Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Shop Street, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 7HX

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is an outstanding school

 Leaders, including governors, are ambitious for the school and have established the right culture where pupils and staff can do their best.  The headteacher has skilfully enabled staff to produce work of high quality across the school. Her leadership is outstanding, guided adeptly by the executive headteacher.  The school has improved in leaps and bounds since its last inspection. All aspects of its work are now outstanding.  Pupils thrive in a safe environment that nurtures both their personal development and their academic achievement.  Pupils who join the school from other schools settle in seamlessly. It is not possible to tell these pupils apart from those who have been at the school from the beginning.  From their different starting points, pupils make substantial progress, many overcoming issues in their learning.  The early years provision is excellent and the outdoor area is particularly well used to help

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This is an outstanding school

children explore and investigate their world.  Children in the early years are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1. Older pupils are just as well prepared for high school.  The quality of marking is a major strength of the school. Pupils use teachers’ incisive feedback exceptionally well. This has a significant impact on helping them to improve their work.  Teachers’ strong subject knowledge in English and mathematics is used very effectively to enable all pupils, but particularly the most able, to extend their learning. Pupils develop very good skills of analysis, reasoning and critical thinking.  The school’s inclusive approach and thoughtful adjustment of the curriculum for individual pupils mean that there is very little difference in the progress that different groups are making.  Pupils strive to behave as best as they possibly can. Importantly, they learn from their mistakes and understand the effect their behaviour can

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This is an outstanding school

have on others around them.  Pupils are tolerant and respectful of others. They understand the idea of democracy and the importance of rules to guide behaviour.  Safeguarding arrangements and procedures are robust and rigorous.  The partnership arrangement with the local high school works outstandingly well and has had a very positive impact on the school’s development. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 2 of 10

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that teachers’ subject knowledge in science in Key Stage 2 is extended that much further so that it is as strong as that in mathematics and English.  Provide even more opportunities for pupils to learn about the diversity in modern Britain.  Refine the information provided on the school’s website so that it is more easily accessed by parents and other visitors. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 3 of 10

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 Leaders and governors have created a highly positive culture within which staff and pupils are encouraged and supported to give of their best. The school’s high expectations of all are supported by robust systems, processes and policies to guide and underpin its work.  Relationships between pupils and staff are strong and staff provide excellent role models for pupils to emulate.  The school’s headteacher has established a strong sense of teamwork among staff so that they work together in the best interests of the pupils.  Focused work, informed by incisive understanding of issues in the school and pupils’ progress, has helped it to develop and improve at a rapid rate since its last inspection. The quality of teaching is now much better and, consequently, the achievement of all groups has improved substantially, and continues to improve.  Leaders, including governors, have systematic and robust mechanisms for assessing their own and the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

school’s effectiveness. This enables them to respond quickly to address any issues that arise. Leaders also check the impact their actions are having on improving and developing the school. No time is wasted pursuing actions or strategies that do not have a positive effect.  The school development plan is well informed by findings from monitoring activities, and there is a coherent link between school improvement priorities and the targets for improvement set for individual staff through the performance management process. High-quality training enables staff to carry out their roles to a high standard.  Additional funding to promote the achievement of disadvantaged pupils is used exceptionally well to provide a wide range of additional support, particularly in literacy and numeracy. This support is carefully and individually targeted to maximise the impact. Equality of opportunity is a very well understood

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

concept at this school. Consequently, all pupils are challenged and supported to achieve their best.  The curriculum is highly developed and provides a wide range of subjects and experiences for pupils. Themes are used to put subjects into contexts that are relevant and to which pupils can easily relate. For example, the current theme of space has caught pupils’ imaginations and excited their curiosity. Leaders have been highly effective in embedding the requirements of the new national curriculum and achieving a depth to the curriculum that is highly significant.  A wide range of visits, visitors and extra-curricular clubs help to extend pupils’ learning. Pupils also have access to a wide range of sports and physical education activities because of the effective way in which additional funding for these is used. A teacher from the high school, for example, teaches key skills in sports such as hockey. The school’s staff are also being trained by external experts to increase capacity

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

within the school and make high-quality sports training sustainable in the long term.  Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is woven into the curriculum and the wider educational opportunities for pupils. Strong and positive values underpin the school’s work on pupils’ personal development; indeed these values are central to its success in turning out confident, well- balanced, thoughtful, caring and kind youngsters who demonstrate tolerance and respect for others.  Given their location in a rural community, pupils do not have much direct contact with people from other religious and ethnic backgrounds. This means that they do not always fully appreciate the significance of their differing beliefs, despite the school’s best efforts to teach them about these.  The partnership with the high school brings a wide range of benefits. The high school has helped, for example, with past staffing issues and issues of recruitment, and the school is currently well staffed. The

