Wymeswold Church of England Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Janet Scallon Headteacher Wymeswold Church of England Primary School Brook Street Wymeswold Loughborough Leicestershire LE12 6TU

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Short inspection of Wymeswold Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 11 April 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2013.

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Short inspection of Wymeswold Church of England Primary School

Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Wymeswold Church of England Primary School is a small, friendly school where the children are placed at the heart of the school and of the local community. There is a warm, family feel which is fostered and encouraged through an emphasis on kindness and learning together. Leaders and governors have ensured that the curriculum is broad and includes a range of subjects and opportunities. On the day of the inspection, for example, pupils in key stage 1 were out of school on a residential experience. Leaders work to ensure that everyone is valued regardless of difference, with a focus on the individual child and their growth as a person. Most of the parents and carers who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, said that they would recommend the school.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

What the pupil population lacks in numbers it more than makes up for in friendliness. During the inspection, pupils were seen responding willingly to their teachers, to each other and to the questions I asked of them during this inspection. Your team has been successful in developing pupils’ confidence. Many were keen to show me their work and talk about what they have been learning. One group discussed ‘Macbeth’, and the opening battle and the secret shared between Macbeth and the witches. In another class, two children explained their rocket painting. In yet another, a boy spoke as the character Oliver from ‘Oliver Twist’. Pupils are exposed to a wide range of texts and ideas.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You were already working at the school as a senior leader at the time of the last inspection. Since then, you and your team have worked hard to increase pupils’ independence when they are learning. In lessons, teachers have thought about how to use and develop the independent learning skills which are fostered so well in Reception Year. There have been changes in how homework is set so that pupils can choose and then think for themselves. During this inspection, pupils were seen discussing with each other which was the best method to use when carrying out a three-digit subtraction. Others compared their own drama with a film extract and evaluated what they would change next time. Examples such as these indicate that the areas for improvement from the last inspection have been tackled well. There is still more to do to secure improvement in other key areas.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Pupils thrive academically in many areas at this happy school. Children in Reception Year reach a good level of development which is above national averages from every starting point. In 2017, outcomes by the end of key stage 1 continued to be above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils made good progress in most subjects.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

However, although pupils in key stage 2 appear to do well, their progress in 2017 was average in reading and writing and below average in mathematics. Mathematics in key stage 2 formed a key area of focus during this inspection. Pupils with middle prior attainment, the largest group in this school, have made progress in mathematics which has been weak since 2016. You and your governors have already made this a priority for improvement. Governors have recruited a mathematics specialist to the board so that their monitoring is well informed and their challenge and support directed accurately. Governors are holding school leaders to account well. However, leaders and governors had not noticed the missing information about pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities referred to later in this report.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You have detailed knowledge of pupils in your school and the difficulties that a few of them face. As the school’s designated safeguarding officer, you have ensured that staff are trained and know what to do if they have a concern. Your updates, based on real events in the news, ensure that knowledge is kept up to date and relevant. Recruitment procedures are secure. Policy and practice take account of the most recent legislation. You ensure that safeguarding records are up to date and detailed, and you take decisive and persistent action where necessary to ensure that each individual child is protected. You work effectively with other agencies.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Pupils’ excellent conduct and care for each other play a significant part in their feelings of safety when in school. You foster their positive relationships with each other. One example of this is the use of older pupils as buddies to children in early years. Nearly every parent who responded to Parent View said that their child felt safe. Outside school, pupils can draw on their learning, for example about online safety. In summary, the leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

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Inspection findings

 An important focus for this inspection was mathematics in key stage 2. Mathematics had been identified already as a key issue in the school improvement plan following the 2017 results for Year 6. Leaders have analysed past results, looking for likely reasons for the decline in progress. You have made changes to the way mathematics is taught, particularly in arithmetic. You have brought in support and external expertise to help your leaders and teachers with these changes and to monitor the impact. New resources have been purchased. Teachers have developed their understanding of what mastery of mathematics means. Two terms on, you are monitoring the mathematics experience for each class, tracking pupils’ progress and intervening if you notice that something is not quite right. This is a very positive start. You acknowledge that there is still more to do to ensure that the progress of all pupils in mathematics is good.

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Inspection findings

 Information about pupils’ mathematical learning now shows that there has already been an improvement since September 2017. If comparison is made with Year 6 in 2017, the current Year 6 pupils are doing better. However, although it seems likely that key stage 2 mathematics progress scores will improve in 2018, it is not clear whether this will be enough to reach the national average. Work in books shows inconsistencies between years in approach and accuracy. For example, in January 2018, leaders identified through their monitoring that teachers were planning for questions to challenge reasoning and problem solving towards the end of lessons rather than throughout. This meant that pupils who work more slowly were having less exposure to questions which required them to explain and to apply their learning. This had not changed in practice based on the work seen during this inspection.  There are very few pupils who are identified as having SEN and/or disabilities.

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Inspection findings

Published information and evidence available in school during the inspection suggest that leaders are not sufficiently secure and rigorous with identification and recording regarding pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. This is a matter which you intend to address with urgency. One action already taken has been the purchase of screening tools to identify particular additional needs at an earlier point. You have also started to investigate reasons for possible administrative errors.  To your credit, you do not wait for an identification of SEN before putting additional support in place. There is a range of interventions used when pupils appear to be struggling. These include additional work in groups or one-to-one support. For pupils who qualify for the additional pupil premium funding, recent outcomes suggest that this is used effectively.  Information about provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities must be

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Inspection findings

published on the school website. In most respects, leaders and governors have ensured that this has happened. However, the accessibility plan was published but unpopulated. The annual information report was not dated. You are now aware of this.  In the past, when you and your team identified a problem, you have been able to address it successfully. An example of this can be seen in the improvements made in writing between 2016 and 2017. You have a rigorous, systematic approach to monitoring the quality of teaching and learning. It is moderated by peer headteachers in a well-planned programme of visits to and from other schools. When teachers are supported to improve an aspect of their work, there is evidence that it is successful. Governors have confidence that this means there will be improvement in mathematics now that it has been identified.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the actions taken so far to increase pupils’ progress in mathematics accelerate so that progress is good by the summer of 2018 and continues to improve  identification and recording of special educational needs for individual pupils are early, robust and accurate  information related to special educational needs and/or disabilities is recorded accurately on the school’s website and elsewhere.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the co-chairs of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Leicester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leicestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I considered evidence from a range of sources, including the previous inspection report and information about the school’s performance in 2016 and 2017. I looked at the school’s website. I spoke with one parent at the gate and I considered 49 responses on Parent View. Meetings were held with you, school leaders and governors to discuss progress since the last inspection. I considered a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation documents and improvement plans, an audit of mathematics teaching, evidence of leaders’ monitoring, the single central record of the checks on staff and volunteers, a sample of recruitment files, the safeguarding policy, and records of actions taken to protect pupils’ welfare. I looked at training certificates. I talked with staff to make sure that they knew what to do if they were concerned about a child. We jointly made visits to lessons, looked at the quality of work in pupils’ books and spoke with pupils. I observed and talked

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