Wenhaston Primary School

Inspection of Wenhaston Primary School Hall Road, Wenhaston, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 9EP

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected as an academy 15–16 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils enjoy their time at Wenhaston Primary School. They are safe and well cared for. The majority want to learn and take part in all the school has to offer. Staff know each pupil well. There is a real family feel to this small school. Teachers and pupils get on well. These positive relationships help create the school’s calm and purposeful environment. In the playground, older pupils take care of younger children and they play happily together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are almost always attentive in classrooms and concentrate well. They work together in lessons and help each other when they get stuck.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the opportunities that they have for learning beyond lessons. Older pupils spoke enthusiastically about a project linked to a local business which has given them valuable experience of the wider world of work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They know who to turn to if they have concerns. They are confident that staff would support and help them with any problems. Pupils told us that bullying rarely happens.

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better?

Leaders have made reading an important priority. From their first day, children in the Reception class begin learning letters and sounds. Phonics is well taught. Teachers know when pupils need extra help to keep up and they provide it quickly. Leaders have invested considerable resources in developing pupils’ reading and teachers have been well trained in how to make best use of them. Pupils have access to a wide range of interesting books from the school library.

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better?

The mathematics curriculum is more demanding than in the past. Pupils enjoy mathematics. Pupils have regular opportunities to go back to learning they have covered before, and this is helping them remember more. Teachers check carefully in lessons that pupils understand their work. Teachers now plan opportunities for pupils to use mathematics in other subjects, which pupils say makes their lessons much more interesting.

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better?

The school organises its curriculum plans so that teaching builds on what pupils have learned before. Pupils enjoy subjects such as art and science. However, in a small number of subjects the order in which pupils cover each topic does not help them to remember and understand events. This is the case in history, where pupils do not always remember the knowledge set out in the school’s planned curriculum.

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better?

Teachers adapt plans to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are well supported by other adults during lessons. Adults are effective in helping pupils to develop their social skills and in supporting those few pupils who struggle to behave well. 15–16 January 2020

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Children are safe and happy in the early years and get off to a good start. They work well with teachers and use their knowledge of phonics to read and write. Children share, take turns and enjoy each other’s company. Children enjoy lots of different activities, both indoors and outside, which develop their knowledge and skills. For example, children play games outside to help them practise numbers and simple sums.

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Pupils’ personal development is enriched by many interesting activities and opportunities. The school has close links with the local church and community. Pupils play an active part in the annual Remembrance Day event in the village.

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A small number of pupils do not attend school enough. Leaders need to further their efforts to make sure that pupils arrive at school regularly and on time.

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Leaders have built largely positive relationships with staff and are realistic about the pressures on them in terms of workload. Not all staff spoken with during the inspection felt their views were listened to. They would like better communication with leaders.

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Governors have a broad range of knowledge and a clear understanding of their role. They support and challenge leaders effectively. The multi-academy trust supports the school well, especially with the range of training for staff on offer.

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Not all parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were supportive of the school’s work. A number commented that their concerns were not dealt with well by leaders and felt that communication with parents needed to be improved.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school site is secure, and the identity of visitors is checked on entry. The school’s procedures for managing safeguarding are strong. Staff are well trained to identify signs and symptoms of abuse. Pupils feel safe in school and receive help to understand how to stay safe both in the real world and online. Staff recruited to work in school are checked thoroughly to ensure that they are safe to work with pupils. The school system for recording safeguarding incidents shows that leaders and staff respond appropriately to any inappropriate behaviour from pupils.

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Safeguarding

Governors regularly check that school safeguarding procedures are being applied robustly. 15–16 January 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a very few subjects, such as history, the curriculum does not make it clear to teachers what information pupils should learn. Pupils do not understand enough or remember the order of historical events and why they happened. The curriculum needs further planning to make the progression and expectations clear.  The proportion of pupils who are not in school is too high. Leaders need to redouble their efforts to improve overall attendance and reduce persistent absence.  Not everyone in the school community feels they are listened to. New plans and changes are not always shared as well as they could be to be effective. Leaders need to improve the quality and regularity of communication with parents and staff.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 15–16 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121408 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Wenhaston Primary School converted to become an academy school on 1 May 2017. When its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of the Asset Education Trust.  The school has a higher than average number of pupils arriving and leaving each year.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We had discussions with the headteacher, nine out of 13 members of staff, subject leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, and the leader of early years provision. We also had discussions with the chief executive of the trust and members of the local governing body.  We analysed 29 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire and spoke to groups of pupils from each year group. 15–16 January 2020

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 We took account of a wide range of information, including the school’s website, development plans, information about pupils’ needs and leaders’ records of pupil behaviour. We reviewed documentation regarding safeguarding, including the school’s record of injuries to pupils and subsequent action taken.  We did deep dives in mathematics, reading and science. As part of these, we visited lessons in every class and carried out scrutiny of the majority of pupils’ books in most year groups. To answer questions raised on the first day of the inspection, we visited lessons and looked at work from other subjects on the second day of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Mary-Jane Edwards, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Adrian Lyons Her Majesty’s Inspector 15–16 January 2020

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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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