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

school benefits greatly by sharing expertise in areas such as safeguarding and special educational needs. Pupils have easy and regular access to the high school and this has made transition from primary to secondary much smoother, especially for pupils with particular learning needs.  The school has established strong links with its local community. For example, it contributes to the parish newsletter. Parents feel well informed and feel that they receive a good deal of information about their child’s progress. The school’s website has all the required information but this is not always laid out in the best way or easy to access. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 4 of 10  The governance of the school Governors are highly involved in the work of the school. They visit often and are clear that every visit is purposeful and provides the governing body with deeper and important insights into the school’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

work and how well this is progressing. Overall, governors have a strong understanding of the effectiveness and impact of the school’s work on pupils’ learning and development. Governors ask challenging questions and manage to balance the mix of support and challenge to hold leaders to account exceptionally well. The governing body is as highly focused on the future development of the school as it is on its current performance. It has been a key driver for the very successful partnership with the local high school.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school pursues issues doggedly to ensure that, where a child may be at risk, every possible precaution is taken to keep them safe. Staff and governors participate in very comprehensive training that enables them to be fully aware of their own roles and also how to spot any issues quickly.  The ‘connect-time’ is a very well-developed system whereby all pupils have a key member of staff with

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

whom they meet regularly to discuss how well things are going. This system provides excellent opportunities for pupils to raise concerns, but also for staff to keep a close eye on the small group of pupils with whom they meet. Most importantly, the curriculum is very deliberately developed to teach pupils about a broad spectrum of safeguarding issues, including having the critical thinking skills to spot negative and extremist views, for example, on race, beliefs and gender.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Excellent teaching, learning and assessment over time make a significant impact on pupils’ learning and progress.  A particularly strong feature of the teaching is the quality of assessment and how assessment information is used to plan for the needs of individual pupils. The school capitalises on the small numbers to tailor work most effectively to where pupils are in their learning. This means that pupils of all ability groups are challenged at the right level.  Teachers link planning of lessons, as well as assessment of progress and learning, very closely to the demands of the national curriculum and what pupils should be able to do, know and understand. They also take very good account of where pupils currently are in their learning. In this way, they are helping pupils to build new knowledge and understanding systematically and to consolidate their learning extremely well. Consequently, pupils feel very secure about what they are learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Teachers ask probing questions to develop deeper understanding. They target questions to different pupils very well so that questioning supports lower attainers to understand new ideas while challenging higher attainers to think outside the box, and beyond their current understanding. Hence, pupils of all abilities develop depth as well as breadth of learning and pin down key learning points.  Pupils are given tasks that help to develop and extend their skills through practice and rehearsal. The most-able pupils in particular are challenged to think even more for themselves by tackling difficult problems or ideas on their own.  The written feedback, based on the school’s policy, exemplifies the use of questioning to move pupils to their next step in learning exceptionally well. The questions provided to individual pupils are based on careful analysis of their work. Where teachers identify any gaps, they ask sharply focused questions that

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

help pupils to address these.  Teachers also ask pupils to reflect on their own approaches to learning. For example, one pupil completed a particularly challenging problem on finding missing angles in a geometric shape consisting of several triangles. He was then asked to explain his thinking and how he had analysed the problem to solve it. This enabled him to articulate his reasoning and consolidate his thinking.  Pupils play their part in promoting their own learning exceptionally well. They respond regularly and routinely to feedback, whether this is oral or written, and do so enthusiastically. Overall, marking and feedback, and pupils’ responses to these, have a significant impact on the progress they make.  Reading, writing and numeracy skills are taught very well through the curriculum. For example, pupils write as well and as extensively in subjects such as history, geography and science as they do in English.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 5 of 10  Staff teach phonics (the sounds linked to letters) highly effectively to pupils in Key Stage 1 and the early years. A Year 2 pupil reading with a younger one was exceptionally effective in helping the younger pupil to understand the different sounds made by the same letters (vowels) in different words.  Lots of opportunities for pupils to discuss their work with one another and with teachers help them to clarify their ideas. This is as strong a feature in the early years as it is in the main school.  Teachers across the school have very deep subject knowledge in mathematics and English in particular. Very occasionally, subject expertise in science in Key Stage 2 is not as secure as it could be in relation to the more demanding depth of understanding required in the new national curriculum. Nonetheless,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

teachers are largely meeting the new demands on their own understanding of scientific ideas, especially abstract ideas, well. For example, pupils are being taught how to carry out investigations and to draw conclusions from their results very effectively.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils and children in the early years have very positive attitudes to learning. This is reflected in the high rates of attendance.  Pupils become more confident and self-assured in their time at the school. In lessons, pupils work with one another and staff exceptionally well. They willingly explain ideas to one another and this helps to deepen their understanding of their work.  Pupils form enduring relationships, and those who join the school part-way through their primary years say that it does not take long to make friends and settle into the school.  In discussion, pupils are respectful and tolerant. They understand the importance of valuing others and not making negative judgements about them. In addition, pupils are keen to learn about others and how they live their lives. However, as they do not often come across people from other ethnic or religious

