Weobley Primary School

P R O T E C T – I N S P E C T I O N School report

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Weobley Primary School Burton Wood, Weobley, Hereford, HR4 8ST

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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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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Those who remain at the school for more than two years do particularly well.  Pupils’ progress speeds up in Years 5 and 6 because they receive consistently good and sometimes outstanding teaching in these year groups.  Teaching has improved since the previous inspection. It is now good and sometimes outstanding.  Pupils feel safe in school. They behave well in lessons and when playing together outside.  Pupils’ positive attitudes make a significant contribution to their good learning in lessons.  The headteacher is the driving force behind the school’s continued improvement since the previous inspection. She has gained a strong commitment from staff and governors to her high expectations for teaching and pupils’ achievement.  All staff are proud to be part of the school. They are fully involved in school improvement planning and so are clear about what the

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The weaker handwriting and spelling skills of some boys prevents them from recording their ideas quickly in English and other subjects.  Teachers do not always ask questions that require pupils to give reasons for their answers. This means they cannot always check that they fully understand what is being taught.  Teachers and adults who work alongside them in the classroom do not always change tasks quickly enough when they find that they are not relevant, too easy or too difficult.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 15 lessons taught by eight teachers, including five that were seen jointly with the headteacher. In addition, she made a number of short visits to other lessons to gather evidence for computer studies, history, science, Spanish and religious education.  The inspector looked at past and current information about pupils’ progress and work in pupils’ books from this year. She heard a number of pupils reading during lessons.  The inspector looked at documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, the school’s checks about what is going well, and school improvement planning.  The inspector met with small groups of pupils to talk about their learning and to find out what they thought about the school. She also met with staff and governors.  The inspector talked to parents informally at the start and end of the day and took account of the 34 responses in the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector took note of the responses to a questionnaire from16 staff.

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Inspection team

Georgina Beasley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Weobley Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Nearly all pupils are from White British backgrounds. Pupils from Romany or Gypsy backgrounds form the next largest group.  An above-average proportion of pupils are supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for groups such as pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is well above average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also well above average.  A higher than average number of pupils join and leave the school in different year groups throughout the year.  A breakfast club runs every day and is managed by the governing body. The afternoon nursery and after-school care club is privately run and is inspected separately.

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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?

 Speed up the progress of boys in writing by ensuring that they:  reach at least expected levels in their pencil control at the end of the Reception year  develop a fluent handwriting style by the end of Year 2  spell the words they should know correctly every time that they write  check for themselves that they are meeting their writing targets throughout Years 3 to 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Move all teaching to outstanding by ensuring that teachers and teaching assistants:  ask questions that make pupils give reasons for their answers so that they can check more precisely whether they fully understand what is being taught  check that all adults working in the classroom adapt tasks and activities when they find that these are not relevant, too easy or too difficult.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Since the previous inspection, pupils’ attainment has risen year on year and, at the end of Year 6, was above average in 2013 in reading, writing and mathematics. An increasing number of pupils each year reach the higher Level 5 at the end of Year 6. Pupils currently in Years 5 and 6 are reaching at least the levels expected for their ages and a good number are exceeding these.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress throughout the school. The proportion making and exceeding expected progress was above national figures in 2013 in reading, writing and mathematics, reflecting the current good and sometimes outstanding progress of more-able pupils. Currently, all pupils are on track to make at least the expected progress in each year group. This represents a marked improvement on previous years.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The high number of pupils who join the school at different times during the year make good progress. Many close any gaps in their learning quickly to reach the levels of which they are capable. Those who have additional needs take a little longer to catch up.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When a high number of these pupils start their time at the school with below-average skills and knowledge, the average standards of the year group they join falls. This makes it difficult to measure the progress of year groups as a whole. For the last two years, a high number of pupils have joined the school during Year 2 and this has given the school a falling trend of attainment at the end of Key Stage 1. Nearly all pupils who have been at the school for the two years reach at least average levels. This means pupils are making better progress at the end of Years 2 and 6 than the Data Dashboard on the Ofsted website indicates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress and most reach at least the levels expected for their age by the end of Year 6. Pupils from Romany and Gypsy backgrounds make good progress and many reach at least average levels in reading, writing and mathematics across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Additional staff and experiences for pupils supported by the pupil premium help them to make good and sometimes outstanding progress throughout the school, depending on when they start and the level of skills that they start with. Since 2011, the gap in attainment compared to their classmates has closed significantly across the school. At the end of Year 6, the current gap is almost closed in reading and writing, and the attainment of this group is above other pupils in the class in mathematics. This contrasts with the picture in 2012, when pupils known to be eligible for free school meals were around a term behind their classmates in mathematics and were nearly four terms behind them in English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make good progress from starting points that are usually below those typical for their age. Most reach the early learning goals in all areas of learning except reading, writing and mathematics. Girls have good writing skills but the writing of many boys shows poor pencil control and coordination from the time that they start school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Years 1 to 6, attainment in writing is lower than in reading and mathematics. Pupils’ spellings, including of words that they should know how to spell, are often incorrect. Some boys throughout the school have poor pencil control and many do not form their letters correctly. This stops them from writing quickly and fluently and so slows their ability write longer pieces in a short time.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The atmosphere in lessons is positive and so pupils are confident to answer questions and to ask for help when they get stuck. They also make pertinent comments such as ‘ “furthermore” would be used when you want to add something whereas you would use “therefore” for drawing conclusions’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Increasingly, teachers respond to pupils’ interests when planning lessons. For example, in Year 1, a topic that started out as ‘castles’ has turned into ‘dragons’. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes are confident to make choice about their learning and to offer ideas for future play.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In response to the dip in pupils’ skills in phonics (knowledge of letters and the sounds that they make), the teaching of phonics has improved in Key Stage 1. Teachers make sure that they work every day with pupils who are not on track to reach the expected standard to boost their progress and help them to make good progress in reading.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers check pupils’ learning diligently during and at the end of every lesson and give clear guidance on what they have done well and what they need to do next to improve their work. As a result of this, and individual targets for reading, writing and mathematics, pupils know how well they are doing and how to improve. Teaching is outstanding when pupils have the chance to make the improvements as soon as they receive feedback.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development in the Nursery and Reception classes because they have varied range of activities that encourage them to take turns and to share toys, equipment and space.

