Woodbridge Primary School

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

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Mr Mark Krisson Headteacher Woodbridge Primary School Wilkinson Way Woodbridge Suffolk IP12 1SS

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 9 May 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 June 2014.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

You work closely with your deputy headteacher and middle leaders to provide a rich education that aims to engage the imagination and allow for individuality and creativity. Pupils spoke highly of the variety of experiences that are offered, from undertaking British Science Week at Adastral Park to creating vibrant mosaic violins that adorn the corridor walls. At the time of the inspection, teachers had organised events to spark excitement about the learning this term. Year 5 pupils were undertaking a residential trip to explore the topic theme of Africa and Year 1 pupils were preparing for their trip to the East Anglian Transport Museum in Carlton Colville . The focus upon ‘noticing’ and paying attention to detail has lifted artwork to a high standard. For example, the Year 2 self-portraits are remarkably detailed. This is helping pupils pay greater attention to detail in other areas of learning as well.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

Parents are effusive about the school. One parent commented, via Parent View, the online Ofsted questionnaire: ‘It’s a wonderful school. It’s a happy and safe place where both my children flourish.’ Another said of you: ‘The passion he has for the school and how proud he is of the children and his staff always shines through.’

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

You and your leaders understand the school well and are continually striving to improve. Since the last inspection, teachers have been well supported in developing their skills and you have trained, in conjunction with the officer from the local authority, new leaders effectively. You have improved outcomes by regularly checking the quality of pupils’ learning in lessons and in their books. Your leaders review their actions thoughtfully and amend plans accordingly to ensure continued improvement in teaching and learning. They are keen to improve their effectiveness too, and you are committed to providing them with opportunities to develop their leadership skills. For example, one middle leader has recently undertaken a research project to develop boys’ writing skills. Leaders also use established commercial products with integrity, making sure that resources and learning are suitable for your pupils. As a result, the capacity for the school to continue to improve is good.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

Your governors are highly committed and speak enthusiastically about the part they play in improving outcomes for pupils. They engage actively in their roles and visit the school regularly. Governors evaluate the impact of school improvement strategies thoroughly using a range of evidence, including, for example, commissioning external reports by school education specialists. You, your leaders and governors acknowledge that there is still more work to do to ensure that key stage 1 pupils consistently achieve the highest standards in their work and that all pupils have regular opportunities to deepen their understanding of texts.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Leaders regularly review the quality of safeguarding arrangements, involving as appropriate the safeguarding governor. Reports and actions are monitored by the full governing body. Staff training is up to date and members of staff fully understand their responsibilities for ensuring that pupils remain safe.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

All staff have a healthy attitude to risk, which is preparing pupils to understand how to stay safe. The excellent use of the outside environment, including the wooded area, enables pupils to explore safely when following trails, using monkey bars and playing in the mud and sand. Pupils spoke confidently about staying safe online, including when they participate in public online games.

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Short inspection of Woodbridge Primary School

Pupils told me that they feel safe in school and trust adults to help them. They told me that bullying is rare and that if it does happen, adults deal with it quickly. There are good arrangements in place for counselling. Vulnerable pupils are well cared for. Comprehensive, chronological records ensure that these pupils are monitored effectively.

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Inspection findings

 Progress in writing in 2017 was below the national average. This was also an area for improvement at the last inspection. Although the school has looked at the accuracy of its assessment of writing with other local schools, the data submitted last year did not reflect a true picture of pupils’ writing ability. This is also the case for current pupils. Writing in books is stronger than the teachers’ assessment of it.  The focus on writing regularly and at length is evident in books across the year groups. Pupils utilise a wide and ambitious vocabulary and there is an increasing understanding of the mechanics of writing. Weaker writers are writing at length; however, they do not have enough opportunity to practise correcting their errors in spelling and punctuation.  Not all most-able pupils attained the highest standards in reading and writing in 2017. This was an area for improvement in the last inspection. This has been

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Inspection findings

addressed in key stage 2 with targeted interventions and improved teaching, which you keep a careful check on. High-quality writing by most-able pupils is evident not only in creative writing but also in writing in other subjects such as science.  Pupils are reading a range of challenging texts. Pupils spoke highly about how teachers help them to understand the deeper meaning of texts. Current assessment information indicates that most-able pupils are making good progress in this area.  Strong progress is being made in mathematics in key stage 2 as pupils have regular opportunities to reinforce their learning as well as practise difficult calculations. Quick challenges to assess learning are well established across all year groups. Pupils appreciate the experience of learning mathematics online. Most-able mathematicians are extended in their learning through additional specialist teaching and taking part in competitions with the local secondary

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Inspection findings

school.  Over time, key stage 1 pupils have not consistently achieved greater depth of understanding in reading, writing and mathematics. This is also the case for current key stage 1 pupils in writing and mathematics.  The attainment of disadvantaged pupils was not as high as other pupils nationally in 2017. This is not the case with the current most-able disadvantaged pupils. For example, there is high-quality writing evident across the year groups. One Year 6 pupil wrote a highly engaging creative piece where strong descriptive sentences engaged the reader well: ‘The boat pitched and rolled like a frantic child thrashing about in the waters of the choppy sea.’  The last inspection report stated that disadvantaged pupils made good progress. This is still the case. Your tailored support programmes help current disadvantaged pupils to learn well. They are benefiting from extra tuition. As a result, they have increased confidence. There is a focus on attaining knowledge

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Inspection findings

about a range of subjects in the lower year groups and this helps pupils to make connections in their learning.  At the time of the last inspection, inspectors noted that pupils who had fallen behind in their reading became confident readers due to the school’s support. Progress in reading for this small group of pupils was below average in 2017. Pupils’ individual needs prevented them from attaining as well as they might. Current pupils who are learning to read use a range of strategies to help them understand words they do not recognise. Particularly striking is the confidence with which the younger pupils read to me.  Weaker readers are not as adept as they might be at inferring and deducing. These are skills which help readers to understand nuances of meaning. In your evaluation of teaching quality, you noted that there is inconsistency in the approach to teaching comprehension. This is an area you are working on.

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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

 teachers accurately assess pupils’ writing  weaker writers have enough opportunity to practise correcting their errors in spelling and punctuation  teaching is consistently challenging for most-able key stage 1 pupils, so that the proportion attaining the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics matches or is above that seen nationally  teachers consistently teach pupils how to infer and deduce so their comprehension skills are sharper.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Suffolk. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this one-day inspection, I met with you and your deputy headteacher, the business manager’s assistant, a group of subject leaders and three members of the governing body, including the chair. I also spoke to parents and a representative of the local authority. I held discussions with a group of pupils in key stage 2 and key stage 1. I listened to five pupils read from a range of year groups (Year 1 to Year 6). I visited lessons in each phase of the school to look at the effect of your work to improve the quality of teaching. During lesson visits, I sampled pupils’ books and talked to pupils about their learning and progress. I looked in detail at some pupils’ work from across a broad range of subjects in order to evaluate the progress that pupils have made over time. I took account of the 77 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, 119 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and 25 responses to

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Information about the inspection

Ofsted’s staff survey. I looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement planning, its policies and other information available on the school’s website. I focused particularly on the progress of pupils currently in the school, the quality and breadth of the school’s curriculum and the quality of leadership and management, including governance. I also looked closely at the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements.

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