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Personal development and welfare

backgrounds, they do not always have much first-hand knowledge. The school works hard to try and bridge this gap, for example, organising a visit by a Ugandan children’s choir. Leaders are aware that the school may need to go even more out of its way to close this gap.  Pupils talk animatedly about the mock elections and being able to ‘rule for a day’. They are also involved in deciding the school and class rules. Opportunities such as these help them to embrace important values that cross cultures, beliefs and ways of life.  Having their views heard and acted upon, listening to the views of others, and contributing to decisions made by the school teach pupils the importance of democracy through their day-to-day experiences.  Pupils have a strong understanding of how to keep safe and how to lead a healthy and well-balanced life. They lead on being an eco-school, run the school council and grow vegetables in the school grounds. All

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Personal development and welfare

these activities, and more, help to make them exceptionally well-rounded individuals who are very well prepared for their next stage of education.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  In lessons, behaviour is exceptionally good. Pupils respond rapidly to teachers’ requests and get down to work purposefully.  The calm atmosphere is achieved as much through pupils’ understanding of rules and their purpose as it is by the application of rules by staff. Pupils know that they must be kind to one another and they are aware of the effect any negative action they take will have on their peers. As a result, they develop a strong level of self-discipline.  While playtime is often lively, pupils are careful not to infringe on others. Staff are also very vigilant and, should any pupils become over lively, they are very quickly checked. To pupils’ credit, they respond instantly to any reprimand.  Any who join with behavioural needs or issues are helped to modify and improve their behaviour rapidly.  Pupils feel safe and parents agree. Pupils also say that bullying is very rare and are entirely confident in

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Behaviour

the staff’s ability to deal with it quickly and emphatically should it ever occur. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 6 of 10

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 Given the small numbers in each year group, attainment at the start of Year 1 varies from year to year, and the range of attainment across a year group is sometimes skewed more towards one end of the ability range.  Past results, especially in the tests and assessments at the end of Key Stage 2, indicate a good, improving trend over the last few years. Work in the school shows that this trend is continuing and pupils are making substantial progress in English, mathematics, science and other subjects.  Reading is a particularly strong area of performance for pupils and this is evident in the school, with pupils demonstrating good ability to explain what they are reading and to unpick the features of, for example, non-chronological texts.  Pupils have responded very well to the increased demands of the new national curriculum and this is particularly evident in their work in mathematics and science. In mathematics, pupils are developing

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

strong skills in solving problems and have a secure grasp of number work. For example, pupils in Key Stage 1 are confidently tackling subtraction problems. The most-able pupils are able to solve multiplication problems and then write these as inverse equations. In Key Stage 2, pupils enjoy solving difficult problems. The most-able pupils love tackling algebraic equations and cope very well with challenging problems in order to find x.  Pupils’ writing develops very well across English and other subjects. They make significant progress at the start of Year 1 in developing spelling and punctuation, and writing in sentences of increasing length. Writing becomes more fluent and adventurous across Year 2. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are writing well, with a good understanding of the purpose of, and audience for, their writing.  Progress and achievement are substantial across other subjects. In science, for example, pupils are

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

developing very good skills in investigating scientific ideas. They are good at explaining what they find out from their experiments and, from discussions with them, they hugely enjoy the practical aspects of their work. Very occasionally when tackling abstract ideas, such as the causes of static electricity, their explanations are not as precise as they could be as teachers are still developing the deeper knowledge they need to teach to the new national curriculum.  Drama and role-play activities provide pupils with a wider range of skills in expressing ideas and using their imagination and creativity. Vibrant art work highlights further pupils’ creative achievements. Key Stage 2 pupils talk animatedly about writing programs in computing and indicate that they are learning a lot about how to code.  The school has focused very well on developing pupils’ ability to think through ideas and to support any

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

points they make, orally or in writing, with evidence and justification. Consequently, pupils’ analytical skills and their ability to reason and justify a point are being exceptionally well honed.  Disadvantaged pupils make significant progress because they are supported so well. Staff work carefully to identify and address any gaps in learning and are quick to pick up where these pupils are having any difficulty.  Teachers and teaching assistants work highly effectively with pupils with special educational needs or disability. A very wide range of resources and techniques is used to ensure that work is accessible to all pupils whatever their special educational need or difficulty.  Pupils who join late are carefully assessed so that staff have a very accurate understanding of the standards at which they are working. Gaps in previous learning are skilfully tackled to promote fast rates of progress and help for those who need it to catch up.

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 The very small number of pupils in the school who speak English as an additional language do as well as others and indeed often attain better standards.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 Children begin with wide variations in their knowledge, skills and understanding when they join the Nursery. While many are at the typical level for their ages, others join with skills, knowledge and understanding that are below age-related expectations, especially in communication.  Children make rapid progress, whatever their starting points, especially in developing their personal and social skills. They learn quickly to take turns and to work and play with others cooperatively. They also develop good skills in early reading, writing and number work so that they are ready for Year 1. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 7 of 10  Transition is helped by the fact that Reception children are taught with the Key Stage 1 pupils in the afternoon. Hence, they are already familiar with Key Stage 1 routines and expectations. In addition, the Key Stage 1 class is carefully set up to promote early years learning. For example, it includes role-play

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Early years provision is outstanding

areas and has access to the outdoor area.  Activities are thoughtfully put together and are linked to key themes or topics, making it easier for children to make connections across different areas of learning. For example, using the theme of Chinese New Year, children used Chinese menus to do work with money and paying for different items on the menus. This work was extended later in the day to tasting Chinese food and extending their knowledge of the world around them.  The outdoor area is exceptionally well resourced to cover all areas of learning but also to promote the excitement, challenge and enjoyment of discovering things for themselves. The garden provides rich opportunities for exploring minibeasts and plants and talking about the needs of both. Staff follow children’s interests and readily adjust what they are doing to fit in with these.  Staff model how to use language and how to engage in the activities exceptionally well. They very

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Early years provision is outstanding

successfully encourage children to try new experiences and support them to explore the activities provided and find things out for themselves.  The vision for early years is strong and is driven by a strong, child-focused approach as well as a highly informed view of how young children learn. Staff in the early years make a strong team, working in the best interests of the children. Governors are strongly involved in both supporting the development of the early years provision and in checking how well it is performing.  Children’s progress is assessed very effectively and the information used to support planning for their next steps in learning.  The early years team has strong links with the local community, including the local pre-school, and parents. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 8 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 1128094 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 10001869

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 44 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Carolyn Evans Headteacher Andrew Bloom Telephone number 01728 628397 Website www.worlingworthschool.co.uk Email address admin@worlingworth.suffolk.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5 November 2013

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Information about this school

 Worlingworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School serves a rural community in Suffolk.  It is much smaller than most primary schools and has Nursery provision, which opens in the mornings only.  Pupils are taught in four mixed-age classes in the morning and, when the Nursery children have gone home, in two mixed-age classes in the afternoon.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. A few are from minority ethnic backgrounds, and some speak English as an additional language.  There are far more girls than boys at the school.  The number of pupils in each year group is very variable and in some year groups there are only two or three.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs is now broadly in line with national averages, but this varies considerably from one year group to another.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is higher than is usually found.

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Information about this school

 A comparatively high number of pupils leave or join the school part-way through their primary education.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school has continued its partnership with Stradbroke High School, with an executive headteacher providing oversight of both schools and the school headteacher taking responsibility for the day-to-day running of Worlingworth. Inspection report: Worlingworth CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 24–25 February 2016 9 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited classes across the school, sampling lessons in each classroom at least once. A number of these visits were carried out jointly with the headteacher or the school’s special educational needs coordinator.  Meetings were undertaken with the headteacher, school headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, who is also the designated safeguarding lead, subject leaders, three members of the governing body including the Chair of the Governing Body and its vice-chair, and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector spoke informally to pupils in lessons and around the school as well as holding more formal discussions with representative groups of pupils from Key Stage 2.  The inspector listened to pupils from across the school reading to check how well they were developing their reading skills.  In carrying out the inspection, account was taken of the 14 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire,

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Information about this inspection

Parent View. The inspector also spoke with parents as they dropped off their children at school and when they were picked up at the end of the day.  The inspector observed the work of the school. She looked at the school’s self-evaluation summary, the improvement plan, a range of policies and procedures, documents relating to the work of the governing body and the arrangements for ensuring that pupils are safeguarded. Documentation reviewed included records of data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Gulshanbir Kayembe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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