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The quality of teaching is good

 ‘Marking ladders’ give clear guidance to pupils on how to check their own and each other’s work. These do not always remind pupils to check that they have correctly spelt the words that they should know. While most pupils refer diligently to their targets when checking their own work, others do not check without reminders.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use the information that they collect about pupils’ learning to plan activities that usually meet pupils’ different abilities in lessons. Occasionally teachers and the adults who work alongside them in the classroom do not always change tasks quickly enough when found to be too easy, too difficult or not relevant.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers constantly ask pupils questions and check pupils’ work to find out what they know. They do not always ask pupils additional questions to find out why they gave the answer that they did and so check their understanding further. As a result, a few pupils continue to make mistakes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to learning, especially in Years 5 and 6. Pupils check whether they are meeting their targets. In the case of younger pupils, this is after reminders by teachers. Pupils are proud when they check their targets, saying, ‘I know how to reach my target and so am going to make sure that I do.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is good. Relationships with adults and each other are very positive. The consistent way adults manage the behaviour of those with emotional and behavioural needs has ensured significant improvements to this groups of pupil’s behaviour. Very few exclusions have occurred as a result of unacceptable behaviour, and there were none last year. All staff and almost all parents express positive views about behaviour and safety.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know and understand the different kinds of bullying, including homophobic and cyber- bullying. All those who spoke to the inspector were confident that adults would solve any problems or concerns that they might have.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has improved slowly since the previous inspection and was average last year. While, mostly, pupils attend regularly, a small number of families failed to send their children to school every day last year. Attendance is higher this half term than it was this time last year as a result of the school’s support for these families.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has established robust systems for checking every aspect of the school’s work. This enables staff to respond quickly to tackle any dips in progress or to close the gaps in learning of pupils who join the school throughout every year. Close scrutiny of teaching has led to improvements since the previous inspection in tailoring activities to the needs of individual pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of subjects and special educational needs is good. Meetings are held every half- term to discuss the progress of all pupils. Target groups are identified, learning planned in detail and further discussions timetabled to ensure that actions are working as planned.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has an accurate view of how well it is doing. All staff are fully involved in making decisions about school improvement. As a result, all staff are clear about what the school is trying to achieve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum ensures pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and good progress in a range of subjects, including computer studies, history and science. Sports funding is allocated well. Pupils take part in a varied range of sports and physical activity, during the day and after school, that encourages them to lead healthy and active lives. Older pupils learn about Spanish culture, and Spain as a country, in weekly Spanish lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority keeps a watchful eye on the school’s performance and produces annual reports for the school. The information is used to network schools together so that headteachers and other leaders can share expertise and tackle any concerns. A limited amount of training is offered.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well and so have been effective in supporting the school’s drive for improvement. Attendance at training and regular visits has ensured that governors ask probing questions in response to the online report about pupils’ progress. Records of meetings reflect the in-depth discussions that have taken place to clarify governors’ understanding about why there seems to be a difference between performance reports and the good progress shown in the school’s own tracking. Governors ensure that statutory requirements are met, including for safeguarding and staff performance management. They manage funds well and use a wide range of evidence to ensure that decisions about resources, pay increases and promotion are based on pupils’ progress. Governors ensure that the breakfast club is well managed.

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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 116746 Local authority Herefordshire Inspection number 427124

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 150 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Julia Hall Headteacher Caroline Woods Date of previous school inspection 12 October 2010 Telephone number 01544 318273 Fax number 01544 318896 Email address admin@weobley-pri.hereford.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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