and a programme to support pupils with dyslexia. However, a number of these are relatively recent and careful measuring of impact is not in place.
  • Although teaching is typically good, some inconsistency remains. For example, in key stage 1, some teachers do not develop pupils’ mathematical skills as well as they might. There remains some inconsistency in the expectations of pupils’ handwriting and number formation, the presentation of work and the approach to correcting spelling.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

  • The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
  • The school convenes regular student and family support team meetings – which include school staff, the Child First Trust family support worker and colleagues from a range of other agencies, including health – as necessary to ensure that vulnerable pupils are well supported and barriers to their learning are removed.
  • Pupils say that they feel happy in school and almost all parents agree. The school offers a range of support from outside agencies, such as counselling and mental health professionals. Parents talk very positively about the role the school plays in the community and the help that staff offer to families to enable them to address the problems they encounter.
  • Records of incidents show that bullying is rare. Pupils talk positively about the work the school does to prevent bullying, for example through assemblies. Pupils say that they feel confident to report incidents to staff and that if anything happens, it is dealt with quickly. Older pupils train as anti-bullying ambassadors.
  • Pupils speak well of adults and are confident to talk to them if they have problems. Pupils learn to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, for example fire prevention and safety on roads, in water and online. Older children have a sophisticated understanding of issues such as information hacking and identity theft. Pupils value highly the sessions they have had with ‘Crucial Crew’, where they learn how to avoid diverse risks such as gang and knife crime, drug and alcohol abuse and stranger danger.
  • Pupils talk knowledgeably about food choices and nutrition. Pupils know the benefits of physical activity and participate in a wide variety of sports and clubs in addition to their physical education (PE) lessons.
  • A well-attended breakfast club offers an opportunity for pupils to socialise with friends, and has a positive impact on the pupils’ attendance and punctuality. The ‘Marshmallow Club’ offers additional support to vulnerable pupils during lunchtimes.
  • Older pupils are positive about being prepared for moving to secondary school, which enables them to feel confident and ready to move on.

Behaviour

  • The behaviour of pupils is good.
  • Pupils are confident and want to do well. They are proud of their achievements and are motivated by the school values and recognitions, such as achievement assemblies and the ‘Headteacher’s Cup’, which recognise good achievements in behaviour and work. The vast majority of pupils take pride in their work. The school keeps detailed records of any less than acceptable behaviour and there are clearly defined sanctions that can be applied if necessary.
  • Pupils are polite, well mannered and in the main take responsibility for managing their own behaviour. They are encouraged to take collective responsibility; for example, pupils generate their own ‘Lunchtime Rules’. They conduct themselves well around the school and play together amicably in the playgrounds. In lessons, pupils focus well on their work and listen respectfully to teachers and to each other. Pupils say that behaviour in their school is good and believe that behaviour has improved considerably over time.
  • Pupils who have challenging behaviour are supported through individual improvement plans which enable them to address the causes of their behaviour. This is having a positive impact in most cases.
  • Attendance has improved due to rigorous systems, which are always followed through, as well as community engagement to raise awareness of the importance of good attendance. A significant reason for the improvement is that pupils are reluctant to miss school as they enjoy their learning and being at school. As a result, attendance is now in line with national averages and is not significantly low for any groups. Attendance is better than in other similar schools.

Outcomes for pupils Good

  • School assessment information and pupils’ work show that almost all pupils have made good progress from the beginning of 2017 in reading, writing and mathematics. Where this is not the case, it is quickly identified and robust action taken. Earlier less effective teaching has been mitigated by additional provision and, as a result, these pupils are now making the same rapid progress as others. School assessment information and pupils’ work show that, in 2015/16 also, pupils in most classes made at least expected progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.
  • In 2016, overall, the proportion of pupils who met the expected standards at the end of Year 2 for reading and writing was lower than that nationally; however, a higher proportion achieved the greater depth standards. In mathematics, the proportion of pupils meeting the national standard was in line with the national average. The proportion meeting expected and greater depth standard from their starting points, in all subjects, was at least in line with national averages for pupils with similar starting points. Therefore, pupils make good progress during key stage 1 from their starting points. Disadvantaged pupils also made good progress during key stage 1. Key stage 1 assessment information for 2017 shows that the attainment of Year 2 pupils in all subjects has increased from 2016, and for all groups a higher proportion have met at least the expected standard. Therefore, progress in key stage 1 is good.
  • In 2015 and 2016, the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check was above national averages. This is also expected to be the case in 2017.The proportion of pupils who having not met the standard in 2015 in Year 1 then met the standard in Year 2 was below national averages in 2016. This was due to a small number of pupils having significant special educational needs.
  • In 2016, key stage 2 national test outcomes for reading were below national expectations for the proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard, including for disadvantaged pupils. This resulted in the proportion of pupils meeting national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics combined being below the national average for all groups. The proportions attaining expected standards in writing and mathematics were broadly in line with national averages for all and for disadvantaged pupils. This was disproportionally affected by a high number of mobile and high-needs pupils within a small cohort. Pupils who had been in the school prior to Year 5 exceeded the national average for reading, writing and mathematics. In 2016, a lower proportion of pupils than the national average met the expected standard in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Weaknesses in spelling could be seen in the work of current pupils in some classes.
  • In 2016, progress in reading was well below national averages. The proportion of pupils making expected progress in mathematics was also below the national average for all, including disadvantaged, pupils.
  • Teacher assessments at key stage 2 in 2017 indicate that there will be a sharp rise in the proportion of pupils both meeting and exceeding national standards in reading and mathematics this year. This was confirmed by standards and progress seen in Year 6 pupils’ work and in lessons.
  • The school has put significant resources into ensuring that attainment, in reading in particular, improves. School assessment information shows that the programmes that have been put in place have led to a rapid increase in the progress pupils make in their reading. Current pupils told inspectors that they enjoy reading. They read widely and read at a standard appropriate to their age. Younger pupils make good use of the skills they learn in their phonics lessons to read unfamiliar words. Older pupils are able to talk and write about their reading with insight.
  • In 2016, pupils in all groups made progress in writing between key stages 1 and 2 that exceeded national expectations. In 2017, teacher assessments also indicate that writing progress continues to be good in key stage 2. This was confirmed by pupils’ work.
  • Science assessments in 2016 were below the national average. This was the result of the small cohort including numbers of mobile pupils. Copious coverage in books and evidence of practical application show that current pupils are developing a good understanding of scientific method, skills and knowledge. Teacher assessments show improved outcomes in 2017.
  • Across the school, disadvantaged pupils are now making rapid progress. Teachers’ assessments show an improvement in the proportions of pupils meeting national expected standards. In 2016, disadvantaged children who achieved in line with national averages at key stage 1 did not make sufficiently good progress in reading. The school has had a clear focus on these pupils in 2017, and as a result teacher assessments show that they are now making good progress.
  • Most-able pupils are making similar progress to other pupils. In 2017, teacher assessments at both key stages show that the most able disadvantaged pupils are making particularly good progress. In key stage 2 teacher assessments, all of the pupils achieving the highest standards are disadvantaged pupils. School assessment information shows that as a group, across the school, disadvantaged pupils are making as much progress as other pupils and almost all are making expected progress, with a significant proportion in every year group and in all subjects making more rapid progress than expected.
  • Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making very good progress, so that the differential between them and their peers is diminishing. This reflects the high-quality support and well-planned interventions provided, which are now being regularly evaluated and adapted to pupils’ needs.
  • Differences between the attainment and progress made by boys and girls are also diminishing. Pupils’ work in books and in the classroom showed that boys and girls achieve similarly from their starting points.
  • Work in books is of a good standard. Although generally well presented, there is some variation in expectations of presentation. In topic books, pupils’ work shows frequent application of reading, writing and mathematics within a wide range of subjects and contexts. Pupils write well and at length in all subject areas, which promotes the strong progress pupils make. Topics provide excellent opportunities for pupils to learn in depth about subjects that interest them and for them to develop excellent general knowledge and curiosity.

Early years provision Good

  • Typically, children enter early years with skills and knowledge well below those typical for their age. In 2016, children achieved broadly in line with children nationally by the end of the early years. Therefore, progress in early years is good. In 2017, teacher assessments indicate that the position is likely to be similar to that of 2016. Children’s work indicates that good progress is made by all groups, and this is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils. In 2017 teacher assessments, all of the children who exceed expected standards are disadvantaged pupils. There has also been an improvement in the attainment of boys, so that outcomes for boys and girls are now very similar. Children who attended the school’s Nursery attained higher outcomes in 2016 and 2017 than those who did not.
  • Children are kept very safe. They say that they feel safe and they have a good understanding of bullying and what it means to be kind to other people. Children play well together, cooperate well and are polite and well behaved. One boy said that at his previous school he had been very badly behaved, but here ‘teachers understand me, they listen to me and like me.’ He cited this as the reason that he is now well behaved. Outdoor areas are safe and, although restricted by the current construction work, had been set out well so that pupils still have good learning activities. The new outdoor area is excellent and due to open this week.
  • Early years staff work closely with parents, who are engaged in assessing their child’s progress. The introduction of the new online system in September will further strengthen this partnership. During the inspection, a large number of parents attended all or part of the day to take part in joint learning. Parents who spoke to inspectors are extremely positive about the experiences of their children.
  • The classroom environment is well thought out and offers a range of interesting activities around well-chosen and engaging themes. For example, Reception children were very focused on undertaking a construction task using an interactive screen. The theme of space clearly interested pupils, as they were making foil astronauts and tasting samples of packets of space food to decide which they liked best. Staff develop children’s learning well through good questioning and prompting.
  • Assessment is comprehensive in both Nursery and Reception, with comprehensive learning journeys showing a strong range of work across the curriculum, good progress in early writing and mathematics, and appropriate annotation, which is well used to plan effective support.
  • Children in Nursery are taught to make healthy choices and enjoy their fruit snacks.
  • The Nursery and early years are well led and managed. Children are well prepared for learning in their Reception Year.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141195 Essex 10031339 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Nursery and primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Sponsor-led academy converter 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 230 Appropriate authority Collaborative Academy Trust Chair Headteacher Helen Todd Joanna Pointing-Newitt Telephone number 01206 864375 Website Email address www.willow-brook-pri.essex.sch.uk/ joanna@willow-brook-pri.essex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

  • The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
  • The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
  • Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
  • The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those who are supported by the pupil premium funding, is above average.
  • Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below that in most schools.
  • The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above that in schools nationally.
  • The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils in Year 6.
  • The school runs a breakfast club.
  • The school is part of the Collaborative Academies Trust, which has legal responsibilities for all trust schools. The local governing body focuses on both strategic and the day-to-day responsibilities of the school. The school opened as an academy on 1 September 2014.

Information about this inspection

  • Inspectors visited 31 lessons across all classes, sometimes with school leaders.
  • Inspectors, sometimes together with school leaders, looked at pupils’ work in all subjects.
  • Inspectors held discussions with staff, governors, a representative of the academy trust and a representative of the local authority.
  • Inspectors heard pupils read and talked to two groups about their enjoyment of school, their progress and their opinions about behaviour, welfare and safety. Additionally, inspectors talked to pupils while visiting classrooms and during breaktime and lunchtime.
  • Inspectors considered the views of 21 parents who completed the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, including seven free-text comments, 31 parents who completed this survey offline, two letters, as well as discussions with parents. Twenty-seven staff responses and 50 pupil responses were also considered.
  • Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plans, safeguarding documents, school policies, behaviour and attendance records, employment checks, school assessment information and governing body documents.
  • The school’s website was checked for compliance.

Inspection team

Susan Sutton, lead inspector Lesley Stevens Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector