Westwood-with-Iford Primary School

Inspection of Westwood-with-Iford Primary School Boswell Road, Lower Westwood, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 2BY

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Inadequate Previous inspection grade Good 13 and 14 July 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

The arrangements for keeping children safe are not good enough. Leaders, including governors, do not check that agreed safeguarding procedures are followed. Weak communication between leaders, and delays in reporting concerns, could put children at risk of harm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are some deep issues that need to be rectified in the school. Leaders do not have an accurate picture of the weaknesses that exist. As a result, they are not prioritising the right things. Expectations are not high enough. Pupils could learn and achieve much more. In particular, the school is not making sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have the right support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has experienced a reduction in the number of pupils on roll. However, leaders have failed to reorganise the curriculum to ensure that pupils learn well enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers talk of generations coming through the school. Many say how happy their children are to come to school and how caring staff are. Pupils are kind to each other and help one another out. They say that there is rarely any bullying, and they can rely on staff to support them if this happens.

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better?

Leaders have not identified the key concepts and most important knowledge that they want pupils to learn by the time they leave school. The school’s curriculum is designed to teach the requirements of the national curriculum. However, key learning points are not revisited methodically. Therefore, pupils are not helped to understand and remember the most important content. This does not prepare them well for their next steps.

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better?

Staff choose high-quality books to read to pupils. However, time is not allocated to ensure that pupils who need to read more, including those in early years, do so. As a result, some pupils who have fallen behind are not making the progress they should. They are not reading often enough to help them become fluent readers.

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better?

Expectations are not high enough. Staff are not using assessment well to make sure that learning matches pupils’ needs. As a result, some activities do not help pupils to learn more or remember more. Pupils can become restless when this happens and their attitudes towards learning weaken. Leaders do not check the quality of learning with enough precision. Therefore, they do not know exactly what needs to be improved. In addition, professional development for staff is weak. Staff do not have the up-to-date guidance they need to deliver an ambitious curriculum. For example, staff have not had the phonics training and guidance they should. 13 and 14 July 2021

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Pupils make links to visits around the community to develop their appreciation of where they live and what they could aspire to in the future. They have access to a wide range of clubs. Pupils benefit from these varied and interesting experiences. To support preparation for adulthood, the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum covers appropriate areas such as keeping safe and rights and responsibilities. However, pupils do not remember the important learning points well enough. Too little is done to adapt the curriculum to make sure that pupils remember important learning.

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The systems to support pupils with SEND are not effective. Pupils’ additional learning or social needs are sometimes not identified. When this happens, the right strategies are not put in place to support them. Pupils’ behaviour in school can deteriorate as a result. Individual plans for pupils with SEND are poorly organised and not effective. They are not evaluated often enough to keep them relevant and useful.

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The governing body is going through a period of change and development. The new chair of governors acknowledges the work that needs to be done and is determined to make the improvements needed. The governing body has been working closely with local authority officers to understand the school’s weaknesses. However, governors’ oversight is not rigorous. As yet, governors do not have a thorough and robust approach to ensure that the quality of education that pupils receive improves rapidly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have a weak understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) does not respond to safeguarding concerns using the latest statutory guidance. Consequently, leaders do not ensure that pupils get the support and help they need when they need it.

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Safeguarding

Record-keeping is haphazard. When incidents occur, leaders do not learn from them so that safeguarding processes improve. Recruitment records are not checked regularly. Governors have not held leaders to account for keeping children safe. As a result, the weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements are not identified or acted on.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders are not sufficiently aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. Governors have not provided strong oversight of the arrangements for safeguarding. Consequently, there is a weak culture of safeguarding. School leaders, governors and the local authority must work with urgency to improve the systems, procedures, roles and responsibilities so that pupils are safe. 13 and 14 July 2021

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 The provision for pupils with SEND is weak. Some pupils are not identified as having additional needs when they should be. Individual plans do not support the strategies and adaptations needed to secure success for pupils with SEND. School leaders, governors and the local authority must work with urgency to improve the quality of provision for these pupils.  Pupils who need to catch up with reading are not given enough time to read in school. This means that they do not build their fluency to read well and catch up with their peers. Leaders must ensure that there is a clear expectation that pupils who need extra help with reading have the time allocated for this.  The professional development programme for staff is not well-tailored to ensure that staff have the training they need. As a result, expectations are not high enough across the school. Assessment practice is weak as it does not result in

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adaptations to the curriculum so that pupils achieve as well as they can.  Curriculum plans do not ensure that key learning and concepts are identified and revisited throughout the school. Therefore, learning does not stick. Pupils do not make links across subjects to build a deep understanding of key concepts. Leaders need to identify the important knowledge that pupils will learn and ensure that pupils acquire this.  Leaders, including governors, do not have an accurate picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. School leaders do not evaluate the quality of education and pupils’ learning. Furthermore, governors have not held leaders to account. They have not been curious enough. Leaders and governors must develop stronger systems to ensure that they have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness to enable rapid change.

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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 here .

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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. 13 and 14 July 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10198610 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 and 16 March 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one registered alternative provider.  A new chair of the governing body was appointed in September 2020. Three further governors have joined the governing body recently.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. Inspectors also met with the chair of the governing body and another governor. A representative from the local authority, the regional school 13 and 14 July 2021

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improvement lead, was present throughout the inspection and had several meetings with inspectors. Inspectors talked to pupils and parents. They also took the 28 responses to Ofsted Parent View and the 10 responses from staff to an online survey into account.  Inspectors did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and PSHE. This involved talking to subject leaders, visits to lessons, talking to pupils about their learning, looking at pupils’ work and observing pupils reading.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors met with the DSL and looked at safeguarding records and other documentation related to safeguarding. An inspector also scrutinised the school’s single central record and recruitment arrangements.

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Inspection team

Tonwen Empson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paula Marsh Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 July 2021

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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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