Weald Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Weald Community Primary School Long Barn Road, Weald, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 6PY

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Outcome

Weald Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe and happy at school. They are friendly and polite towards each other and visitors. Pupils are enthusiastic about their school. They enjoy their learning and feel they are doing well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well during lessons and at playtimes. They are very attentive in class. Pupils take a real interest in what they are doing. They concentrate well on tasks. Pupils are confident and keen to challenge themselves. They respond well to teachers’ high expectations for pupils’ learning. Bullying is very rare. If pupils have a worry, they know they can tell a staff member and that staff will sort it out. Few pupils have worries at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a strong understanding of the values and aims of the school. They value the support they receive for their personal development. For example, they have a deep understanding of values such as integrity and curiosity. Pupils also see themselves as playing a role in the wider world. The school’s link in Malawi is important to pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take part in a wide variety of clubs. They also enjoy visits to support their learning. For example, pupils found their recent visit to a Tutankhamun exhibition fascinating.

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

Leaders have reorganised the curriculum since the last inspection. They have set out the sequence of skills and knowledge pupils will learn in each subject as they progress through the school. Leaders have placed these in a logical order. Governors check the impact of these changes. The curriculum is strongest in subjects such as English and mathematics. In 2019, pupils achieved high standards in mathematics and reading in both key stages 1 and 2. In subjects such as geography and art, new approaches are at an earlier stage of implementation. Pupils are not yet building on previous learning consistently in these subjects. As a result, the standards pupils achieve in some subjects are not as high as in English and mathematics. 3–4 March 2020

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Pupils develop a love of reading. One parent said: ‘The love of reading is astonishing.’ By the time pupils leave Year 6, they have experienced a wealth of high-quality literature. They can talk about this in detail. Pupils know the work of a range of authors. Children in the early years get off to a flying start in learning to read. They make confident use of phonics, both for reading and writing simple sentences. Children achieve high standards in Reception. Teachers prioritise reading throughout the school. If pupils struggle, they are quickly supported to stop them falling behind. All staff are well trained to teach reading. However, leaders have not ensured a close enough match of books to the phonic knowledge of younger readers. Some younger pupils do not have the skills to read some of the words in the books they take home. This hinders their confidence and they do not learn to read as fluently as they could.

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In the early years, children achieve well. Staff have high expectations and provide a well- resourced curriculum. Children successfully learn to count and match quantities to numerals. They can perform simple addition and subtraction calculations. Staff plan activities that build on their skills and meet the needs of each child. They present new ideas in several different ways to ensure that children understand. Children enjoy their learning and become very focused on what they are doing.

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Leaders emphasise the personal development of pupils as part of the curriculum. Staff help pupils to become confident and resilient learners. Leaders have made outdoor learning, mental health and character education important parts of the curriculum. Older pupils have taken part in a programme of mental health workshops. For example, they have learned how to manage stress. Pupils have learned about the importance of nutrition and physical health for mental well-being. As a result, pupils support one another, and develop self-control and resilience. Leaders provide regular opportunities for outdoor and adventurous learning which support pupils’ personal development.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Teachers adapt activities to meet the individual needs of these pupils. Pupils with SEND take part fully in the curriculum and achieve well. Where they struggle, staff provide extra support to help them keep up. Leaders ensure that staff are well trained to provide this support. Disadvantaged pupils also do well. Leaders ensure that these pupils have full access to the many opportunities that enrich the curriculum. Disadvantaged pupils take part in the full range of clubs on offer.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff are serious about their responsibilities for safeguarding pupils. Staff are vigilant. Leaders have created a caring culture in which staff know pupils well. Leaders train staff regularly to ensure that they know how to spot the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Staff know and follow the school’s procedures. They are also vigilant about the online safety of pupils. 3–4 March 2020

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Leaders take prompt action if staff, or external agencies, raise concerns about a pupil. When appropriate, they quickly refer concerns to children’s services. The designated safeguarding lead maintains thorough records and follows up referrals promptly.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have established an effective approach to teaching reading and pupils achieve well. However, younger pupils’ reading books are not always matched to their phonic knowledge well enough. Whilst these pupils use their knowledge of sounds well, the books they use to practise their skills often contain words that are too difficult. They struggle to decode these words. This hampers their ability to read fluently with confidence. Leaders should ensure that the books they provide for pupils to practise their early reading skills match the phonics pupils have learned more precisely.  Leaders have reorganised the curriculum. They have planned the sequence of skills and knowledge pupils will acquire as they progress through the school. In subjects such as reading and mathematics pupils achieve well. In some subjects such as art and geography the planned sequence of learning has not yet been fully and consistently

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

implemented. Whilst pupils acquire important knowledge as a result of studying a range of topics in these subjects, their skills are not as well developed. However, it is clear that leaders are taking action to bring this about. Leaders should ensure that the whole of the planned curriculum is fully implemented in all subjects, so that pupils gain the skills and knowledge they need to prepare them for secondary school.

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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 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 second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 6–7 October 2011.

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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. 3–4 March 2020

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

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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. 3–4 March 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122290 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Wendy Wallace-Holman

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 June 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Weald Community Primary School is a member of the Sevenoaks Partnership of Primary Schools. Schools in the partnership support and challenge each other and provide training for staff.

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Information about this inspection

 I held meetings with the headteacher, middle leaders, including the special educational needs coordinator, the chair and vice-chair of governors.  I held a discussion with the school improvement adviser from the local authority.  I did deep dives in these subjects: reading, art and mathematics. In each subject, I met with the subject leaders, visited lessons, talked to pupils, spoke to teachers and looked at pupils’ work.  I inspected safeguarding by reviewing the arrangements for pre-appointment checks carried out by the school, including the school’s single central record of these checks. I spoke to staff about their training and understanding of the school’s safeguarding 3–4 March 2020

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procedures. I held discussions with the designated safeguarding lead, and reviewed case files and records held by the school, including records of staff training.  I held discussions with parents at the start of the school day. I considered 86 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 83 free-text comments. I considered 78 responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire. I held discussions with pupils from several year groups. I considered 21 responses to Ofsted’s confidential staff questionnaire and I held discussions with staff about their work.

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Inspection team

Peter Wibroe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 3–4 March 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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