Winwick CofE Primary School

Winwick CofE Primary School Myddleton Lane, Winwick, Warrington, Cheshire, WA2 8LQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching is good. As a result, pupils make good progress in lessons and over time.  By the end of Year 6, attainment in mathematics reading and writing is above average. Pupils’ progress from their various starting points is good overall.  Carefully tailored support for pupils with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils enables them to make good progress and to participate fully in activities.  Children make good progress in the early years as a result of good teaching and an exciting environment which engages their interest and encourages them to learn through play.  Behaviour is good and attendance is above average. Pupils have positive attitudes, enjoy coming to school and have good relationships with each other and with adults. They feel safe in school.  Leadership and management are good. The headteacher, strongly supported by the deputy headteacher and governors, provides very clear direction. As a result of rigorous and detailed

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

monitoring of teaching and pupils’ progress and decisive action to improve the quality of teaching and learning, achievement has improved rapidly and continues to improve. Good promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development enables them to thrive in a supportive learning community.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not yet outstanding. Work is not always precisely enough matched to pupils’ needs and capabilities so that some pupils do not always reach their full potential.  Pupils are not always given the precise guidance they need to improve their work and are not always given the opportunity to identify what that they need to do next.  Middle leaders are in the early stages of their developing their roles and are not yet fully involved in improving teaching and learning.  In phonics lessons, pupils are not always given an appropriate level of challenge so that they sometimes find work too easy or too difficult.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons and made short visits to other activities, such as guided reading, phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) lessons and small group and one-to-one support led by teachers and trained assistants. Four of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.  Two groups of pupils met with inspectors and inspectors talked informally to a wide range of pupils. Discussions were also held with staff, including senior leaders. Meetings were conducted with the Chair of the Governing Body and with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of 31 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and letters from parents and carers, as well as 20 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work with the headteacher and deputy headteacher and read a range of documents. These included documents about the school’s strategies to enable leaders to gain an accurate

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Information about this inspection

view of its performance, school improvement plans, pupils’ current progress, policies and records on safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Judith Tolley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Winwick CofE Primary School is a smaller than average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language are very low.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium funding (additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority) is very small in comparison to the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is higher than average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, but varies from year to year.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Since the previous inspection, there have been changes in staff; several new teachers have joined the

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Information about this school

school.  The early years provision consists of a Reception class.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is consistently outstanding across the school and thereby raise standards and further increase pupils’ rates of progress by:  making sure tasks are always set at just the right level and that pupils, especially the most able, are consistently challenged, to achieve the best they can  ensuring pupils are always given the precise guidance they need to improve their work, especially in writing and the accuracy of their spelling  involving pupils in deciding next steps in their own learning  reviewing the arrangements for teaching phonics so that pupils are always provided with the right level of challenge.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the role of middle leaders in improving the quality of teaching and learning across the school through involving them fully in the monitoring and evaluation procedures and working alongside teachers to improve and refine their practice.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior leadership team has an accurate view of what the school does well and what needs to be improved. This evaluation is based upon rigorous monitoring procedures, both in terms of the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make.  The headteacher has acted swiftly and decisively to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Regular and rigorous monitoring procedures effectively hold teachers to account, astutely identify training needs and leaders provide teachers with appropriate support. As a result of the outstanding leadership and very clear direction provided by the senior leadership team, achievement and teaching have improved significantly over the last year and continue to improve.  The pupil premium funding is used to good effect to support the very small proportion of disadvantaged pupils. This contributes well to the good progress these pupils make. Similarly, the primary school sports

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The leadership and management are good

funding is used to good effect to improve the quality of teaching in physical education across the school. This has led to increased participation rates in extra-curricular and sports activities across the school.  At present, the headteacher and deputy headteacher effectively oversee English and mathematics. Other subject and middle leaders are fully involved in the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement planning procedures, as well as driving improvement in their subjects across the wider curriculum. They are also involved in working together to plan the new curriculum.  The curriculum is broad and balanced, meets pupils’ needs and aspirations well and prepares them well for citizenship in modern Britain. It enables them not only to practise their mathematical, reading and writing skills in a variety of contexts but also enables them to develop their expertise as historians, scientists and geographers. The curriculum is enriched by modern languages and drama, as well as a

