Woodham Burn Community Primary School

Inspection of Woodham Burn Community Primary School Humphrey Close, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham DL5 4EX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 8 and 9 December 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between all members of the school community are good. The school is calm and well ordered. Pupils say they feel safe in school. Pupils say behaviour is much better than it was. They trust adults to sort out poor behaviour when it happens. Adults deal with the few incidences of bullying thoroughly. They get to the root cause of poor behaviour and provide support to resolve it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. New starters say it is easy to make friends and that there is a wide range of interesting lessons. For example, pupils learned how to light a fire using a flint, like people in the Stone Age. Pupils are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle because life under national lockdowns meant they were less active. Each class takes part in daily activity. Pupils like using the outdoor gym at playtimes. The varied range of school clubs has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are usually well attended. Pupils also learn to play musical instruments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders know that there are weaknesses in how some parts of the curriculum are planned and taught. They are working hard to make sure this improves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults support pupils and families very well, especially when they need help. Adults work closely with different agencies. They make sure families get the right support so pupils can come to school regularly and enjoy learning.

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better?

Senior leaders and the governing body are ambitious for the school. They have a deep and detailed understanding of what works well and what needs to get better. Their plans precisely target how and what to improve. Leaders are not afraid to take difficult decisions if they are necessary. Staff feel well supported by leaders. For example, workload is manageable and there are clear systems for the day-to-day running of the school. Subject leaders are enthusiastic. Some are more experienced than others. Less experienced subject leaders are keen to take part in training that other leaders have planned. It will give them the skills to improve curriculum plans and help teachers.

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better?

Leaders know that curriculum plans for reading are not implemented well enough. Some adults do not have the expertise needed to teach the curriculum well. They miss opportunities to practise what has been taught already. Assessment is not always used well enough to help some pupils progress well and become confident, fluent readers.

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better?

Pupils talk enthusiastically about the new library in school. Most adults make daily story time lively and engaging. Leaders know that pupils do not read widely enough. Older pupils have limited knowledge of authors, for example. Plans are underway to increase the range of books pupils read.

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better?

In other curriculum subjects, including mathematics, plans include detailed vocabulary. However, plans in other subjects, such as religious education (RE) and science, are not sequenced in enough detail to ensure pupils in every class learn the right things in the 8 and 9 December 2021

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right order. In some classes, plans are not well chosen. Resources are not appropriate. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) struggle. Other pupils lose interest and become distracted.

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Pupils with SEND who have an adult to help them are very well supported. The curriculum is tailored for each individual. They learn new knowledge in very small steps, so they succeed and progress well.

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Children settle well in the early years. They form warm and trusting relationships with adults. They quickly learn routines. They select their own resources confidently and choose what to play. This helps adults to implement curriculum plans well and extend children’s vocabulary. This is not consistent across the early years. Adults sometimes select resources which limit children’s play and their vocabulary development.

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Pupils respect adults. They are polite and friendly. They are tolerant of each other’s differences. However, they do not have deep knowledge of different cultures and faiths. Curriculum plans are not detailed enough. New, more detailed plans are yet to be implemented. The school council are leading a review of school values to make sure pupils follow them more consistently.

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Leaders greet families as they arrive at school each morning. Parents have confidence in the leadership team. They have brought stability to the school after a period of turbulence. Parents praise the help and support leaders give their children. They say their children are happy to come to school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is leaders’ priority. Staff have up-to-date training and regular updates. They are clear about signs to look for that might indicate there is a concern. They know what to do. Detailed records are maintained. Leaders make regular checks and act swiftly when they need to. For example, they tenaciously follow up absences to make sure pupils are safe. Governors make sure that procedures are being followed and challenge leaders regularly.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe. They know what to do if the fire drill goes off in school. They also know that there are dangers associated with being online and how to deal with situations which are unsafe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Curriculum plans in subjects such as mathematics, RE and science are not detailed enough. There is insufficient information about the important knowledge pupils must learn and the steps needed to remember that knowledge securely. This includes specific disciplinary knowledge. Teachers sometimes use the wrong 8 and 9 December 2021

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resources to help pupils gain more knowledge. This means that pupils sometimes develop misconceptions or have gaps in their knowledge. This makes it more difficult to know and remember more in future. Leaders know that curriculum plans need to be more detailed and that teachers need help to develop their expertise. Training for teachers has already been planned, as has time to develop more detailed curriculum plans. Leaders should ensure these plans are put in place.  Some staff do not have enough expertise to help pupils to learn to read. There is not a consistent approach to teaching phonics. Opportunities for pupils to practise their phonics knowledge are missed. Assessment information is not used well enough to target pupils’ next steps precisely. As a result, lower attaining pupils struggle to become fluent readers quickly enough. Training and support to give all staff sufficient expertise is already planned. Leaders should ensure that the

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training takes place and that curriculum plans for phonics are implemented consistently.  Subject leaders have different levels of expertise. Some have more knowledge about their subject than others. Some know how to check what works well and what helps pupils increase their knowledge. They also know what needs to improve and how to do it. Other subject leaders do not have the necessary skills to check how well their subject is implemented. Leaders know the support subject leaders need to help them be effective. They have begun to provide this help but know more needs to be done.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 8 and 9 December 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200707 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.woodhamburnprimary.durham.sch. uk/ Date of previous inspection 24 and 25 April 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 On 1 September 2021, the school became part of The Archway Federation with Vane Road Primary School. Both schools share the same executive headteacher and governing body.  The executive headteacher has been acting headteacher since September 2020. The head of school has also been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school runs a free breakfast club. There is a separate before- and after- school club.  The school uses a local authority alternative provider, which pupils can attend part time to support their social and emotional development.

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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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation. 8 and 9 December 2021

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 Inspectors held meetings with the executive headteacher and head of school throughout the inspection.  Inspectors met with staff, pupils and governors and held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and RE. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, 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. An inspector listened to pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also discussed curriculum plans and spoke to staff about some other subjects.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records, including the single central record. They talked to pupils, staff and governors about their views of safeguarding.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lesson visits, breaktimes, lunchtimes

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and at the breakfast and after-school clubs. They spoke to pupils and to staff about their views on behaviour.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation provided by the school, including leaders’ self-evaluation and school development plans and policies.  Inspectors considered the 16 free-text responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. An inspector met with parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors spoke to staff about their well-being and workload.

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Inspection team

Susan Waugh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Eleanor Belfield Her Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 December 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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