West Winch Primary School

West Winch Primary School Back Lane, West Winch, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The progress that pupils make in their learning is accelerating because of the improved quality of teaching almost all of which is at least good. This is particularly the case with mathematics and reading where progress is sometimes excellent.  By the end of Year 6, attainment is overall well above that generally expected for pupils’ ages.  Parents support the school and all of those who responded to the online questionnaire say that they would recommend this school to others.  Pupils are given a large amount of responsibility, including older pupils being role models for younger pupils. This contributes to the strong sense of community in the school.  The leadership and management of the leadership team and of governors are strong and there is a determination shared by all to attain the very highest standards.  Children get a good start to their time in school in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

make rapid progress in learning about the relationships between letters and the sounds that they represent.  All staff work to ensure that lessons are exciting and interesting. As a result, pupils’ are enthusiastic about their learning and many continue to research subjects at home.  Behaviour is good and, as a result, the school is a calm and happy place where pupils are able to concentrate fully on their learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although pupils make good progress in developing their skills in writing, this is not as strongly so as in reading and in mathematics.  On occasion, pupils’ lack of confidence in the meaning of less common words and finding how to check their meaning prevents them using these in their written and oral work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes in 10 lessons, including two which were shared observations, one with the headteacher and one with the deputy headteacher. In addition, pupils were heard reading, pupils were spoken to and their work in books was scrutinised.  Discussions were held with a range of people including the headteacher, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body, phase leaders and a local authority representative.  The inspection took account of the 28 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as talking to parents at the start of the school day.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents. These included those relating to safeguarding, health and safety, planning and monitoring, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, documents relating to spending money received for the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and

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Information about this inspection

those looked after by the local authority), primary schools sports funding and the school’s own data on pupils’ progress.  The responses of 21 staff questionnaires were analysed.

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Inspection team

Sheelagh Barnes, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Lynda Beale Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 West Winch Primary is smaller than the average-sized primary school, but numbers are rising.  Most pupils are White British and speak English as a first language.  Pupils are taught in seven single age classes.  The number of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average.  The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning to be more consistently outstanding by following the school’s stated policies rigorously and:  ensuring that pupils are given more opportunities to practise the skills they are taught  making information to pupils about how to improve their written work more readily available in all subjects  teachers more consistently modelling high quality writing for pupils to emulate.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improving systems to develop pupils’ vocabulary and increase their understanding of less commonly used words to aid their reading of complex texts and to enrich their writing and verbal presentations.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards attained by pupils at the end of Year 2 in 2013 were above the national average. Standards at the end of Year 6 were well above average overall. This represents a steady and significant improvement since the previous inspection. The progress pupils make from Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2 is good overall. This is particularly the case in mathematics and reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress in mathematics has improved notably because of the school’s strong initial focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning in this area. Teachers are confident in their teaching and provide high quality feedback to pupils and consistently good information on how to improve their work still further.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in writing, while good, is not yet as strong. In part this is because teachers do not yet apply school policies, such as marking and letting pupils know what they need to do next, as consistently as in the teaching of mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The progress made by children in the Early Years Foundation Stage in areas of learning for young children is good. This is particularly the case in early reading and writing because of the effective teaching of letters and the sounds that they represent (phonics). Children make similar progress in all of the different areas of learning for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and the majority attain a good level of development by the time they transfer into Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the phonics check at the end of Year 1, in 2013, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards was average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress has continued to improve significantly since the previous inspection due to the strong leadership of the school. As a result, the difference in attainment between different groups has been closed to a significant degree and standards continue to improve term by term.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 School data show that pupils supported by the pupil premium now also achieve similarly to their classmates. However, in 2013 they were one term behind their classmates in both mathematics and writing. They had caught up in reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Boys and girls from all groups make good progress throughout the school, including higher- attaining pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and the small number who speak English as an additional language, so that there is no discernible difference in their achievement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are confident talkers and express themselves clearly. However, some do not have as wide an understanding of less commonly used words as might be deduced from daily conversation. For example, they do not all know what the word ‘sitter’ means when they come across it in their reading and do not all make attempts to resolve this. As a result, this limits their confident use of a wider range of words in their writing and oral presentations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good. It is nearly always at least good and occasionally outstanding. This is particularly the case in the teaching of mathematics, in which teachers are particularly confident.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good and promotes children’s learning effectively. As a result of well managed links with the many pre school settings children attend, they settle into school quickly and make good gains in all areas of learning for young children.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of phonics is good and results in young children making swift strides in learning to read.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching of those eligible for the pupil premium is effectively closing the gap between their attainment and that of their peers. Similarly, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported well in class and through additional support such as one-to-one tuition.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants make a very positive contribution to the progress pupils make. They are knowledgeable and skilled and their work ensures equality of access and opportunity for all, both in class and during break-times.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking is regular and generally helps pupils to understand how to improve their work still further. Teachers help pupils to know what they need to work on next by giving them ‘targets’. This is particularly the case in mathematics and in English lessons. However, marking and advice on how to improve is not as consistently good in subjects such as religious education, history and geography.