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The leadership and management are good

variety of themed days, such as the Languages Day and events organised in conjunction with the Church and the local community. Pupils also benefit from regular trips and visits, including residentials, which extend their learning beyond the classroom.  The teaching of reading is effective overall and pupils enjoy reading. They read fluently and with understanding, able to explain in detail what they have read in a variety of texts and to make inferences. By the end of Year 6, they read fluently and with understanding. Pupils use reference books, including a thesaurus, atlases and dictionaries effectively to find and check information. However, the organisation of the teaching of phonics for children in the early years provision and pupils in Key Stage 1 means that some pupils find tasks too easy or too difficult. This slows their progress in developing early reading and writing skills.  Safeguarding procedures are robust and meet government requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works closely with parents and actively encourages them to be involved in the school’s work and their children’s learning through regular meetings, newsletters and the school website.  The school is committed to ensuring all pupils have an equal opportunity and to this end works well with outside agencies and parents to remove barriers to learning.  The school has received good support from the local authority through a period of considerable change. It has brokered support from a school within the local network. The school continues to benefit from this to refine its practice further.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas which need to be improved. Its members regularly check the school’s performance, including data that show pupils’ attainment and progress. They talk confidently about how the school has improved the achievement of

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The leadership and management are good

all groups of pupils. They have a clear understanding of the quality of teaching and the performance of staff, including how good performance is rewarded and any underperformance is tackled. The efficiency of spending is scrutinised closely, for example, the effectiveness of the use of primary sports funding and of pupil premium funding. Governors are actively involved in the life of the school and have strong, positive relationships with senior leaders. As a result, they, through challenge and support, hold leaders to account. They have supported the school very effectively during a period of considerable change and ensured the school has remained stable throughout.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are courteous and considerate to each other, and work and play very well together. They take responsibility very seriously and are proud of their contribution to the school, for example, as school councillors and as playground leaders.  Pupils say they enjoy school and that learning is fun and they particularly enjoy the themed days and the opportunities they have to join in a variety of clubs and activities after school. Attendance is above average.  Pupils come to lessons equipped and ready to work. They take pride in their school and take care of classrooms and playground. They work responsibly and with enthusiasm and behave sensibly in spite of significant building work going on in the school. They support each other well, for example, when working with a partner. They listen carefully to others and respect each other’s views. They relish opportunities to

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Behaviour

explain their views or demonstrate how they have solved problems and do so clearly and confidently.  Pupils have very positive attitudes towards their learning, are keen to do well and, when given the opportunity, enter into a dialogue with their teachers about how to improve their work. Their concentration sometimes flags when activities are too easy or too difficult.  Pupils who may have challenging behaviour are supported very effectively to make good choices and, as a result, they are able to learn effectively and make good progress alongside their classmates. Incidences of poor behaviour are very rare.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils have very good relationships with adults and with each other. Pupils feel safe and are confident that any poor behaviour is dealt with promptly and effectively. They are aware of the different forms of bullying, such as name-calling and cyber-bullying that can take place and know how to deal with it.  Pupils know how to stay safe and have a good understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They are enthusiastic about the wide range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, that are provided and which have a positive impact on their health and well-being.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good across the school and there are examples of outstanding practice.  Whole-class, group and paired activities effectively increase pupils’ confidence and their speaking skills. When pupils work in groups and pairs to share ideas and to solve problems their confidence and independence increases, and they are frequently asked to explain their thinking or demonstrate their working to others. As a result, pupils are confident and articulate.  Teachers and teaching assistants work well together and ask pupils searching questions to see how much they have understood. For example, Year 6 pupils made swift progress with their work on fractions and algebra because activities, led by the teacher and teaching assistants, were very well matched to their needs and, because they were asked to explain their thinking and demonstrate their strategies, they learned ways of solving problems from each other.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Similarly, very close monitoring of progress, coupled with very effective questioning, enabled Year 2 pupils to make very swift progress in their reading and writing. However, this is not always the case. On occasions, pupils find tasks too easy or too difficult because work is not always precisely matched to their capabilities. Pupils are not always given the support materials they need to be able to complete tasks independently and this slows their progress because they have to wait for help from adults.  Pupils’ work is marked regularly and there are examples of outstanding practice. Where this is the case information about pupils’ progress determines next steps for individual pupils and this feeds directly into lesson planning. Pupils respond very positively to this and, when this is the case, they maintain a dialogue with teachers about what they need to do next, however, although they are given extra challenges to

