Wherwell Primary School

School report Wherwell Primary School Wherwell, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 7JP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Attainment at the end of Year 6 is above the national average and most pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics during their time in the school.  Good teaching ensures effective learning. Well-planned lessons and interesting topics ensure pupils’ strong engagement in their learning. Good support from additional staff contributes well to pupils’ successful learning.  Strong leadership, particularly by the headteacher and well supported by the governing body, has ensured a successful drive to bring about improvement in pupils’ achievement, particularly in writing, since the last inspection.  The school is a very caring community where pupils’ well-being comes first. As a result, pupils feel very safe and know that should they have any concerns they will be dealt with fully and sensitively.  Rigorous systems for tracking pupils’ progress ensure pupils not making enough progress are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quickly identified and given the support they need to help them catch up.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and behave exceptionally well both in lessons and around the school. They are extremely well-mannered, kind and caring. This is reflected in the excellent relationships across the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although progress in Key Stage 1 is accelerating, it is not as strong as in other areas of the school.  Teachers do not always support small groups sufficiently well through discussing their learning with them and this sometimes slows progress in lessons.  Senior leaders, other than the headteacher, do not have enough responsibility for holding staff accountable for how well pupils are doing in the subjects or aspects that they lead.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 12 lessons or part-lessons, of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and four other governors, a local authority officer, the leadership team and other senior staff.  The inspectors took account of the 56 responses to the on-line Parent View survey.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and checks on the quality of teaching, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.  The inspector listened to pupils from Year 2 and Year 6 read.

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Inspection team

Janet Sinclair, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Wherwell is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.  The vast majority of pupils are White British.  The number of pupils eligible for additional funding through the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils in local authority care, from armed forces families, or those known to be eligible for free school meals) is below average.  The school meets the current government floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  None of the school’s pupils receives alternative provision (taught elsewhere).  Pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes (Year R/1, Year1/2 and Year 5/6) and two single age classes (Year 3 and Year 4) .

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ progress at Key Stage 1 so more pupils make accelerated progress through higher teacher expectations and an increased pace to learning in lessons.  Ensure that teachers consistently challenge and extend pupils’ learning through discussing with them what they are doing when they are working in small groups.  Develop the role of senior leaders so that they are more involved in ensuring good provision in the subjects or aspects that they lead and holding staff accountable for the achievement of pupils in their class.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well, particularly in Reception and Key Stage 2, and this is a good improvement since the previous inspection. Standards are now mainly above the national average at the end of Year 6. Careful tracking of pupils’ progress is ensuring that any gaps in the progress of different groups are dealt with quickly. This promotes equality of opportunity and deals with any discrimination.  The progress of pupils at Key Stage 1 is accelerating, but is less strong than Key Stage 2. Expectations have not always been high enough but this is now being addressed through more rigorous tracking and small group support for pupils not doing well enough.  Children start school with skills and abilities that are typical for their age and sometimes better, especially in their personal, social and emotional development. They make good progress across all areas of learning during their Reception year. However, staff do not always interact well

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The achievement of pupils is good

enough in the activities that children choose for themselves and this sometimes slows their progress.  Pupils who are disabled and those with special educational needs make similar progress to that of their peers. This is because their progress is carefully tracked and they get small-group or individual support where needed to make sure they learn well.  The school uses the pupil premium funding well through providing, for example, help with the cost of school trips and teacher time for one-to-one focused teaching. Pupils’ progress is better than the national average. Their average point score in national tests shows that their attainment is mainly above the national average for their group. The gap is narrowing between these pupils and other pupils in the school.  The school has worked hard to improve writing and this has been successful. Regular opportunities for writing that are carefully marked with explicit next steps, and shared with

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils, enable effective learning. Additionally, good opportunities for writing across subjects, such as writing a news story on the flight to the moon in history or about insect camouflage in science, stimulate pupils’ enjoyment and engagement.  Regular sounds and letters work in Reception and Key Stage 1 helps pupils to develop their spelling skills. They also use this knowledge well when reading unfamiliar words in their reading books.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The majority of pupils achieve well due to good and occasionally excellent teaching. Lessons are well planned with interesting content. This ensures pupils enjoy their learning and make good progress.  In some lessons, excellent questioning that challenges and extends pupils’ learning and involves them fully ensures that they make exceptional progress; for example, in promoting their understanding of probability in Year 6, or using powerful language in their writing in Year 3.  Pupils who are disabled and those with special educational needs and those for whom the pupil premium applies get effective one-to-one and small-group support from learning support assistants and where needed from the emotional literacy support assistant. Learning support assistants also make a good contribution to pupils’ learning through, for example, taking small groups for science.  Pupils very much enjoy the opportunities that they get for ‘active learning’ that involves lots of

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The quality of teaching is good

discussions. This was clearly seen in a Years 5/6 lesson when they discussed equivalent fractions and percentages.  Teachers mark pupils’ work well and set clear targets for improvement. Best practice shows pupils setting their own targets. Pupils are expected to correct their work and assess how well they are doing and this helps them to be fully involved in their own learning.  Well-structured guided reading sessions with a clear teacher focus and effective questioning within a small group improve pupils’ ability to analyse texts. However, sometimes all groups are not sufficiently well supported and learning is not extended within these sessions so this slows their progress.  Teachers give good attention to teaching letters and sounds (phonics). For example, children in Reception enjoyed making words with the ‘oo’ sound in them and pupils in Year 2 worked hard to learn the rule for adding ‘est’ to words such as easy.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally teachers, particularly at Key Stage 1, do not have high enough expectations and the work is not challenging enough so the pace slows and pupils do not do as well as they are able.  In Reception, excellent relationships and a supportive learning environment mean that children have positive attitudes and learn well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding in lessons and around the school. Pupils are very keen to behave well and are extremely supportive and caring towards each other. The oldest pupils in the school are excellent role models who set high standards that younger pupils are keen to follow. Excellent relationships and a strong caring community where pupils feel that they are ‘just like one big family’ encourage this.  There are no recorded incidents of bullying. Pupils say that there is definitely not any bullying in school and they would not expect there to be. Pupils spoken to said that there were a few bossy pupils last year but not any bullying. Playtime buddies in Years 5 and 6 make sure that any minor disagreements are dealt with quickly and effectively.  Parents and carers who responded to the on-line Parent View survey unanimously agree that behaviour is good and their children are safe in school. School staff are also in full agreement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

Inspection evidence confirms these views are accurate.  Pupils have extremely good attitudes to school and are respectful, polite and courteous to each other and all adults. They say that school is fun, they get lots of encouragement and teachers really help them.  Pupils feel very safe in school and extremely confident of adult support should they have any concerns or worries. Pupils learn about staying safe through, for example, visits from the fire service and police and cycling proficiency training.  A lovely example of the high regard the school is held in was the number of Year 7 pupils who were visiting the school to work with the younger pupils during their half-term. One of them had arranged to organise an e-safety quiz and video for Years 5/6 pupils, which re-enforced the importance of the safe use of the internet.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders and governors demonstrate a clear vision and a strong drive for improvement that have ensured the school has improved well since its previous inspection when it was judged to be satisfactory. This shows that there is the capacity for further improvement.  Accurate self-evaluation and a school improvement plan that is clearly focused on the key areas for further development mean that the school is clear about what it needs to do to improve further. Progress towards meeting the targets set is reviewed regularly by senior staff and governors to ensure they are on track.  Monitoring of teaching and learning is regular and the headteacher has a clear view of its quality and what needs to be done to improve it further. Staff are given clear targets for improvement that are checked on subsequent visits to ensure they have been met.  The process of setting individual and whole-school targets for all staff is fully in place. However,

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The leadership and management are good

senior leaders responsible for subjects and aspects are still not being held sufficiently accountable for provision in the subject or aspect that they lead.  The school receives good support from the local authority, but also buys in additional support as part of its own determination to ensure continuing improvement.  The curriculum is well planned. It is enriched well through sporting activities such as rugby and football. There is also a good orchestra and the pupils involved are proud of their musical achievement.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted strongly through thought- provoking assemblies such as the Years 5/6 presentation on Nelson Mandela. Pupils clearly know right from wrong and work and play extremely well together.  Parents and carers are very happy with the school and what it provides. There are excellent relationships between parents and carers and staff and the school ensures that they are well

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The leadership and management are good

informed through regular newsletters and termly reports on their children’s progress.  The governance of the school: The governing body fulfils its statutory duties well and makes sure that appropriate safeguarding procedures are in place so that pupils and staff are kept safe. Governors have a good knowledge of the quality of teaching and learning within the school and visit regularly so that they are well informed. They monitor the school’s finances carefully, including the use of pupil premium funding and how it is spent. Through the robust system in place for monitoring pupils’ progress, they have a clear idea of how well pupils in the school are doing. There is appropriate training for individual governors so that they develop their knowledge and skills and are well informed of local and national initiatives. They are involved in setting performance management targets for the headteacher and are aware of a similar process

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The leadership and management are good

for staff. As a result, they have a secure knowledge of how the performance of staff links to increases in salary. They are also involved in promoting further staff accountability within this.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 115960 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 401546

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 115 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sean Hutton Headteacher Andy King Date of previous school inspection 24–25 February 2010 Telephone number 01264 860384 Fax number 01264 860384 Email address andy.king@wherwell.hants.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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