Woodhill Primary School

Woodhill Primary School Woodhill, London SE18 5JE

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The executive leadership team has significantly improved the school since the previous inspection. Consequently, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are extremely positive, helping them to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare are outstanding. There is a high level of care and attention for all pupils.  Teachers provide pupils with well-planned and interesting activities. As a result, pupils’ progress has accelerated since the previous inspection, especially for those who are disadvantaged.  Leaders, managers and teachers have an accurate view of the progress of individual pupils. Those pupils at risk of being left behind in their learning make good progress.  Children have an exciting and stimulating start to their school life in the early years. Activities are well designed and encourage children to make good progress. They are ready for Year 1 by the

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This is a good school

time they leave Reception.  Governors are ambitious and passionate about the school and its future.  Safeguarding arrangements are well managed. Pupils’ welfare and safety are taken very seriously by all staff and governors. Pupils feel safe and cared for.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some teaching does not provide enough challenge for the most-able pupils in reading, writing and mathematics.  Leaders and managers, including the governing body, do not compare the progress made by some groups of pupils with that of others in the school or nationally.  Some subjects are underdeveloped; for example, music and modern foreign languages. This hampers pupils from developing the appropriate age-related skills and knowledge.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching consistently provides work that stretches and challenges the most-able pupils both in lessons and in homework.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders and managers, including governors, need to identify all key groups of pupils in the school and regularly check their progress against that of the same groups nationally and others within the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the curriculum includes all the required subjects on a regular basis and that they are age appropriate and match pupils’ abilities to ensure that they make good progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The executive leadership team has created a highly positive atmosphere in which pupils thrive. The areas for improvement that were identified at the time of the previous inspection have all been dealt with effectively. Teaching and behaviour have both improved and are now good.  The executive headteacher of the partnership, the executive headteacher and headteacher of the school are clear about what needs to be done to improve the school further. The team’s aspirations for the pupils are ambitious. Pupils’ personal development and welfare is exemplary and their progress throughout the school has increased significantly.  Middle leaders are passionate about their work. They are well supported by the work they do within the partnership of schools. Middle leaders know the pupils well and provide expertise, knowledge and challenge to staff. As a result, the quality of teaching continues to improve.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Training and professional development of staff are at the heart of what the school does well. The opportunities to work with other schools in the partnership are seen by teachers to be of great benefit. The impact of this work can be seen in the consistency of fundamental aspects of teaching, the positive relationships between adults and pupils and the high-quality displays in each classroom and around the school.  Pupils’ progress is at the core of managing teachers’ performance. Senior and middle leaders routinely check the quality of teaching and assessment through observations in lessons, looking at pupils’ work and meeting with teachers to discuss pupils’ progress. As a result, a good quality of teaching is maintained across the school.  The active promotion of British values is thoroughly covered during lessons. For example, an inspector observed a mature debate in a Year 6 class about the recent European referendum.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The school uses the sport premium effectively. Pupils are provided with additional resources, activities and specialist instruction. A higher proportion of pupils enjoy and participate in activities such as swimming and competitive sports.  The curriculum is broad and balanced. Most subjects are covered well. For example, science is taught regularly, giving pupils good opportunities to take part in practical experiments and demonstrations. The curriculum is enhanced with regular visits. During the inspection all the pupils in key stage 1 went to ‘The Enchanted Forest’, where they took part in adventure activities. As part of the school’s work to raise aspirations, visitors to the school have included the local MP and authors. The school has employed an artist in residence. Consequently, art is used well in the school to provide a colourful and stimulating environment. A few subjects are underdeveloped. For example, pupils have limited opportunities to write

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

in French. Music is covered in some assemblies and instrumental teaching, but is not a regular feature of classroom learning. As a result, pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop the required skills and knowledge that are expected nationally.  Leaders and managers are able to measure the progress of many groups in the school accurately; for example, those pupils who are in receipt of the pupil premium funding. Leaders adapt provision to meet these pupils’ needs well. As a result, gaps are narrowing or closing between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils. In some cases, the disadvantaged pupils’ progress has exceeded that of their peers. However, the progress of Black African pupils or the most able is not monitored as a matter of course. The school was able to provide inspectors with the information on request, but agreed that neither of these groups of pupils was monitored regularly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school The governing body is business-like and holds leaders to account with appropriately challenging questions. Governors are well led by the chair, who is ambitious for the school’s improvement. Many governors visit the school regularly to check the impact of different strategies that leaders have put in place. The governing body is passionate and knowledgeable about many features of the school. Although governors can challenge the school well on the progress of disadvantaged pupils and those that receive the pupil premium, they do not have a clear view on the progress of some of the other groups. For example, they are unclear about the progress made by Black African pupils and the most able pupils.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are well trained and up to date with the latest guidance and information from the government. Effective training to raise awareness and understanding