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The quality of teaching is good

complete, too often this does not require them to attempt a higher level of difficulty. In addition, pupils do not always receive the precise guidance they need to help them improve their work, particularly their writing and the accuracy of their spelling. Although pupils are involved in evaluating their own and each other’s work and are regularly given time to put mistakes right, they are not always involved in deciding the next steps they need to take to improve their work.  Overall, reading is taught effectively and even the youngest take pleasure in applying their knowledge of phonics to read and write words and simple sentences or read out what they have written. However, phonics teaching does not always meet the needs of the most and the least able effectively and this slows the progress these pupils make initially. The impact of teaching on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have frequent opportunities to increase their understanding of

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The proportion of pupils making or exceeding the progress expected of them from their starting points compares favourably with the national average. Children enter Year 1 with skills and knowledge that are generally those typical for their age and are confident learners who are well prepared for the Key Stage 1 curriculum.  Overall, pupils make good progress from their individual starting points. By the end of Year 6, standards in mathematics and reading and writing are above average. Teachers’ assessments indicate that standards in reading, writing and mathematics improved significantly in 2014 and that by the end of Year 6, standards are well above average with more pupils reaching the highest levels.  Work seen during the inspection indicates that pupils make consistently good progress as they move through the school. Their progress is sometimes slower in reading and writing during Key Stage 1

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The achievement of pupils is good

because they are not always given the guidance they need to improve their work or the accuracy of their handwriting or spelling.  The most able pupils usually make good progress from their starting points in mathematics, reading and writing, with some reaching the highest levels by the end of Year 6. However, there is scope to provide even more challenge for these pupils.  By the end of Year 6 pupils write effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences, and use a good range of vocabulary and structures to do this.  Progress in reading is good. Pupils of all ages are enthusiastic about their reading. By the end of Year 6, most pupils read a variety of texts with a good level of fluency and understanding. Most talk in detail about what they have read.  Progress in mathematics is also good. Pupils routinely explain their thinking and demonstrate their working to others. They do this confidently and with increasing independence as they move through the

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The achievement of pupils is good

school.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make the same good progress as their peers as a result of the extra help they are given, according to need, in class and in groups  The extra support the school provides using the additional funding for the very small proportion of disadvantaged pupils, such as extra help in the classroom and support from teaching assistants, enables these pupils to reach their targets and to make the same good progress as non-disadvantaged pupils in the school. The numbers of disadvantaged pupils are so small as to make any comparison between their attainment and that of non-disadvantaged pupils in the school and nationally statistically unreliable.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress and achieve well in the Reception classes as a result of consistently good teaching. Many children start in the early years provision with skills that are broadly typical for their age. The majority achieve a good level of development on entry to Year 1.  The well-established routines and effective procedures for making sure their transition from home or pre- school settings is a smooth one, children settle in quickly, behave well and are aware of how to stay safe from the outset. They are used to routines, respond very positively to the high expectations of adults, take turns, increase in independence and learn and play well together. The provision is led and managed well. Adults work together very effectively to ensure all children are able to make good progress. They monitor individual progress closely on a daily basis and use this information effectively to plan next steps

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The early years provision is good

for children’s learning. Adults take every opportunity to engage children in conversation and to extend their learning.  Activities are planned very well and designed to interest and encourage children to take the initiative and to help them to develop their skills. Activities are purposeful, change regularly and reflect themes in teaching and children’s interests.  Children clearly enjoy their learning and are absorbed in activities. The outdoor area is used well and provides lots of opportunities which excite children’s interest to explore and investigate; this they do with enthusiasm. For instance, they clearly enjoyed the ‘Welly Walk’ to investigate the effect of autumn and the exceptionally windy weather on the trees around their school.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 111365 Local authority Warrington Inspection number 452002

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair June Stevenson Headteacher Ian Price Date of previous school inspection 15 May 2013 Telephone number 01925 630995 Fax number 01925 628599 Email address winwick_primary@warrington.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 and 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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