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The quality of teaching is good

 On occasion, the quality of teachers’ writing is not always of the highest quality for pupils to emulate.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are respectful and polite. They enjoy school and are proud of it and of their work. They have very good attitudes to their learning and say ‘You can always do better’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. They are well informed about how to keep themselves safe, including whilst using electronic devices. They know who to go to for help and are confident that they will receive appropriate support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 They take on responsibility such as ‘Eco’ and ‘Tech’ teams, house captains and ‘Ambassadors’ with pride. Older pupils help and guide younger pupils very effectively, such as at assembly times. They also recognise that they can help one another and the new ‘Buddy’ system is a reflection of this.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have a clear understanding right and wrong and show kindness and support to others. They know that there are sanctions if they misbehave and are equally proud of the awards and privileges that good behaviour brings.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 They have a good awareness of different forms of bullying, including e-safety and what to do if it should occur. They are confident that if they have a problem, an adult or friend will help them. They know who to go to for child protection issues or if they feel that they are being bullied as this information is clearly displayed for all to see. They say that bullying is rare and that any disagreements are resolved swiftly.  The school has worked hard to improve attendance which has significantly improved over the past year and is currently broadly in line with the national average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, leadership team, subject leaders and governors share high aspirations for the school. These are effectively underpinned by robust and accurate self-assessment and well- managed planning for further improvement. As a result, the issues raised by the previous inspection have been effectively addressed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The quality of teaching has been significantly improved since the previous inspection because of the concerted effort of all and the good quality training provided for teachers by leaders. The teaching of mathematics is now particularly effective and teachers are very confident in this subject.

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The leadership and management are good

 Primary school sports funding has been used effectively to increase the range of free sporting opportunities available to pupils after school. Badminton club is much enjoyed by pupils. Staff training needs have been assessed and courses being sought to improve teachers’ skills and confidence. The recently appointed physical education lead teacher is enthusiastic about his role and is evaluating the impact of new initiatives.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding policies and practice are consistently applied and pupils, parents and staff are confident in the care and support provided in times of need.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides good support for the school especially in the form of training for staff and governors in safeguarding, child protection and with reference to disabled children and those who have special educational needs. The work with the education ‘challenge partner’ is appreciated by leaders and governors alike.

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The leadership and management are good

 Links with parents are strong and all those spoken to were full of praise for the school and what it does. Information in the form of newsletters, notice boards and the school website are appreciated by parents who say that they feel well informed about all aspects of school life.

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The leadership and management are good

 All parents who responded to the online questionnaire said that they would recommend the school to others. They say that they feel able to approach staff with any problem or query.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are well informed and have a good understanding of school strengths and areas for improvement. They are able to ask the leadership team questions confidently because they have a good understanding of the data about the school and what it is telling them. Governors have worked effectively to ensure that school finances are managed well. They have a good knowledge of how the pupil premium funding is spent and know that this is raising the achievement of those pupils eligible. They have good plans for the spending of the new primary schools sport funding which have been put into place. Governors ensure the management of teachers’ performance follows national guidance and that pay rises for teachers are linked to pupils’ achievements. Policies are regularly reviewed to ensure that children are kept safe and free from harm. The school meets all requirements for safeguarding

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The leadership and management are good

children. Information to parents is good and the web-site is informative, regularly updated and contains all required information

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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 120899 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 425273

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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 188 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Heather Habbin Headteacher Mark Oldridge Date of previous school inspection 7 February 2012 Telephone number 01553 840397 Fax number 01553 849011 Email address office@westwinch.norfolk.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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