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

of female genital mutilation and child sexual exploitation has taken place, leading to clear guidelines and policies for all staff. In addition, the school has up-to-date training, policies and procedures to help protect pupils from radicalisation and extremism.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Classrooms are consistently well organised for learning. Displays are of a very high quality and project a sense of expectation, reflecting pupils’ work and providing useful prompts to help them improve their writing and mathematical calculation strategies.  A strength of the school is the warm relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils respond well to challenging activities and instructions. Consequently, classrooms have a strong, productive atmosphere in which pupils enjoy their learning.  Pupils are clear about what they need to do in each lesson. This helps them build on previous learning.  Pupils have opportunities to support each other in their learning. In addition to improving their behaviour and collaborative skills, this peer support helps less able pupils make good progress and helps other pupils become better at articulating their thinking.  Teaching assistants are well trained and are able to challenge the most able pupils’ thinking. As a result

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

progress increases.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language receive good support in lessons. This support enables them to answer questions and talk confidently with their classmates.  Pupils’ movement around the classes is well managed by teachers and other adults. Pupils settle down to learning promptly, enabling them to spend more time on their learning.  Pupils’ behaviour is well managed. Behaviour in classes is good and an improvement from the time of the previous inspection. This enables pupils to focus on their work and not be distracted. In a very few instances, pupils are not able to manage their own behaviour but adults are quick to intervene and ensure that no learning is lost.  Teachers provide useful and specific feedback for pupils. Pupils are usually provided with time to reflect, respond and correct their work. This is not yet a consistent feature of teaching. On some occasions,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

pupils are not provided with the time to respond to the feedback, which slows their learning down.  The most-able pupils told inspectors that on occasion the work they receive is not challenging enough. They particularly felt they could be given harder activities, including homework and their reading books. Inspectors agree with the pupils’ views on this. Work seen in some books was not as challenging as it could be.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. An exemplary approach is taken by all staff in how they ensure that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils are cared for.  The executive leadership team’s passion for providing the right kind of care and support for families and pupils with complex and challenging backgrounds is tangible. Consequently, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds attend school more regularly and enjoy their school life. Pupils who spoke to inspectors were very proud of their school and what it does for them.  Pupils and parents told inspectors that bullying was rare and dealt with effectively. The school’s analysis of incidents and responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire, support these views.  The high quality of work seen in displays is reflected in the pride pupils take in how well their work in books is presented.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils who attend breakfast club have a calm start to the day. Positive relationships between adults and pupils help to ensure any pupils with worries or concerns have an opportunity to talk about them before they start their classwork.  Pupils are aware of how to keep safe on the internet. The school has recently held a well-attended ‘digital awareness day’ for parents and pupils.  Adults know the pupils well. This knowledge is used to good effect in supporting the most vulnerable pupils in the school. This aspect of the school’s work is well led by the deputy headteacher.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. In classes and around the school, pupils are polite, respectful and courteous.  Pupils and parents who spoke to inspectors were full of praise for the school’s work in improving behaviour. In addition, the school provides effective support for those pupils who require additional support and attention regarding the way they behave in school.  During lessons, the vast majority of pupils pay attention and work hard. Incidents of inappropriate behaviour have significantly reduced and are infrequent. Staff are well trained and effective in managing the behaviour of the very small number of pupils who occasionally behave inappropriately. This means that learning is not disrupted.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and, as a result, their attendance has improved to be above average. Those pupils who are persistently late or absent are followed up through a range of strategies including

