Wellington Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the rate of pupils’ progress by ensuring that:
  • the most able pupils are consistently challenged and supported to improve
  • pupils who arrive part way through the year are quickly assessed and given the necessary support to achieve well
  • teachers deploy teaching assistants effectively to support pupils
  • pupils’ reading skills are improved and teaching ensures reading activities are closely matched to pupils’ needs, including their phonic knowledge and reading ability
  • the impact of support for pupils is checked effectively and adapted quickly when it is not working well.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The acting headteacher has been in post for a year and has identified the strengths and weaknesses of the school accurately. Staff welcome the higher expectations that the acting principal has put in place since her appointment. This is now having a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching and learning.
• The senior leadership team has worked effectively with governors to secure improvement. Senior leaders focus strongly on trying to ensure that pupils fulfil their potential.
• Senior leaders have introduced new systems to address poor behaviour. These are having a positive impact across the school. As a result, incidents and disruptive behaviour in lessons are declining.
• Senior leaders have correctly identified those aspects of teaching that are weak. They have taken effective steps and measures to improve this. However, the instability and flux of teaching staff have resulted in inconsistencies in the quality of teaching across the school.
• Subject leaders are monitoring the impact of recent curriculum changes in mathematics, reading and writing. There are indications that the curriculum is now meeting pupils’ needs increasingly well, although the focus remains on the core subjects. Leaders are aware that pupils’ achievement needs to rise further, particularly in mathematics and reading.
• There is a culture of continuous professional development in the school for all staff. This involves regular and targeted training for teachers that meets their individual needs. Teachers work with colleagues across the trust to share and develop their practice.
• Leaders ensure that pupils have a wide range of sporting activities and opportunities to compete outside the school. This level of activity is supported by the additional funding that the school receives. All pupils benefit from this during lessons and extra-curricular opportunities.
• Pupils recently explored how elections and politics work as part of their learning about democracy. This developed their knowledge and understanding of fundamental British values such as democracy and individual liberty. The improved behaviour system rewards good behaviour and supports understanding in knowing right from wrong while encouraging pupils to make good choices.
• Through assemblies and in the classroom, pupils are offered opportunities to explore many values, including tolerance and respect. In their learning, they are encouraged to challenge stereotypes and be reflective about their own actions and understanding of the wider world.

