Wood End Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Wood End Primary School Wood End Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV11 1YQ

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Outcome

Wood End Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they enjoy their time at the school and make friends easily. Bullying is very rare. Pupils are really involved and interested in their learning. They respond well to teachers’ guidance and are also able to work on their own. Pupils behave very well in class and on the playground. They look smart and present their work neatly. Everyone has a pride in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Wood End Primary School is very well organised in every respect. Leaders make sure that pupils study the full national curriculum. They organise teaching in different subjects so pupils can build up their knowledge progressively. On this basis, leaders have written detailed curriculum plans. Teachers are using these plans well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The staff know individual pupils very well and regularly check how well pupils are learning. They use this knowledge to support any pupils who may be struggling. Equally, they ensure that, when pupils grasp new ideas easily, they are then made to think more deeply.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher has shown strong professional judgement. She has chosen the right things to focus on. As a result, the school is improving rapidly and sustainably.

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

Leaders have very high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They have broken each subject of the national curriculum down into a series of steps. Subject leaders use these steps to plan learning that builds upon what pupils already know and can do. They make sure that pupils learn the knowledge and the skills that are part of each subject. For example, in history, teachers emphasise the use of various sources of evidence and the contrast between different periods.

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

Leaders are insightful when they monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum. They are prepared to make changes to improve its effectiveness. This is a real strength of the 10–11 December 2019

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school. For example, they have introduced shorter, more frequent units in mathematics to help pupils to remember topics more easily.

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Pupils are able to understand about their own levels of knowledge and understanding. Pupils choose from different techniques and resources in the classroom to help them to learn. These routines are established particularly well in mathematics.

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Teachers implement the curriculum well. During lessons, they check on pupils’ understanding and move them on to new tasks promptly. Teachers have good subject knowledge. They insist that, from the youngest age, pupils use the correct terms. Pupils have opportunities to explain their ideas orally as well as in writing. However, there remains a little inconsistency in the way teachers plan classroom activities day to day.

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Leaders and teachers have a very well-developed understanding of how children learn to read. Children start with phonics at the beginning of their Reception Year or earlier. They follow a structured programme that ensures they learn about letters and their sounds in an effective sequence. Staff keep good records of pupils’ progress in reading. The school encourages pupils to read at home, providing younger children with books matched to their abilities in phonics. A few do not read at home as often as their peers. Any pupil who is falling behind reads daily to an adult in the school. Teachers also introduce each class to a range of other texts, including some which pupils might struggle to read unaided. The early years provision prepares children well for their life and learning in later years.

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Teachers check carefully on how well pupils are learning and identify when pupils need extra help. As a result, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive highly effective support. However, those who benefit from additional teaching often miss out on some other work.

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The school pays good attention to pupils’ wider personal development. Pupils can take up positions of responsibility as prefects. They told me they appreciate the opportunity to help younger pupils. An increasing number stay after school to take part in sports clubs. A recent visit by Year 6 pupils to the National Holocaust Museum added greatly both to their understanding of the Second World War and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.

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Staff recognise that the school is well led. They told me that ‘everyone is on the same page’. Leaders take staff workload into account. Governors recognise that, in the past, they were not strong enough at holding the school’s leaders to account. However, they now have a good understanding of how to check on how well all pupils are achieving across the curriculum. Academic outcomes for pupils have been mixed in recent years, but pupils’ progress by the end of key stage 2 showed significant improvement in 2019.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the pupils and their families very well. They use this knowledge to help them 10–11 December 2019

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to keep pupils safe. Leaders make sure that staff are well trained, so that they are vigilant and aware of any particular risks. When an issue arises, leaders take the right steps to involve other agencies that work with children. They keep good records. Leaders make the necessary checks on the staff who join the school. The governing body supports the school well in this respect.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Although teachers understand the curriculum well, some unevenness remains in how effectively they implement it. In part, this reflects a little inexperience. In order to address this, leaders should make sure that those who lead subjects have the full range of skills to monitor and evaluate how well pupils are learning and to take the necessary steps to enhance the teaching of the subjects for which they are responsible.  Some parents and carers require further encouragement to help their children with their early reading. Leaders are refreshing the school’s stock of books and expanding the use of the library. Work should continue to ensure that all pupils receive every chance to develop and maintain a love of reading.  Additional teaching for English and mathematics generally takes place in the afternoon. As a result, pupils miss some work in other subjects. Teachers should ensure that all pupils receive a coherent curriculum in foundation subjects, including those for whom it

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

is necessary to prioritise their work in core skills.

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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 Wood End Primary School to be good on 21–22 May 2015.

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

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 10–11 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10131190 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-chairs of governing body Rabia Adeogun and Susan Bonner

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21–22 May 2015

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club.  The headteacher joined the school in January 2018. The deputy headteacher took up his post in April 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 Before the inspection, I reviewed the information on the school’s website and spoke to the headteacher on the telephone about the school’s curriculum.  I conducted deep dives into reading, mathematics and history. I held discussions with leaders, visited lessons, held meetings with staff, looked at examples of pupils’ work and had discussions with pupils.  I took account of the 27 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents and carers. I also considered 18 free-text comments. I spoke with parents at the start of the second day of the inspection.  I considered the ten responses to the staff survey. I also spoke to staff about their professional development and their support from leaders.  I considered 70 responses to the questionnaire for pupils. I spoke to pupils in lessons 10–11 December 2019

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and at social times about their experiences at the school.  I checked the school’s employment records and met with those who lead safeguarding. I met with the special educational needs coordinator.  I listened to pupils in the Reception Year, Year 1 and Year 2 reading.  I met with the co-chairs and seven other members of the governing body. I also met with two representatives of the local authority.

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Inspection team

Martin Spoor, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 10–11 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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