Woodlea Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve standards in literacy by ensuring that pupils in key stage 2 are equipped with the secure phonics skills needed to make consistently strong progress in reading and writing.
• Develop a consistently incisive understanding of pupils’ progress across the school so that the desired impact of improvement work is clearly defined and the success of initiatives well evaluated.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since her appointment just before the last inspection, the headteacher has established an ambitious culture. The school’s core values have been reviewed, and there is a strong team spirit and sense of common purpose.
• Leaders have led a successful drive to improve teaching and accelerate pupils’ progress. This is appreciated by parents, whose comments include: ‘The changes that have been implemented are all extremely positive and it is a joy to see the school continue to grow and improve’ and ‘The headteacher has done a fantastic job leading the school and the positive changes she has made.’
• Appropriate steps are taken to share successful approaches and address any weaknesses found as a result of internal appraisal and reviews by external consultants. Staff value and benefit from good opportunities for further training, including, for example, additional guidance on managing behaviour.
• Leaders make good use of assessment information to keep a close eye on the impact that teaching has on each pupil’s progress. This helps them to identify and tackle aspects of practice that need attention. However, leaders do not pull assessment information together effectively enough to gain a clear understanding of pupils’ achievement across the school. Although plans for improvement are typically well focused, the impact that leaders’ work should have on pupils’ achievement by key points in time is not well defined. This constrains the ability of leaders to evaluate the success of their plans.
• The funding for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively to provide additional support for speech and language, phonics, reading, handwriting, comprehension and mathematics. Additional funding for physical education and sport is also spent well. For example, staff receive extra training in games and athletics, and pupils take part in activities such as ‘Bollywood dancing’, fencing and archery.
• The curriculum thoroughly engages pupils. They enjoy learning a wide range of subjects through interesting topics. For example, pupils’ learning was brought to life when those in Years 3 and 4 ‘explored’ an Egyptian pyramid, and pupils in Years 5 and 6 found an ‘unexploded bomb’ from World War 2. Pupils have a range of suitable opportunities to practise, consolidate and extend their literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum. Pupils in every year group visit the school’s woodland areas on a regular basis and have the opportunity to learn about the natural environment, and how to handle risks, to use their own initiative and co-operate with others.
• Residential visits and after-school clubs contribute effectively to pupils’ academic and personal development. Year 4 and Year 6 pupils, for example, have an annual camp. Among the clubs on offer are art, lacrosse, mini-Olympics and football.
• The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. The extensive school grounds are used very well, for example to encourage pupils to reflect on the wonders of nature and the need for conservation. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain, because they acquire a secure understanding of fundamental British values. These are fully explained on the school’s website, which enables parents to support the school’s work in this respect.

Governance of the school

• The well-organised committee structure contributes to the efficiency of governors’ work. Minutes of meetings include many examples of governors holding leaders to account by asking insightful questions. Governors keep themselves well informed by inviting subject leaders to meetings to provide updates and by visiting the school to gain first-hand information.
• Governors seek assurance that additional funding is spent effectively. They ensure that funds for physical education and sports, for disadvantaged pupils and for those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, have a positive impact.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

• There is strong support for pupils at risk. There is a designated safeguarding lead and deputy, and a member of staff takes responsibility for children who are looked after. Staff and governors attend training and receive regular updates.
• There is an open culture in which pupils and adults are encouraged to discuss topical events. For example, teachers led assemblies recently in response to terrorist incidents. There is a clear system for recording any concerns raised by staff and subsequent responses. Leaders engage effectively with parents and other agencies to keep pupils safe. They are quick to chase up any outstanding actions agreed by outside agencies.
• Pupils say that they feel safe, and the overwhelming majority of parents agree that this is the case. Parents are confident that staff respond quickly to any concerns that they might have. For example, one stated, ‘The staff here work very hard; they are all very approachable and deal with any concerns effectively.’

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Effective teaching across the school is underpinned by positive relationships between adults and pupils. Teachers manage behaviour well and successfully engage pupils in learning, encouraging them to develop a ‘have a go’ attitude.
• Teachers ensure that classrooms are well organised and that learning resources are to hand. They take full advantage of the extensive grounds to support learning across the curriculum. They use questioning effectively to check pupils’ understanding, address any emerging misconceptions and provide further challenge.
• Teachers use a range of methods to support pupils’ learning in mathematics effectively. The school is placing an increasing emphasis on problem solving and this is helping pupils to gain deeper insights into mathematical ideas such as algebra and probability.
• Support staff work in close partnership with teachers and make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning and progress. One parent commented, ‘We are very lucky to have such amazing TAs in this school… They make a huge, positive influence in the classroom.’
• Recent changes in the way that phonics and reading are taught have quickened pupils’ progress, although there remain some inconsistences. For example, some pupils, particularly those at key stage 2, are not confident in applying their phonics skills in their day-to-day reading and writing.
• Pupils respond positively to teachers’ feedback. Pupils are made aware of what good work looks like. They are developing an awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses, and were keen to show how they had improved their work following teachers’ comments. However, some slipshod handwriting and untidy presentation are not picked up.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

• Parents value the quality of care and support for their children’s personal development. Their comments include: ‘Woodlea Primary School is a unique, warm and friendly school. My child felt instantly comfortable here and remains very happy’, and, ‘It is comforting to know that my children are so loved and well looked after when I am not with them.’
• Pupils develop confidence in expressing their views and exploring issues that affect them. They willingly contribute their own ideas about sustaining a harmonious community. During a recent meeting of the school council, pupils discussed how moral values could be promoted further. Their suggestions, taken up by the school, included training peer mediators to talk through problems with children who disagree, and talking about the difference between right and wrong during ‘buddy’ meetings.
• Pupils from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to benefit from the activities that the school offers. They feel entirely safe at school. Staff ensure that pupils know how to avoid potential hazards, for example when using the internet and when playing in the extensive woodland areas within the school’s grounds.
• Parents, staff and pupils agree that bullying is rare. Pupils know the difference between bullying and occasional disputes. They are confident that, should bullying occur, it would be dealt with fairly.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and are keen to improve. Pupils’ pride in their achievement is evident in the way that they are keen to discuss their work. That said, some pupils’ handwriting and the way that they set out work are rather untidy. One pupil explained, ‘I get carried away, so my writing falls off’, but acknowledged that he could make more effort to produce neat work.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils show tolerance and understanding, for example regarding the occasional misbehaviour of the few pupils who have complex social, emotional and mental health needs.

