Wolf Fields Primary School

Inspection of Wolf Fields Primary School Norwood Road, Norwood Green, Southall UB2 4JS

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 October 2021

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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 Requires improvement 13 and 14 October 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at this warm, welcoming school. They like their teachers and know they will help with any worries. Parents appreciate the care and nurture provided by staff. One parent commented, ‘The pastoral care is absolutely first class.’ The school’s values of worth, opportunity, learning and friendship are threaded throughout every aspect of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have raised the bar and are determined that all pupils learn well. Staff understand the individual needs of pupils and well-matched support is in place. This in turn helps pupils with their well-being and learning in the classroom.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful towards adults and their peers. They behave well in lessons and in the playground. Pupils say they sometimes ‘squabble’ but can usually sort this out themselves. On the rare occasion that bullying happens, staff deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff teach pupils the importance of tolerance. Pupils learn about different religions and cultures. This supports them to respect difference. Pupils want to take on responsibility and make a difference at their school. They have formed a ‘junior leadership team’ to ‘make school more exciting and leave a legacy’.

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better?

Leaders have a clear vision for the school, where all staff are encouraged to play their part. The curriculum rightly has a strong focus on language development because nearly all pupils are in the early stages of learning English. Teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects they teach. They are clear how new learning builds on what has been taught before and help pupils to understand key concepts. For example, in history, pupils make good use of timelines to remember when significant events happened.

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better?

The curriculum in the Nursery and Reception classes forms the foundation for learning across the school. In geography, for example, children learn about local landmarks in their immediate environment and learn that these are permanent. This knowledge is built upon when they learn about landmarks in different countries. Teachers prepare children for what comes next in mathematics by including regular counting opportunities throughout the day.

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better?

Reading is prioritised across the school. Teachers love reading themselves. They share well-chosen books that reflect the diversity within the school. Leaders train all staff to confidently deliver the phonics programme. Pupils learn phonics as soon as they start school. They read regularly to adults with books that help them to become fluent quickly. If pupils fall behind with their reading, they are supported to catch up. 13 and 14 October 2021

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In lessons, pupils show a keen interest in their learning because teachers plan exciting activities. For instance, in Year 2, pupils recently attended the Paddington Bear exhibition. This supported their work on developing characters in stories. Year 6 pupils took part in a workshop on Ancient Greece. This helped pupils remember the important knowledge from that time. Teachers check what pupils know at the beginning and end of each unit of work, and use this to plan what comes next.

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Pupils have some opportunities to develop their talents through clubs such as football, music and language skills. They say everyone is treated equally. Pupils welcome responsibility and carry out duties such as ‘playground buddies’ with pride. They spoke excitedly about gardening club, where the vegetable patch is currently tended by pupils in Year 4. While leaders have provided an ambitious curriculum, less emphasis is given to raising pupils’ aspirations for what they might achieve in their lives. Consequently, very few pupils are confident when speaking about their personal hopes for the future.

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Pupils learn about healthy relationships. They know whom they can trust and are very clear on internet safety. They learn about other religions and cultures and where there are similarities and differences. For example, pupils could recall that places of worship in Judaism and Christianity both had stained-glass windows.

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Nearly all pupils learn English as an additional language. This makes it challenging to immediately identify other special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders work collaboratively with each other and external agencies to support the needs of pupils. In mathematics, for example, teachers adapt learning to include opportunities for pupils to develop their vocabulary. It is less clear how these adaptations are supporting pupils with other areas of the intended curriculum and their future aspirations.

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Leaders support staff to carry out their roles effectively. Staff attend weekly training sessions to ensure new teaching strategies are implemented consistently. For example, all staff learn how to help pupils catch up with reading. Leaders make sure that staff have a manageable workload by keeping marking and meetings to a minimum. Staff value the counselling service and say their well-being is a priority for leaders.

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Members of the newly formed governing body understand their duties and perform them well. They visit the school regularly to see that what leaders tell them happens in practice. They understand the curriculum intent and check the impact through speaking to pupils and looking at their work. Governors are well known to staff, pupils and parents. 13 and 14 October 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise pupils’ safety. Staff know the signs to look out for that may indicate that a pupil needs help. They know how to report concerns and whom to go to for support.

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Safeguarding

The school’s curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to learn about safeguarding risks, for example about risks online.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know when to make referrals to safeguarding partners. They secure the help pupils need by using external services as appropriate.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding governor checks recruitment processes termly. This provides further assurance that only adults deemed safe to work with children are appointed.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While the curriculum is ambitious, leaders have not given similar attention to raising pupils’ aspirations for what they might achieve in later life. Leaders should plan a strategy for exposing pupils to the full range of opportunities available to them. This will encourage them to aim high and will also boost their confidence.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 13 and 14 October 2021

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 March 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The chair of the governing body was appointed in September 2021.  The current deputy headteacher has been in post since March 2020.  The school is currently single form in every year group apart from Years 4 and 6, which remain two form.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, four members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and French. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders, 13 and 14 October 2021

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looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors reviewed safeguarding arrangements by scrutinising records, talking to leaders and staff and through discussions with pupils.  The inspectors considered the views of parents and staff through Ofsted’s online surveys, including 29 free-text responses to Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Alison Colenso, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Dawn Titus Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 October 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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