Wickham Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Wickham Church of England Primary School Buddens Road, Wickham, Fareham, Hampshire PO17 5HU

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Outcome

Wickham Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Love, courage and respect are woven into the fabric of this warm, friendly, caring school. A high level of care and support permeates Wickham. As a result, pupils happily attend school. They say that they feel safe here. One pupil, when asked to describe the school, said, ‘The best thing about this school are the memories you make.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Dedicated staff provide a highly personalised approach, which means that pupils are treated as individuals. Staff take the time to get to know each of the pupils and understand their unique qualities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are fully invested in all that Wickham has to offer. They enjoy getting involved in a wide range of clubs, including the ‘reforestation’ club. The school’s personal, social, health and economic programme teaches pupils about many important topics and issues that will affect them in their lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well and are thoughtful and kind. Sometimes they disagree and fall out with each other. However, they are given the tools and support they need to be able to recognise other people’s points of view and find a happy solution. Pupils say that bullying is very rare. They have confidence in their teachers and support staff to help as needed.

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

Wickham’s ambitious and deeply committed headteacher took up his post in January 2020, following several changes of leadership and staffing. Supported well by a team of senior leaders, he quickly brought staff together with a renewed focus on improving many aspects of the school. One parent echoed the views of many, saying: ‘My children are thriving at Wickham. They love their teachers and are supported well by all adults. The improvements made over the last couple of years are evident.’

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

Leaders have developed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum. Pupils enjoy a range of different subjects. Their knowledge and understanding of many topics, concepts 2 and 3 February 2022

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and ideas develop as they move through the school, from the early years to Year 6. Children get off to a good start in the early years because of the many exciting and engaging learning experiences they have. Consequently, they are prepared well for what will come in Year 1 and beyond.

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In reading, English and mathematics, staff successfully check what pupils know and remember before they teach new concepts and ideas. However, in other subjects, not all teachers use assessment information well enough to adapt their lessons. This leads to some pupils moving on before they have the building blocks they need to tackle new learning.

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Staff know that reading is key to pupils being able to learn. A well-stocked library has a range of high-quality books, providing ample opportunity for pupils to read different genres of books, and most do so daily. Leaders have rapidly improved the teaching of phonics. They have achieved this by introducing a new phonics programme. Staff have been trained well, which means that the phonics programme is taught consistently. Pupils, including weaker readers, now read confidently and fluently. The books pupils read are carefully matched to the sounds they know. When pupils struggle to read a word, they use their knowledge of phonics to help them. Those who need more help with phonics receive focused support from staff.

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A highly inclusive approach means that leaders and staff are committed to making sure that all pupils make good progress. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are carefully identified with the help of the school’s highly knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). This careful identification leads to support for each pupil that is well matched to their needs. When pupils require support from other professionals, leaders work well with them to ensure that it is timely and effective.

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Staff have high expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour. A simple behaviour system means that pupils know what is expected of them. They understand and follow the three rules of ‘ready, safe and respectful’. Staff quickly identify barriers to learning that sometimes lead to pupils losing focus. They ensure that the needs of these pupils are well met. Consequently, pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

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Staff who responded to Ofsted’s confidential staff survey said that they are well supported by leaders and that leaders take their workload and well-being seriously. Some staff have been supported to become subject leaders. These staff help senior leaders to check and improve the quality of education. However, senior leaders know that further changes to how subject leaders monitor what happens in the classroom will help them to improve the curriculum even more. 2 and 3 February 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

A strong culture of safeguarding leads to pupils feeling happy and safe. Governors, leaders and staff take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. Recruitment checks on adults working at the school are thorough. Regular training for staff means that they know when a pupil may need help and protection. They routinely report concerns to the school’s designated safeguarding leads (DSLs). These DSLs take swift and appropriate action, keeping detailed records, to ensure that pupils and their families get the help they need quickly. While leaders keep staff training records, they know that these records could be further strengthened.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In the foundation subjects, some teachers do not use assessment information precisely enough to inform what they will teach next. This means that pupils sometimes learn new concepts and ideas without having a firm foundation on which to build, which leads to further gaps in their learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers’ understanding of assessment in the foundation subjects is further developed so that they know how to use this information more effectively.  Leaders do not systematically monitor the implementation of the school’s curriculum. This leads to informal monitoring by subject leaders that does not monitor precisely enough how well the curriculum is being delivered. Leaders should further develop their approach to how they monitor the implementation of the curriculum.

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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 second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2012. 2 and 3 February 2022

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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.

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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. 2 and 3 February 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 January 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher has joined the school since the last inspection in January 2017.  The school is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school.  The last section 48 inspection took place in June 2015.  The school currently uses one alternative provider.  The school has recently taken over the leadership of Wickham Pre-School, which operates from the same school site under a separate registration. Wickham Pre-School is inspected separately by Ofsted.

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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 leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. He discussed the curriculum with leaders, staff and pupils, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and heard pupils read. 2 and 3 February 2022

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 The inspector met with school leaders, staff, pupils and those with responsibility for governance, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector met with representatives of the local authority.  The inspector spoke with a representative of the Diocese of Portsmouth.  The inspector visited the early years provision.  The inspector observed the end of the school day and lunchtime.  The inspector scrutinised the school’s self-evaluation and school development plan and records of monitoring visits carried out by the local authority.  The inspector met with the SENCo to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND.  The inspector considered the responses to the confidential staff survey. He took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, including comments made by those who responded. He spoke to parents at the end of the school day during the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector looked at the school’s

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website and policies, met with DSLs and spoke with pupils and staff. He scrutinised records of the safeguarding checks carried out on adults working at the school and spoke with governors. He scrutinised a selection of child protection records.

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Inspection team

Shaun Jarvis, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 2 and 3 February 2022

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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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