• Pupils are mutually respectful. They suggested the school’s motto, ‘learning and working together to create a better future’, and they typically keep to this principle in their day-to-day school lives.
• Pupils know the value of exercise and a healthy diet. They participate eagerly in physical activities, including those available in the extensive school grounds.
• Attendance is above the national average. The headteacher has regular meetings with the few parents of children who are persistently absent; this has led to improved rates of attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The school’s detailed assessment information and work in pupils’ books indicate that pupils are making good progress. Due to the small numbers in each cohort, the standards reached each year by pupils in Years 2 and 6 fluctuate when compared to national figures.
• When the current pupils in Year 2 entered Year 1, only half of them had reached the expected standards in literacy and numeracy. Until recently, their progress through key stage 1 had been constrained by inconsistent teaching in Year 2. Improvements in the quality of teaching have accelerated their progress, and the proportion reaching the standard expected for their age is close to the most recent national figures.
• Improved phonics skills are having a positive impact on pupils’ progress in reading. However, some older pupils lack confidence in reading and writing unfamiliar words, as their phonics skills are not so well established as a result of previous weaknesses in teaching.
• In key stage 2, a strong focus on developing pupils’ advanced reading skills, such as analysing texts, is having a significant impact on their achievement in writing. Pupils generally write well in a variety of styles, using increasingly accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• The most able readers write with considerable flair. One remarked, ‘The more you read, the more you pick on when you’re writing.’ This was aptly demonstrated when a pupil used figurative language in his story: ‘The room was silent. A calm was dispersed around it. The damp air slithered down the boy’s lungs.’
• Pupils are making good progress in mathematics. Most pupils achieve their progress targets set by the school. They are increasingly adept at applying their numerical skills to solve mathematical problems.
• Disadvantaged pupils are making similar progress to other pupils, reflecting the school’s success in helping pupils to overcome barriers to learning. The proportion of these pupils working at a greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics is comparable to the overall picture across the school. There are too few disadvantaged pupils among the most able group to enable meaningful comparisons with the national picture.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Pupils with complex social, emotional and mental health needs benefit from skilled support which enables them, for the most part, to learn alongside their classmates.
• Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and secure basic skills equip them well for secondary education and beyond.

Early years provision Good

• The provision is well managed. As a result of further staff training and a much-improved learning environment, children are making good progress, behave well and are reaching at least the standards expected by the end of Reception.
• Children enjoy learning and make good progress in acquiring early reading, writing and number skills. Adults increasingly modify plans to incorporate children’s interests as they emerge. They take every opportunity to promote children’s social development and communication skills. Additional funding for disadvantaged children is used effectively to support their learning.
• Children’s physical development is promoted successfully through a wide range of activities that develop their manipulative skills. This was evident, for example, as children sorted vegetables, played with construction materials, and stacked crates and planks to create a ‘garage’.
• Children benefit from a rich range of opportunities to develop language and number skills in realistic settings. For example, in their make-shift garage, children used the phone to make appointments. As their friends washed cars, whooping with delight at the bubbles that they were creating, others were busy collecting fees. ‘I’m charging eight pounds for the car wash’, explained one child. Another said, ‘This costs 400 pennies’.
• Adults collect a wide range of information, using their observations and notes to modify their plans from day to day. They make good use of an electronic interactive system to record significant moments in children’s development. Parents also contribute and, by the end of the year, they receive a comprehensive account, illustrated by photographs, of children’s achievement across all areas of learning.
• Safeguarding is effective. Children are very well looked after, and staff ensure that statutory requirements are met. Staff have good relationships with parents, and home to school communication is well established. Parents were fulsome in their praise. Their remarks included: ‘I chose the school because of the great location and the emphasis on outdoor learning’ and, ‘Fabulous, I couldn’t fault it.’
• Improvements to the provision have ensured that children are now leaving Reception with the basic skills and enquiring minds that stand them in good stead for learning in Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116250 Hampshire 10032848 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 Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 155 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Phil Coverdale Marcella Dobson 01420476342 www.woodlea.hants.sch.uk adminoffice@woodlea.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 16–17 June 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• Children in the early years attend full-time in one Reception class.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed activities in all year groups. Most observations were undertaken with the headteacher and assistant headteacher.
• Inspectors met with members of the governing body and a member of the local authority.
• Meetings were also held with pupils to discuss their views on their learning and well-being, and with parents to gain their views about the school.
• Inspectors heard pupils read from Years 1, 2 and 6. They talked to pupils at break times and in the lunch hall, in lessons and as they moved around the school.
• Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including information on pupils’ performance across the school, school improvement plans, the school’s evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment, governor minutes and curriculum plans.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of books to see what progress had been made across a range of subjects.
• Inspectors took account of 49 responses to the Ofsted parent survey, Parent View, and the results of the inspection questionnaire completed by 22 members of staff.

Inspection team

Rob Crompton, lead inspector François Walker

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector