Wombridge Primary School

Wombridge Primary School Hartshill, Oakengates, Telford, TF2 6AN

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Overall effectiveness

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

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This is a good school

 Achievement across the school is good. It is best in mathematics and reading because of the high focus on these areas.  Teaching is almost always good, enabling pupils to make at least good progress from low and often very low starting points. As a result, attainment is rising and is now broadly average by Year 6.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress in phonics (matching letters to the sounds that they make) because of regular practice.  Pupils are polite and helpful. They behave well and feel safe and secure at school.  Parents are pleased with the school and would recommend it to other parents.  Efficient planning by the governing body means money is spent well for the benefit of all groups of pupils, and additional staff are provided to support those who are known to be eligible for additional funding.  The school is effectively led by an aspirational headteacher. Leaders place a strong focus on

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This is a good school

improving the performance of staff through rigorous monitoring and training to improve teaching.  Leaders, managers and the governing body have brought about improvements in achievement, particularly in reading and mathematics since the previous inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Achievement in writing is not as good as it is in reading and mathematics because pupils are not always expected to work quickly enough to extend their skills.  Outdoor learning for the youngest children in the Reception classes is not always planned well enough to provide choices or challenge children to extend their learning and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 16 lessons, some jointly with the senior leaders. In addition, the inspectors made a few short visits to observe pupils’ learning and listened to some pupils read.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders and managers, staff, members of the governing body, a local authority representative, a few parents and some pupils.  The inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information about pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documents, safeguarding information and pupils’ work.  Inspectors took account of the 17 responses to the online survey (Parent View) and also to the 16 responses to the inspection questionnaire from staff.

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Inspection team

Denise Morris, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael Onyon Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school which caters for children from the local area.  A few pupils come from further afield and have challenging behaviour, social and emotional needs. They are fully integrated into the main school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of educational need is average.  Most pupils are White British and no pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding for those known to be eligible for free school meals, those looked after by the local authority and those from service families) is above average  The school has provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage in the Reception classes. Some of these pupils share their education with their peers in Year1.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in writing across the school by:  making sure that teachers have higher expectations of the amount and quality of writing that pupils do in their lessons and give pupils more time to practise their writing  increase opportunities for pupils to use their writing skills more regularly in other subjects across the curriculum  ensuring that pupils develop independence in learning, make decisions and do more for themselves.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the outdoor learning for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage so that it fully meets their needs and abilities, provides choice and challenges them to extend their skills

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The vast majority of pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, achieve well. This is evident in school tracking information of the amount of progress each pupil makes. Achievement has improved, particularly in reading and mathematics, in the past two years. Any pupils who fall behind are given additional support to help them quickly catch up.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties make similar progress to other pupils. They are well supported so that they engage in learning with their peers, learn to get on with others and improve their behaviour and as a result they make good progress from their starting points.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Daily practice in phonics (linking letters with sounds) ensures that younger pupils’ reading skills improve quickly. They know what is expected of them and can explain much of the technical language of phonics accurately. Classrooms for the younger pupils contain evidence of them writing labels, using letter sounds to make words and shows that they regularly match letters and sounds to objects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By Years 5 and 6, pupils read for pleasure and are learning to write their own stories on I-pads. These stories are displayed on the schools 'Blog' which is available for all pupils and parents to read, along with a wide variety of literature.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage classes achieve well from very low starting points. They benefit from their spacious accommodation and enjoy the good range of activities in the classrooms. Outdoor learning is less effective because planned tasks often lack interest or excitement and do not engage children well enough in learning or making choices about where they want to play and learn.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in writing is not as strong as in other areas of learning. This is because expectations of how much writing pupils can achieve are not always high enough in all classes. As a result some pupils are not challenged to increase the speed of their writing and do not complete enough work in the time allowed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in mathematics has improved rapidly recently because of the innovative use of information technology to provide challenge, promote understanding and help solve problems.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Those known to be eligible for the pupil premium make as good progress as others because leaders have used the extra funding to increase the number of additional staffing to support them. In 2012 their attainment was four terms behind their classmates in English and three terms behind them in mathematics. School data shows that the support they receive is helping to reduce the gap between their attainment and that of other pupils in the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is almost always good and some is outstanding. Teaching regularly extends pupils' skills through high expectations of what they can achieve and challenges them to do well, building on previous learning.  Teaching in mathematics is strong, promoting some excellent learning and standards that are rising rapidly. This was evident in Year 6 where outstanding teaching resulted in pupils of all abilities making rapid progress in using coordinates to move shapes from one position to another. Skilled questioning and excellent use of I-pads enabled pupils to understand the task quickly and complete them efficiently.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of phonics is good enabling younger pupils to make at least good progress in reading. In Years 1 and 2, for example, pupils enjoy accurate teaching which helps them to quickly recognise different letter sounds. The use of signs and actions to match sounds helps to reinforce learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The management of behaviour is consistently good across the school. All pupils understand the schools' behaviour strategies and lessons are calm and productive. Teaching assistants are used effectively to support learning, listen to reading and work with small groups.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally even the best teachers do not regularly challenge pupils to do more writing or promote sufficient independence in learning tasks. This is particularly evident when teachers sometimes accept too little work and do not challenge pupils about the amount of writing they have completed or their grammar or spellings.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking of pupils’ work is regular and helpful. Most pupils know their targets and know how to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils' enjoy school, have positive attitudes to learning and behave well. No evidence of learning being disrupted by challenging behaviour was evident in any lesson during the inspection and records show that this is quite normal. Pupils know and understand the schools' rewards and sanctions strategy well because they were involved in producing it.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils work well together and benefit from high quality of support. Older pupils care for younger ones and some boys told inspectors that they would like their own playground so that younger pupils would not get hurt when they play football. They say they help younger children with their reading