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Behaviour

frequent use of texts and phone calls. Regular meetings between parents and staff are organised to press home the importance of attendance and also support families who are going through difficult times.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress from a variety of starting points.  By the end of key stage 1, pupils’ standards in reading, writing and mathematics are at least in line with those expected for their age. There is an increasing proportion of pupils who are exceeding these standards.  Those pupils who start from very low starting points and are often in receipt of pupil premium funding make rapid progress to catch up with their peers and in some cases exceed them.  The results of the phonics checks in Years 1 and 2 highlight an increasing proportion of pupils who are meeting and exceeding the expected results for their age.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make at least the same progress as their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. Any early gaps in speaking and communication narrow quickly.  The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. They receive highly

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Outcomes for pupils are good

effective support to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. Those pupils with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties are well supported to help them be more focused on their learning.  The provisional results for the new key stage 2 tests are above average for reading, writing, spelling and grammar. Mathematics was slightly below the recently published results.  The pupils who read to inspectors demonstrated strong fluency and understanding of the books they were reading. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoyed reading. Some of the most able pupils said that they would like more challenging texts.  It was difficult for inspectors to gauge the progress of all groups of pupils. The school’s assessment information, although accurate and effective at an individual pupil level, does not as a matter of course follow and analyse the progress of Black African pupils.

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Early years provision is good

 The leadership and management of the early years provision is good. Parents are well informed about their child’s progress and different stages of development through a range of communications including informal discussions and the use of information technology.  Whether children start in either Nursery or Reception, they settle in quickly and make good progress.  The learning environments both inside and out have been thoughtfully designed and made attractive. As a result, children are eager to take part in the well-organised activities and topics. During the inspection, children were discussing space travel and related stories.  Children make good progress in learning phonics (letters and the sounds they make). Lessons are well structured to allow children to practise saying and writing different letter blends. Teachers provide immediate guidance and correction where appropriate.  The relationships between adults and children are highly positive. Skilful questioning by adults enables

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Early years provision is good

them to accurately assess what children have learned.  The pupil premium funding for the early years is used to good effect. Those children who are disadvantaged make rapid progress, often from very low starting points. By the time they leave Reception they are well prepared for Year 1.  Leaders and managers have accurate and effective assessment procedures in place for individual children and most groups. As a result, they can follow the progress children are making in the different areas of development. Where there are signs that children’s learning may be slowing down, prompt and effective action is taken to put support in place. However, the assessment of a few groups does not take place as a matter of course; for example, the progress that Black African children make compared to others. Consequently, leaders are not able to check that this group as a whole are making the progress expected or put the appropriate preventative actions in place.

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School details

Unique reference number 100145 Local authority Greenwich Inspection number 10002004 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 Maintained Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 569 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Samantha Curtiss Headteacher Melissa Carpenter Telephone number 020 8854 5055 Website www.woodhillschool.co.uk Email address info@woodhill.greenwich.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 4–5 December 2013

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Information about this school

 Woodhill is larger than the average primary school.  The school works with five other London primary schools in a partnership known as ‘Inspire’. The partnership is overseen by the executive headteacher, who was head of Woodhill at the time of the previous inspection. In addition to the executive headteacher of the partnership, the most senior leadership team of the school consists of an executive headteacher and the headteacher.  There is a higher-than-average proportion of pupils who are from diverse ethnic minority backgrounds. The key groups are Black African pupils, who make up around a third of the school, and White British at around a quarter of the school population.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than that seen nationally.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is higher than average. These funds are used to tackle disadvantage and help pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who

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Information about this school

are looked after by the local authority.  The school’s breakfast club is run by the governing body and was included in the inspection.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is about the same as the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor targets, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out observations in a range of lessons throughout the school and the breakfast club. Some of these observations were short, focused visits and others were longer and gathered a wider range of evidence. Inspectors were often accompanied by senior leaders.  Meetings and informal discussions took place with the executive headteacher of the partnership, senior leaders, including governors, middle leaders, parents, pupils and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised documentation regarding the school’s website and safeguarding, including the single central register.  Other information looked at included the school’s self-evaluation, plans for improvement and the school’s analysis of pupils’ progress.  Displays and pupils’ work in books were scrutinised.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, including at breaktimes and in lessons.  Inspectors took into account the 36 responses to the online questionnaire ‘Parent View’.

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Inspection team

John Seal, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Sara Morgan Her Majesty’s Inspector Simon Knowles 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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