Wincheap Foundation Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Wincheap Foundation Primary School Hollow Lane, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3SD

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Outcome

Wincheap Foundation Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Wincheap is a caring, friendly and nurturing school. Pupils thrive and flourish in this stimulating environment. They are happy and enjoy their learning. Pupils say that teachers make lessons fun and ‘help you do things you didn’t think you could do’. They know that teachers expect them to work hard and do their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are positive relationships between staff and pupils. Leaders and governors have a strong commitment to include everyone. Pupils are respectful towards each other and adults. They say they make good friendships at school. Everyone looks out for each other. Behaviour in lessons and at playtimes is good.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well cared for and feel safe in school. Pupils say bullying hardly ever happens. If there are any problems, however, pupils are confident to talk to staff. They know they will be listened to and any concerns will be dealt with promptly and fairly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are very supportive of the school. They particularly appreciate the fact that the headteacher and other staff are at the gate to greet pupils and their families. As one parent said, ‘Wincheap school is not just a place of education but a caring community in which every member is valued.’

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

Leaders have designed a vibrant and broad curriculum that inspires and motivates pupils. The headteacher and deputy are unwavering in their work to constantly improve and refine the curriculum. They are determined that pupils get the best possible learning experiences. Leaders make sure the school’s mission statement, ‘developing skills for life and celebrating individuality’, is threaded through all that they do.

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

Leaders have rightly ensured that across subjects, the curriculum is well sequenced. Senior leaders are effective at adapting the curriculum to take account of the impact of COVID-19. Teachers skilfully check what pupils know before introducing new learning. 8 and 9 December 2021

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They help pupils to remember what they have learned in the past. For example, in art, pupils in Year 6 remembered skills they had learned in Year 2 to create self-portraits. They demonstrated how they were building on their skills and developing their knowledge with new techniques for their current work. Staff are quick to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Suitable adjustments are made to make sure that these pupils learn the same curriculum as others and experience success, including those pupils in the specialist provision.

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Pupils develop as confident, fluent readers. Phonics teaching is well organised and structured. Children in Reception are learning letter sounds but not always as effectively as they could be. Pupils who find reading more difficult, including pupils with SEND, are well supported. They read books that match the sounds that they do know. Pupils develop a love of reading during their time in school. Teachers introduce pupils to a wide range of diverse and challenging texts and read to them every day. Pupils can talk about their favourite books and authors and give well-considered reasons for their choices.

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Teachers develop pupils’ mathematical skills through stimulating activities that deepen pupils’ understanding and make them think carefully. Pupils are able to remember what they have learned before and build on this to learn new things. Pupils say they enjoy mathematics. They concentrate well in lessons and persevere with challenges they are set. Children in Reception learn the routine of counting and showing on fingers and some pick up new ideas very quickly. Teachers are looking at ways to ensure that the recently introduced resources for early mathematics in Reception are helping all children achieve as well as they might.

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Leaders have rightly identified that the curriculum in Reception is not as well embedded as it is in Years 1 to 6. Leaders are addressing this to make sure that children have opportunities and well-matched resources to develop their understanding more effectively.

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Pupils and parents appreciate the opportunities for pupils to broaden their experiences, for example through the forest school and the arts, which have a high profile in the school. A good range of clubs, trips and visits are offered. Pupils understand that they need to take risks, make mistakes and develop resilience as learners.

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Pupils are friendly, polite and happy to share their views. They collaborate well and listen to others’ opinions, even though they may disagree with them. Staff work extremely well together as a strong team. They appreciate the guidance from senior leaders to help manage their work and their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils’ well-being and safety are priorities for everyone. Leaders responsible for safeguarding, and staff and governors are fully trained and understand their responsibilities. As a result, everyone is alert to any causes for concern and quickly identifies pupils who may need help and protection. Rapid support is provided in school. Leaders seek advice from specialist services where appropriate. Leaders’ work is key in 8 and 9 December 2021

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securing vital support for vulnerable pupils and their families. Leaders and teachers make sure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. The appropriate checks are carried out on adults who work in the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Although the curriculum has been well thought out, the headteacher and deputy headteacher should continue with their work to further refine the curriculum so that all pupils continue to achieve well. This is particularly the case for children currently in the early years. Leaders should ensure that the implementation of the curriculum in Reception consistently provides children with the opportunities and well-matched resources to develop their understanding. This is to make sure that all children, whatever their starting points, acquire sufficient knowledge and skills for their future learning.

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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 outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 8 and 9 December 2021

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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 10200229 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 13 October 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school has a specialist resource provision for pupils with speech, language and communication needs. It is known as the speech and language department. There are currently 17 pupils in this provision. All the pupils have an education, health and care plan.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspector met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and other teaching staff.  A meeting was held with three members of the governing body including the chair and vice-chair of the governors. The inspector also held a meeting with the local authority school improvement adviser. 8 and 9 December 2021

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector 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.  The inspector also looked at other subject plans, observed some pupils reading and visited the specialist resource provision. Pupils were observed at lunch and in the playground and the inspector spoke informally to different groups of pupils.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead and two of the deputy safeguarding leads, looked at the single central record of recruitment checks and safeguarding records and talked informally to pupils and staff.  The inspector considered 79 responses to Ofsted’s confidential questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including 36 free-text comments. She also took account of 39 responses

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to the confidential staff questionnaire and 61 responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Margaret Coussins, lead inspector Ofsted 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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