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of pupils attend regularly and arrive on time.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that any bullying is quickly dealt with by staff. They say that they feel safe at school. They have contributed to safety reviews and to the schools' behaviour policy. Parents agree that their children are safe and that behaviour at the school is good. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and understand about cyber-bullying.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted through charity fund raising, a homeless project and their 'Eco committee'. They have some opportunities to take on simple responsibilities but the school council said they would like to have more opportunities to do so.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Residential experiences for older pupils promote their personal development well. All pupils enjoy a wide range of experiences that help to develop their confidence and self-esteem. They take part in school productions, use 'worry boxes' if they have a problem, learn to swim and regularly put forward ideas for improvement. They say that they would like more equipment for physical education for example.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteachers' ambition for the school is to be outstanding as quickly as possible and together with senior leaders he is working hard to achieve this. The school demonstrates this through close links with local businesses, which has resulted in very good provision for IT. Leaders have successfully built on previous good performance to further improve achievement in the past two years and demonstrate the capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led enabling children to settle quickly and make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective use of the national standards has resulted in several examples of how teachers’ skills have been improved so that they can progress and seek promotion. A high level of training for all staff is effective in raising their confidence and skill. For example, whole school training in the management of behaviour and in the teaching of phonics has succeeded in calm classrooms where reading skills are improving.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is very well supported by the local authority. A whole school review by the local authority last year identified areas for improvement. This provided the impetus for further improvement by sharing work with other local schools and moderating pupils' work. The local authority regularly supports leaders in monitoring the quality of teaching and the performance of all staff.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders are aware of the school’s strengths and know that writing needs improvement. They fully recognise the issues identified in this report.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school's curriculum has been strengthened and after-school clubs have increased. Excellent links with local business has resulted in sponsored I-pads and laptops which are used very well to promote and inspire learning and raise aspirations. A school 'Blog' has been successful in engaging pupils and parents in discussions and is encouraging pupils to write stories for others to read.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders promote very positive relationships with local schools and work closely with them to promote improvement. Links with support agencies are effective and they are working closely together to try to improve attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Relationships with parents are good. During the inspection, many parents were eager to tell inspectors how well the school has improved and about their children's positive experiences at the school. One parent commented, 'The school is now better than it was three years ago.' All of the parents who responded to 'Parent View' said that they would recommend the school to another parent.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders make sure that all pupils have equal opportunities, as demonstrated by the high proportion of pupils who benefit from individual support and additional experiences. There was no discrimination evident in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding procedures meet requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body provides effective support and direction to leaders, promoting an atmosphere in which all groups of pupils thrive. Members of the governing body regularly use data to check the school’s quality and have a clear understanding of how well the school is doing. They fully understand their role in managing the performance of staff and they ensure that sufficient funds are made available to provide the training needed. There are several examples of where good teachers have been rewarded through the schools' management structure for their performance. Any underperformance is quickly dealt with. Governors manage the school's finances well and make sure that money allocated for pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is targeted to do so. As a result there is increased support for these pupils ensuring that their progress improves.

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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 123404 Local authority Telford and Wrekin Inspection number 412254

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Ruck Headteacher Neil Satoor Date of previous school inspection 6 July 2010 Telephone number 01952 388040 Fax number 01952 388040 Email address a2112@telford.gov.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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