Woodhill Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Woodhill Primary School Woodhill, London SE18 5JE

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Outcome

Woodhill Primary School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a real sense of community at this school. The relationships between pupils, staff and families are very strong. This means that they all support each other to help pupils to learn. Teachers expect all pupils to do well. They put extra support in place if a pupil is struggling with a particular part of their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are energetic and reflective. They feel respected and listened to by the staff. Leaders recognise that some pupils have to face adversity outside of school. Staff help pupils to develop knowledge and skills to deal with the challenges they face now and in the future. They ensure that pupils gain an understanding of the world around them and know what makes a good person. The school is held in high regard by the families and pupils it serves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They are polite to each other and to staff. The pupils love learning and try hard in their lessons. Children learn what bullying means and they trust their teachers to deal with it if it does occur. Children in the early years and pupils in school feel safe and happy. They value their teachers’ support to help them resolve any disagreements.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have considered carefully the ways in which different subjects should be taught, right from the start of the early years. Their approach enables pupils to develop knowledge and skills across a broad range of subjects so that they are well prepared for the next stages in their education. In their lessons in different subjects, they consider themes such as human rights and peace and conflict. They rapidly develop an understanding of how their choices can make a difference to the world.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have identified the important information pupils should know and what helps 3–4 December 2019

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them learn and remember, so that they can move on to more complex ideas. For example, pupils learn about science through experiments and drawing conclusions, and apply their knowledge to new situations. Mathematics is a strength of the school. Teachers consider carefully the order in which pupils acquire new knowledge which will best help them to develop their skills over time. They also encourage pupils to look for links between the different aspects of the subject, so that they can solve tricky problems. In the early years, children have many opportunities to play, explore and explain their learning. They develop their use of numbers and understanding of scientific concepts, for example the role of bees in the environment.

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In a very few cases, for example in history, leaders’ plans are not working as successfully. Leaders have not identified clearly the key information and skills that pupils must learn and build upon as they move through the school. Leaders are working to improve their plans further.

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Leaders ensure that children receive high-quality guidance to learn to read as soon as they start at school. Teachers are well trained. New teachers get support so that they can teach phonics accurately. Teachers regularly check how well pupils are doing and give them extra support if they fall behind. Pupils read books which are matched to the stage they are at. Leaders enable pupils to develop a broad vocabulary and become fluent readers. They also focus on this in other subjects, taking every opportunity to teach pupils new words. Parents and carers can come into school to read with their child. This helps them to understand the phonics programme.

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The school’s curriculum goes beyond what pupils learn in lessons. Leaders nurture pupils’ understanding of and respect for different roles in the community by giving them the chance to meet people with different jobs. Pupils have many opportunities to learn outside of the classroom, including visits and after-school clubs. Educational visits are linked to what pupils have been learning about and help to bring this to life. For example, Year 4 pupils learn about World War II and visit HMS Belfast to understand more what life was like on board the ship during that time.

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Pupils conduct themselves well. They are rarely disrupted from their work, because everyone is engaged in their learning.

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Leaders make sure that staff rapidly get to know pupils well. This helps children to settle into attending Reception every day. Teachers and support staff understand how best to support individual pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) so that they do well.

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The school is well led. School leaders, including governors, understand the many strengths of the school and have plans to help it to improve even more. Teachers and other staff feel well supported by leaders. They have lots of help to manage their workload.

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The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Staff are well trained to spot signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. They know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil. Leaders get to know pupils and their families well. They work with external agencies such as local charities to make sure that pupils and their families get the support they need. Leaders have worked closely with pupils and parents on the issue of online safety to make sure that all pupils are safe when using electronic devices.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ plans for how history is taught are generally working well. However, leaders need to ensure that their plans are designed appropriately so that pupils do not have any gaps in their knowledge and can make links between different themes.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Woodhill Primary School, to be good in July 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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You can search for published performance information about the school.

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In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 3–4 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10124657 Type of school Primary

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provision

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger-than-average primary school. It converted to an academy in June 2017 and is part of the Inspire Multi-Academy Trust.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the chief executive officer of the trust, the headteacher, the deputy headteachers, the school business manager, school governors including the chair of the local governing body, senior teachers and curriculum leaders. I also met with teachers and support staff.  I did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and history. This included discussions with leaders of the subjects, visits to lessons, discussions with teachers, scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils.  I met with the designated safeguarding lead to discuss the school’s safeguarding procedures. I scrutinised the school’s register of checks made on staff and its safeguarding records. I also talked with parents, pupils and staff to hear their views on the safety of the pupils. 3–4 December 2019

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Inspection team

Amy Jackson, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 3–4 December 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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