Wilby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

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

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Ms Roisin Wiseman Headteacher Wilby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Wilby Eye Suffolk IP21 5LR

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School

Following my visit to the school on 12 December 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 January 2015.

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School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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School

The leadership team has created an ambitious, confident and caring school that is very responsive to the needs of individuals. Pupils are self-assured, love learning and enjoy sharing their learning with others. Several parents and carers said to me that teachers ‘allow all pupils to excel’ within a community that feels like a family. Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable, and this contributes towards a remarkably positive learning environment. A large proportion of parents with children at the school completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. All parents who responded reported that they would recommend this school to other parents and offered only positive views about the school.

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School

Since the previous inspection, leaders’ actions have led to substantial improvements in the quality of provision. Leaders have successfully raised expectations of staff and pupils. There is a universal understanding that every pupil can achieve excellence. One leader made this ethos clear by saying, ‘Every single child matters, regardless of backgrounds or needs.’ Leaders precisely monitor the progress of all pupils and act swiftly to provide effective support when pupils are at risk of achieving below what they should. In partnership with research organisations and external specialists, leaders and teachers have developed highly effective teaching strategies that have improved the quality of teaching and learning. Provisional results from 2018 show considerably higher attainment for Year 6 pupils in reading, writing and mathematics than the national averages. The strength of leadership at the school has also been recognised outside the school

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School

community. Leaders from the school serve as advisers for other local schools to support their improvement work.

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School

You have made substantial improvements to resolve the areas for improvement outlined in the previous inspection report. You have raised expectations in the early years foundation stage so that all children make strong progress from their starting points. Teachers use assessment information accurately to plan challenging learning activities. Teachers and teaching assistants also observe children’s learning carefully to help children take the next steps in their learning. As a result of strong teaching and learning in Reception, children are ready for the challenges of Year 1.

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School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Staff and governors place great importance on keeping children safe from harm. Staff are vigilant to safeguarding risks and signs of harm. They record concerns about pupils and follow these up swiftly. Leaders ensure that they and the rest of the staff are trained well to look for and deal with local and national safeguarding concerns, such as the criminal activities of gangs across county lines and the ‘Prevent’ duty.

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School

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Teachers regularly teach children how to stay safe online. Pupils can discuss confidently the risks that come with using social media and how to deal with concerns that may arise.

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School

Pupils told me that they have someone at school they can trust to talk to if something is worrying them. They have a good understanding of what bullying is and know how to deal with it when it occurs. Pupils told me that bullying rarely occurs at the school, and that teachers effectively resolve any incidents.

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Inspection findings

 Your evaluation of the school accurately identified the need to provide support for pupils to manage independently their social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. Leaders have developed research-informed strategies that are proving to be highly effective. School records show marked improvements in the quality of learning behaviours for pupils highlighted as struggling with their SEMH. Pupils who, a year ago, needed to leave classrooms to calm down due to their frustration and anxiety within the classroom setting now learn happily as fully integrated members of class.  What was particularly poignant to me while talking with pupils was the clarity with which they could talk about their emotions and the strategies they use to manage negative thoughts positively. Pupils spoke confidently with me about how they no longer say that they cannot do something, but instead say, ‘I can’t do that yet.’ The

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Inspection findings

school’s pupil survey shows that, in October 2017, most pupils agreed with the statement that ‘It is better not to bother with things that I am bad at.’ As a result of the new approach towards positive thinking, in July 2018, only a minority of pupils continued to agree with the statement. These survey results are reflected in the very positive learning environment throughout the school.  Your work on supporting those with SEMH needs complements pupils’ learning needs. You and your teachers have designed a curriculum that caters well for the interests and learning needs of your pupils. You have also assigned individual members of staff to ensure that the needs of each of these pupils are met consistently across the school. As a result, most pupils are making good or better progress.  I also looked at the actions leaders take to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In comparison with other schools nationally, the

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Inspection findings

school has a higher proportion of pupils with SEND. You work closely with pupils, parents and external specialists to ensure that you identify barriers to learning precisely and put appropriate plans in place. Pupils and parents said that they value and benefit from how well teachers listen and act upon their views.  You have created an ethos that assumes that every pupil can achieve well in school, regardless of any barriers they face. Acting within this ethos, leaders and teachers track the progress of pupils with SEND very carefully and respond rapidly when pupils appear to be falling behind. Leaders and teachers put into place and keep under review the most effective practices based on the latest educational research. As a result, most pupils with SEND make strong progress from their starting points.  Leaders’ actions to improve writing in 2017 and 2018 have worked very well. Recognising that pupils could do better in writing, you and your leaders put together

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Inspection findings

comprehensive improvement plans, including substantial staff training. Work in books shows that pupils learn the skills of writing very well. This leads to pupils writing with sophisticated style, supported by mature vocabulary and punctuation. Pupils think carefully about what makes excellent writing when drafting and redrafting their work. Teachers consistently provide feedback in line with the school’s policy. Pupils make very strong progress as a result. Provisional results in 2018 show that Year 6 pupils made progress in writing that is well above that of pupils in other schools nationally. This is a considerable increase from 2017.  Similarly, leaders have improved the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in mathematics over the last two years. Leaders’ chosen approach to the teaching of mathematics has led to pupils being able to reason very well and solve complex mathematical problems. Pupils work with diligence and curiosity as they grapple with

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Inspection findings

challenging mathematical problems. Teachers equip pupils with a range of strategies to work out tricky problems. Pupils choose the most appropriate strategies for given tasks. Provisional results in 2018 show that Year 6 pupils made progress in mathematics well above that of pupils in other schools nationally.  The teaching of reading is very strong in the Nursery Year, Reception Year and Year 1. In Nursery and Reception, teachers provide children with learning opportunities that support strong progress in Year 1 phonics. Pupils in Year 1 and Reception showed me that they could easily read and understand confusing words such as ‘weight’ and ‘wait’. In 2018, all pupils achieved substantially higher than the national average score in phonics.  Teachers and teaching assistants enhance the teaching of phonics well by modelling sophisticated vocabulary when talking with the children. Classroom displays also

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Inspection findings

surround pupils with mature language. As a result, pupils, when reading, understand a wide range of words.  The strong progress made by pupils in reading throughout the early years and Year 1 is not as effectively built on in later years as it could be. Pupils at the end of key stage 1 are not always reading books that are in line with their abilities and some are reading books that are too hard. As a result, pupils do not always consolidate their understanding of phonics or understand the books they are reading, even though they can read the words.

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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 teaching and learning of phonics and reading across the school build upon the strong progress made in Nursery, Reception and Year 1.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 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 the inspection, I spoke with you, other members of the leadership team, members of the governing body, staff, a representative from the local authority, pupils and parents. We observed learning and teaching in all year groups. With you, I scrutinised pupils’ work in English, mathematics and history. Five pupils read their reading books to me.

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Information about the inspection

I scrutinised a range of documents, including the records of checks that leaders make on the suitability of staff to work with children, a sample of documentation regarding the provision for pupils with SEND, leaders’ self-evaluation and the school improvement plan.

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Information about the inspection

I scrutinised 29 responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents.

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