Governance of the school

• Governors are well informed about the strengths and weaknesses of the school because they scrutinise information about pupils’ progress closely. As a result, they hold senior leaders firmly to account for the performance of the school.
• Governors ensure that the performance management process for staff, including the principal, is rigorous and fair. They set targets to raise standards and for the further development of the school.
• Governors are well qualified for their roles and committed to the improvement of the school for the benefit of all pupils. Governors make sure that pupils are safe in school. They understand their statutory duties well and ensure that these are fully met.
• Governors and school leaders ensure that additional funding, including the pupil premium and special educational needs funding, is used effectively. Leaders deploy support staff to meet pupils’ needs and to support pupils in accessing the curriculum. Where required, the school has provided additional support for families. Assessment information is regularly and robustly monitored and evaluated by leaders and governors to ensure that the spending is having a positive impact on the pupils that it is meant for.
• The sport funding is spent on providing staff with professional development and ensuring that all pupils access quality sporting opportunities. This spending is carefully tracked and challenged by governors to ensure that services employed are providing good value.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The recently appointed welfare and pastoral support officer is having a positive impact in ensuring that pupils and their families are supported. Staff support vulnerable pupils well because they take quick and decisive action to intervene on their behalf.
• Clear safeguarding and health and safety procedures and policies are in place. School records show that where there are concerns about a pupil, actions are taken quickly and appropriately. Clear procedures ensure that all adults know whom to report any concerns to.
• Leaders ensure that staff have regular training and keep their knowledge up to date, including how to keep pupils safe from radicalisation and extremism. Staff are aware of signs that may alert them to a child at risk of harm. Consequently, staff are vigilant in safeguarding pupils.
• School leaders work well with parents and carers to promote a strong culture of safeguarding. Pupils and parents agree that the pupils are safe in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Over time, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has been inconsistent and requires improvement. A high turnover of staff has affected the overall quality of teaching. Although this is now being addressed, teaching, learning and assessment are not yet good enough across the school.
• Teachers provide targeted support for pupils to enable them to catch up. However, teachers do not consistently check that their support is making a difference or respond quickly enough to adapt activities to enable pupils to make consistently good progress.
• Teachers do not consistently use assessment information accurately to plan activities that are well matched to pupils’ needs. Where the level of challenge is too high, pupils are unable to progress successfully. Pupils who are able to embrace a greater level of challenge are not sufficiently encouraged to have a go, take risks and persevere.
• Most adults use questioning appropriately to probe thinking and support pupils in problem-solving and reasoning. However, not all adults do this consistently, particularly for the most able pupils, which hampers the progress of this group of pupils.
• Teaching does not enable pupils to practice and embed their basic mathematics, reading and writing skills across the curriculum. Teaching does not consistently challenge pupils to read books that are consistent with their phonics knowledge.
• Teaching of phonics in Year 1 has not been consistently good and, as a result, the outcomes in the phonics screening check have declined.
• Teaching assistants have appropriate knowledge and skills that support pupils’ progress across the school. However, not all teachers deploy them effectively and therefore some pupils’ progress is being limited.
• Parents agree that they receive accurate information on their child’s progress. The school reports to parents regularly through the year and encourages them to come into school to see their children’s work and discuss any concerns. Leaders and teachers have introduced various initiatives, such as the reading morning in Year 1, so that parents and carers are able to learn alongside their child.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Key stage 2 pupils demonstrated high levels of confidence and creativity in a recent successful drama production. The pupils were very proud of their success and were keen to share this with others. Pupils are supportive of each other and encourage their peers to succeed.
• Pupils who have recently joined the school say that they are made to feel welcome and part of the class very quickly. They say that adults show that they care about them and that they know they that can talk to their teachers and friends if they have a problem.
• Pupils have a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe and are able to explain what to do to stay safe online. They say they feel safe in school. Parents and carers agree that the school is a safe place.
• The school has extended the school day to provide opportunities for pupils to stay healthy by engaging in a variety of additional physical activities. This provision also encourages pupils to develop teamwork and build positive relationships with their peers as part of supporting pupils’ mental well-being.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Classrooms are calm and orderly. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are generally good. Where any low-level poor behaviour occurs during lessons, adults quickly intervene. The recently introduced behaviour system is popular with pupils. They say that it is having a positive impact in their classrooms and in the playground. Pupils move around the school safely and are courteous and respectful of each other and adults.
• Pupils say that bullying is now rare and that they know what to do if it occurs. They say that adults deal with bullying effectively and they know that they can talk to an adult if it does. Parents who completed the online questionnaire Parent View agree with this. They also say that the school responds well to any concerns they may raise.
• Attendance and punctuality have improved over time. The school has worked successfully with families to ensure that this is maintained. Pupils say that they like coming to school.
• Pupils are given opportunities to be reflective during their learning and to take responsibility for their actions and choices. These skills are developed and supported in assemblies and by the new behaviour system.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The progress and attainment of pupils currently in the school is not good enough. Teaching has not had sufficient impact on pupils’ achievement at the end of key stages 1 and 2.
• Reading attainment in both key stages is not improving sufficiently. Phonics results have declined and are below the national average in the Year 1 screening check. The varying quality of teaching in particular year groups has resulted in limited improvement in phonics. However, the introduction of the buddy reading system this year, has helped to increase pupils’ enjoyment of reading.
• Teaching and assessment have not yet successfully addressed all of the weaknesses in 2016’s national assessments. Outcomes are improving towards the national average in writing as a result of recent whole school improvements. However, pupils’ progress in mathematics and reading is still too slow. As a result, pupils are not sufficiently well prepared for the next stages of their learning.
• Pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in mathematics are not good enough. However, the number of pupils who attained the higher standard has increased from the previous year. In key stage 1, outcomes improved from the previous year, although there were no pupils who achieved greater depth of learning.
• Teachers have worked hard to improve writing across the school with positive results in both key stages. Pupils enjoy using popular texts to inspire their writing, but ongoing feedback to pupils, particularly lower down the school, is not consistently effective in addressing mistakes in spelling and punctuation. As a result, some pupils do not achieve the standard of work of which they are capable. This limits their ability to achieve a greater depth of learning.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making positive progress, as are disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged. However, these are very small groups.
• Pupils who arrive part way through the year do not typically achieve as well as those who have been in the school longer.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership in early years is strong. Standards have continued to rise, with children making good progress from their individual starting points. Children are well prepared for Year 1.
• Leaders know the strengths and weaknesses of the children well. As a result, they plan effectively for the children’s further development and learning. Assessments are accurate. Staff and parents contribute to initial assessments to ensure that a reliable and complete picture of the child is formed. Progress is clearly tracked and where there are barriers to learning, leaders work with parents and other agencies to ensure positive outcomes.
• Parents are encouraged to work with their children at home and receive ideas and encouragement from leaders’ regular newsletters. Parents say that communication is good. They feel well informed about their child’s progress.
• The learning environment is well resourced and provides activities to promote learning and development across the curriculum. Children use the resources appropriately and play positively, engaging with each other well. They are able to negotiate and share so that everyone has opportunity to build on their learning and understanding. For example, a group of boys were able to tell an imaginative story about the spaceship they had built and included other children as the tale unfolded.
• Children’s transition into the school is a positive experience because staff take time to make visits to feeder settings and make home visits. These visits are appreciated by parents. They feel that their child benefits from them as they settle into their class. Transition into Year 1 is equally smooth and parents appreciate the information and support that is offered to them.
• Children’s language and communication skills are good. Adults model good speaking skills and use probing questions to encourage children to explain their learning. However, questions do not always support children in developing deeper reasoning or extend the learning, particularly for most able children.
• Children who have particular needs and their families are well supported so that the children make good progress from their starting points.
• Relationships between adults and children are good, creating a positive and nurturing atmosphere. Children also get on well, they are polite and confident with their peers and other adults. They show good levels of resilience and will play with imagination and focus. However, some children are not always being encouraged to develop their skills in other areas of the curriculum in which they are less confident.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number

140224 Wiltshire 10033106 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Primary Academy sponsor-led 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 201 Appropriate authority Academy trust Chair Acting headteacher Neil Lunnon Abrilli Phillip Telephone number 01264 310780 Website Email address http://www.wellingtonprimary.org.uk/ office@wellingtonprimaryacademy.org.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.
• Wellington Primary Academy is a smaller than average-sized primary school. It is a member of the Wellington College Academy Trust sponsored by Wellington College. Pupils are taught in single-age classes.
• The school has been open for three years and is still growing.
• The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds, with few who speak English as an additional language.
• The number of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below the national average.
• The number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities support and education, health and care plans is below national average.
• The acting headteacher has been in place for one year. A substantive headteacher has been appointed to start in September 2017.
• The school has a large proportion of forces families and so pupils move in and out more frequently.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors visited all classes, some with the acting principal.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders, including the acting headteacher as well as subject leaders for mathematics and English. Other meetings were held with the special educational needs coordinator, representatives of the school’s governing board, the early years foundation stage leader, the welfare and pastoral care officer, the safeguarding lead and the deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors scrutinised a number of documents, including local governing body minutes, assessment information, the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, the early years self-evaluation and behaviour records.
• Inspectors talked to a range of staff and looked at the online questionnaires completed by 17 staff.
• Pupils were spoken to in groups and during the day.
• An inspector selected pupils from Years 1 and 2 to read. The teaching of reading was also observed in Year 3 and early years.
• Inspectors took learning walks and attended the whole-school assembly. A book scrutiny was also included in the evidence gathering. This included a range of pupils work from across the curriculum to check the accuracy of assessment information held by the school.
• Pupils were observed on the playground and in the dining hall.
• An inspector talked with parents. Inspectors also considered 74 responses to the online questionnaire Parent View. One phone call was also considered as part of the inspection evidence.

Inspection team

Debbie Marklove, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Susan Watts Ofsted Inspector