Wynyard Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that plans to develop pupils’ subject-specific skills beyond English and mathematics are realised, ensuring also that assessment systems are suitably refined to ensure that pupils can reach the same levels of excellence in all subjects as they do in English and mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• In all aspects of school life, the headteacher’s resolve to instil a lifelong love of learning for all pupils shines through. It is this unwavering commitment to make every day count that has harvested a culture of high expectations and success. His mantra that ‘pupils learn best when they are happy’ and ‘teachers teach best when they enjoy what they are doing’ is the hallmark of his leadership. Although the school is only in its third year since opening, the headteacher has formed an exceptionally happy school where pupils thrive, and teachers excel.
• The leadership of teaching is exceptional. The headteacher is uncompromising in his ambition for pupils’ academic excellence and he has diligently recruited teachers of only the highest calibre. Teachers flourish as a result of mutual respect and support for continuous improvement. This oozes from every classroom. Staff new to teaching benefit greatly from the support and guidance of colleagues to improve their skills. Regular monitoring and observation of one another maintains the very highest standards.
• All staff, regardless of their responsibilities, rise to the challenge of being the best they can be. They share the same high expectations of themselves and of the pupils. They are very proud members of the school and work tirelessly to ensure that pupils’ talents and abilities are nurtured and celebrated. In turn, they too are supported to develop their own professional pathways, to enable them to access bespoke training and support to realise their own professional ambitions.
• The assistant headteacher is equally strong in her leadership and has ably supported the headteacher in establishing strong management systems to secure the successful expansion of the school. She is highly reflective and considered in her decision-making to ensure that the school continuously improves. As a result of her monitoring, she has refined the school’s approaches to reading and writing. They are consistent and exceedingly effective in ensuring that pupils achieve highly.
• Subject leadership has distributed considerably this school year, as the staff team and pupil numbers have increased. Although only appointed from September 2017, subject leaders are highly skilled and enthusiastic in their roles. They have excellent subject knowledge, which enables them to offer expert advice and support to colleagues. Their detailed knowledge of the strengths in their subject and their clear action plans for further improvement are the result of their detailed monitoring.
• Whole-school improvement plans are linked closely to staff performance, using an electronic appraisal system. It is the responsibility of all staff to record their actions towards their final year appraisal. This enables leaders to review staff performance and hold them to account easily.
• Additional funding to promote physical education (PE) and sports has increased the range of opportunities that pupils have during both core PE sessions in school and after-school activities. The PE subject leader ensures that pupils receive high-quality PE education. She ensures that pupils are able to participate in competitive sports and she is keen to spot early talent in pupils and signpost them to local groups and clubs.
• There are very few pupils in the school who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. Although only a small amount of additional funding is received it is spent wisely. The same expectations are set for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to achieve highly.
• Parents are effusive in their praise for the school. Communication is highly effective, and parents welcome the very many and varied opportunities their children receive. As a result, parents are happy and the school is oversubscribed.
• Leaders have a very clear intent for the development of the school curriculum. They know precisely the learning experiences they want for pupils and have secured a strong knowledge-based curriculum as the bedrock for further developments. Leaders identify that their next step is to ensure an equally strong skills-based curriculum for all subjects. This is endorsed by work reviewed in pupils’ books. For example, in pupils’ science books there is evidence of pupils acquiring strong scientific knowledge. There is limited evidence to show how effectively pupils acquire the skills of scientific investigation. Leaders are keen to embed the specific skills associated with science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics in their curriculum plans, thus capturing the locality’s rich engineering heritage. Leaders have undertaken much research and established strong links with local universities and contractors to support this aspect of their curriculum development. However, leaders are fully aware that this aspect of their work is in its infancy and there remains more to do to realise their aims.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptionally strong. Pupils experience such well-designed lessons that there are many opportunities for them to be reflective and to marvel upon their learning. Opportunities are many for pupils to work alongside their peers, to celebrate their differences and to acknowledge others’ skills and talents. This is a commendable feature of learning and leads to highly focused pupils who demonstrate exemplary attitudes to their learning. Leaders acknowledge that they are in the earliest stages of planning the curriculum for upper key stage 2.
• The diocese has been pivotal to the successful planning and establishment of the school. It has worked tirelessly with school leaders and governors to ensure that Wynyard Church of England Primary School becomes a centre of excellence for the region. The diocese continues to share strong links with the school and to offer highly effective support and advice.

Governance of the school

• Governors are highly skilled and committed to the school. They have recruited members of the governing body with the right mix of skills and knowledge to carry out their roles very effectively. They have shown great determination to overcome the many hurdles they have faced to establish a new school. They are highly ambitious for its continued success and expansion.
• All governors have a secure grasp of the school’s performance, because of the secure programme of monitoring which is embedded into their cycle of responsibilities. As a result, they are able to provide school leaders with appropriate levels of challenge and support.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties with due diligence. They have worked closely with the headteacher to plan, incrementally, the staffing structure of the school as it expands.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Regular training ensures that all staff are up to date with the most recent legislation. They are fully aware of the important role they play in keeping children safe.
• Staff know their pupils and families well and are vigilant in noticing any changes in pupils’ behaviour. Although there are few entries, a review of the school’s safeguarding record shows that leaders are diligent in their record-keeping, maintaining detailed records of any concerns or issues that may arise. They have developed strong working partnerships with a range of professional partners to ensure that their most vulnerable pupils are supported successfully.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching across the school and in all subjects is quite simply inspirational. Teachers’ excellent subject knowledge makes them adept at planning highly engaging and exceptionally well-designed activities that challenge pupils of all abilities. As a result, pupils’ levels of concentration and participation in all subjects are high.
• Teachers are highly skilled in making pupils’ learning memorable. For example, pupils in Year 3 were observed enacting a town meeting to debate the future of Vindolanda as part of a project on the Romans. Pupils articulated their points of view with great confidence, demonstrating the deep understanding they had gained from their prior learning. Pupils’ enthusiasm and enjoyment was a joy to see. Afterwards, pupils talked excitedly about the outcomes of their debate. This is just one of the very many examples of inspirational learning observed during the inspection.
• Teachers have consistently high expectations of the presentation of pupils’ work in all subjects. Pupils’ handwriting is in cursive script and they work hard to make their handwriting worthy of a ‘pen licence’. Once awarded, pupils maintain their high standards of presentation in order to keep their licence.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Every opportunity is used to consolidate pupils’ phonics skills outside of the discrete lesson. This enables pupils to acquire skills quickly and confidently and to apply them in their reading and writing.
• Pupils across the school read widely and often. Teachers ensure that pupils are exposed to a wide range of contemporary and traditional texts. Regular opportunities to read and to talk about text and to debate ensures that pupils develop a rich vocabulary and a thirst for reading.
• The teaching of reading comprehension is highly effective. Leaders have mapped out a clear progression of skills across each year group. Teachers use handy symbols to denote the comprehension skills that are required to find the correct answers. This is supporting pupils’ understanding of the different skills required to draw conclusions and infer meaning. As a result, pupils are adept at applying their skills to answer questions about texts and are making strong progress in their reading.
• Pupils make equally strong progress in writing. This is because teachers use a range of quality texts to provide powerful examples and a stimulus for pupils’ writing. Teachers are exceptionally skilled in planning sequences of lessons that build pupils’ writing skills highly effectively. Pupils receive a variety of interesting opportunities to write in a range of styles for different purposes and in different subjects. Consequently, pupils are mastering writing skills that are above those expected for their age.
• Teachers demonstrate excellent subject expertise in mathematics. Meticulous planning ensures that lessons build pupils’ mathematical skills of fluency, reasoning and problem-solving to great effect. Teachers identify pupils’ misconceptions and intervene skilfully to progress pupils’ learning quickly. They set high expectations for the presentation of pupils’ work and for the accuracy of pupils’ recording. As a result, pupils produce work of the highest mathematical quality and they are able to make strong progress from their starting points.
• Collectively, teachers and teaching assistants make a strong and cohesive team. Accurate assessment of pupils’ needs ensures that tasks are carefully adapted to ensure that pupils continue to improve. Leaders are in the earliest stages of refining their assessment system for subjects beyond English and mathematics. Homework is linked very closely to classwork. Activities are well thought through and used to revisit or embed previously taught skills in an imaginative way. Parents are encouraged to liaise with teachers by evaluating their children’s attitudes to homework and their abilities to complete tasks successfully. Teachers’ expectations and assessment of pupils’ homework are of a similarly high standard to work completed in school. As a result, pupils complete their homework to a very high standard, which contributes positively to their strong progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils say that they are happy in school and that they feel safe. This is because of the very strong relationships that exist between staff and pupils. Parents overwhelmingly endorse their children’s views.
• Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, particularly when using the internet. Older pupils fulfil their roles as ‘digital leaders’ and contribute well to developing this aspect of the school’s personal and social curriculum. ‘Digital leaders’ plan and deliver assemblies to their peers to raise the awareness of others of the importance of staying safe.
• Pupils say bullying does not happen at the school and a review of school records would corroborate this assertion. That said, pupils know what bullying is and its forms. Older pupils had a limited age-appropriate understanding of homophobic bullying. This is because the school’s personal curriculum is, as with other subjects, in the earliest stage of development.
• Attendance is above the national average and the proportion of pupils who are regularly away from school is below that seen nationally. The headteacher works effectively with parents to encourage full attendance. Systems are in place to monitor pupils’ absence regularly. When concerns are raised, measures are quickly put in place to tackle them.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ conduct around school and in lessons is exemplary. Pupils demonstrate tolerance and respect for others. The strong Christian ethos that underpins the work of the school contributes significantly to this.
• All staff share the same high expectations of pupils’ exemplary behaviour. Pupils show great respect for their teachers and their peers. There are very few incidents of inappropriate behaviour recorded in the school and they are minor in severity. This is because pupils know intrinsically to make the right choices. As a result, pupils’ attitudes to their learning are exemplary and there is no learning time lost in lessons.
• Playtimes are lively occasions. The temporary site provides adequate play facilities, but as the school has grown so the space per pupil on the play area has decreased. Leaders are vigilant in monitoring this to ensure that play is well supervised and structured to enable pupils to access social time safely and enjoyably.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• There is limited published data available for the school, but historical outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics at key stage 1 are above the national average at the expected and greater depth.
• Outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check are also above the national average. Any pupil who does not reach the standard by the end of Year 1 has done so by the time they leave Year 2. Pupils have a secure phonics awareness and are encouraged to apply their skills in phonics at all times.
• The outstanding quality of teaching in all year groups ensures that pupils make rapid progress and achieve highly from their starting points. This is endorsed by the highly impressive work seen in pupils’ books.
• The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, make consistently rapid progress. It is an expectation that pupils will be presented with work that makes them think hard about their learning and to grapple with demanding activities. As a result, pupils soak up the challenges they receive and are motivated to want to do more.
• There are too few disadvantaged pupils in the school to draw any meaningful conclusions from published data. However, the school’s own assessment information and work seen in pupils’ books demonstrates that they make equally strong progress from their starting points as that of their peers.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities receive highly effective and targeted support. They are encouraged to work hard and to develop their resilience towards learning and to be self-reliant. Consequently, they are fully included in all activities and although their starting points are variable, they progress at a similar rate to that of their peers.
• Since opening, there have been exceptionally high levels of pupils joining the school. Teachers complete a detailed ‘on-entry’ assessment for every child joining the school; which identifies quickly any pupils who need to catch up in their learning. Carefully tailored support is then put in place to ensure that pupils make up ground rapidly. From a review of books, pupils’ progress from starting at the school is remarkable. This is due to high expectations and the skilful teaching pupils receive. Parents endorse this view.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The early years leader has a superb understanding of how young children learn and this is reflected in the wide-ranging and excellently planned activities provided for children to explore and investigate. This supports children’s very strong progress.
• Children transfer to school from several different nurseries. The early years leader has worked closely with them to ensure that children’s transition into school is carefully planned and easy. As a result, children settle quickly into school and their learning is maximised.
• Teachers’ assessment is accurate. Upon entry to Reception, children demonstrate skills and attitudes similar to those which are typical for their age. Their achievements are tracked meticulously and no time is wasted in adjusting activities to ensure that children make very strong progress. As a result, the vast majority of children achieve a good level of development, with a significant minority exceeding this. This makes children exceptionally well prepared for Year 1.
• Highly detailed journals capture children’s learning effectively. They provide parents with a cherished memory of their children’s first year at school.
• Although there is only minimal space for children to experience outdoor learning, it is planned creatively to maximise opportunities for children to explore and investigate their surroundings. Teachers use stories to link children’s learning into meaningful contexts. For example, children were observed using crates and planks and drapes to recreate the pirate ship from their class story. The children immersed themselves in their imaginative play. Some were pirates chanting, ‘Walk the plank! Walk the plank!’ as others were finding buried ‘treasure’ hidden within the sand or investigating floating and sinking in the water play area.
• Teaching is consistently strong across both Reception classes. Teachers skilfully plan a range of interesting activities that excite, engage and motivate children. Every opportunity is seized to reinforce children’s early literacy and numeracy skills. As a result, children behave well and quickly acquire skills to make very strong progress. Very occasionally, some pupils do not progress through the stages of phonics teaching as quickly as they could.

School details

Unique reference number 142108 Local authority Stockton-On-Tees Inspection number 10048379 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy free school 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 157 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Reverend Canon Stuart Bain Roger Ward 01740 555005 wynyardprimary.org.uk admin@wynyardprimary.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school operates from temporary accommodation on a temporary site. The new building is expected to open in January 2019.
• The school opened in September 2015, with its first intake of pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. The school roll increased markedly in the academic year 2016/2017 and has subsequently doubled this academic year.
• The school has experienced a significant increase in the number of pupils starting the school this academic year. It has reached its maximum occupancy for the temporary accommodation.
• Agreement has been given to extend the age range of the school at the start of the next academic year to the ages of three to 11. This will accommodate a Nursery class.
• The proportion of pupils at the school who are disadvantaged is well below the national average, as is the proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• There are currently no Year 6 pupils in the school. Consequently, the school has no national key stage 2 assessment results to compare the school’s performance against the government’s current floor standards for primary schools.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team visited teaching sessions across a range of subjects from Reception to Year 5. The majority of these visits were conducted together with members of the senior leadership team.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, governors and representatives of the diocese. Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and spoke to pupils formally and informally about their learning and heard them read.
• Inspectors looked a range of documents provided by the school, including assessment information and their self-evaluation report. The school’s records relating to safeguarding were also checked.
• There were 75 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. The inspectors took account of these along with the 15 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

Inspection team

Diane Buckle, lead inspector Cathy Morgan Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector