Woodhouse Eaves St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Woodhouse Eaves St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Meadow Road, Woodhouse Eaves, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 8SA

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of outstanding as a result of this initial (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a full inspection were carried out now. The next inspection will therefore be a full (section 5) inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and staff speak warmly about the school’s happy, caring atmosphere. The school’s Christian values are evident in all parts of the school. These values are reflected in leaders’ vision to ‘nurture and inspire all children’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that their teachers are kind and look after them well. This helps them to feel safe at school. Pupils enjoy lessons because they are ‘fun and interesting’. Older pupils enjoy taking on roles such as playground pals or being part of the worship team or the school council. These opportunities help them to develop as responsible, caring individuals.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand that bullying is wrong. They say that it happens rarely, but they know that adults will deal with any problems that may occur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. Behaviour expectations are clear. Pupils understand the consequences of their actions if they fail to follow fair warnings.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years get off to a strong start. They settle quickly into familiar routines. Children make the most of well-planned activities designed to develop their knowledge and skills in early reading and mathematics. The school’s curriculum does not currently specify how pupils build on this early knowledge as they progress through the school.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders have revised the curriculum in all subjects. They have 29 and 30 March 2022

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set out the key knowledge and skills that pupils should gain, from Year 1 to Year 6. Currently, leaders are in the process of refining some aspects of the curriculum. Their work to ensure that the curriculum incorporates, and builds on, themes from the early years foundation stage is not complete. Leaders are currently reviewing the curriculum design to help teachers plan more precisely what pupils should learn and in what order, from the early years to Year 6. There is a plan in place to bring this about by the end of the school year.

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Some curriculum leaders are new to their roles. They are enthusiastic for their subjects. However, they lack experience in leadership. The school is also experiencing some staff absence and upheaval, partly due to the impact of COVID-19. This has hindered the pace of improvement in finalising the curriculum.

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There has been a strong focus on mathematics since the last inspection. Leaders acted quickly to address the steep decline in pupils’ achievement. Evidence suggests that leaders’ actions are having a positive impact on pupils knowing and remembering more in mathematics.

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Leaders have prioritised reading across the school. They have introduced a systematic programme for teaching phonics. There is a plan to ensure that the new programme is embedded by the end of the year. Some staff have not yet received training. Leaders also plan to purchase more books and other resources. Phonics teaching begins as soon as children join the school, in the Reception class. Pupils read from books that mostly match their phonics knowledge. Pupils of any age who are at risk of falling behind receive extra support to become fluent readers.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive well-planned support. This helps them to access the full curriculum. Leaders have ensured that staff who work with pupils with SEND are well trained. School staff liaise regularly with parents and external agencies.

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Leaders promote pupils’ broader development well through the curriculum and beyond. During weekly worship, there is a regular focus on one of the key British values. This helps pupils to develop an awareness of life in modern Britain. For example, in discussion, pupils spoke thoughtfully about the meaning of democracy. One described it as ‘our right to freedom’. Others commented that our laws are ‘what keeps Britain a safe place’.

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Pupils have a sound understanding of a range of faiths and cultures. They can describe similarities and differences between religions, showing interest and respect. The celebration of diversity is evident around school, through vibrant displays and posters. The work in pupils’ religious education books demonstrates pupils’ depth of knowledge of different beliefs. This aspect of the curriculum is a strength of the school.

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Staff praise leaders’ consideration for their workload and well-being. Governors regularly discuss leaders’ and staff’s well-being in their meetings. They have worked closely with leaders and staff to develop and uphold an ambitious vision for the school. 29 and 30 March 2022

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In discussion with the headteacher, the inspector agreed that early reading, subject leadership and curriculum progression may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders place the utmost importance on safeguarding. They provide thorough training and regular updates for all staff. Staff teach pupils how to stay safe online. Governors take their safeguarding duties seriously.

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Safeguarding

Everyone has been mindful of pupils’ vulnerabilities during the pandemic. They have liaised with families and external support agencies to ensure that pupils are safe. Staff have confidence in the school’s systems for following up concerns. Records show that concerns are logged straight away and that leaders take appropriate actions. Trained staff are on hand to support pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have established a strong curriculum intent. The curriculum is designed to be knowledge rich and ambitious for all pupils in all subjects. Leaders are currently in the process of refining some aspects of the curriculum, as it is being implemented for the first full year. Curriculum planning does not currently build on the knowledge and skills that pupils gain in the early years. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is fully sequenced so that it supports pupils to know and remember more over time, from the early years to Year 6.  Some curriculum leaders are new to their roles. They do not yet have a secure overview of their subjects so that they can guide and support teachers to implement the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders develop confidence and expertise in leadership so that they have a precise overview of the impact of their subject on pupils’ long-term memory.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have introduced a new systematic synthetic phonics programme. Staff in the early years and key stage 1 have received training and are implementing the new programme consistently and confidently. Most pupils read from decodable books that match their phonics knowledge. Staff in key stage 2 have not yet received phonics training. Leaders should ensure that there are sufficient resources available to help pupils to learn to read. Leaders should also make sure that all staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to teach phonics effectively so that pupils of all ages quickly develop as fluent, confident readers. 29 and 30 March 2022

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. 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 outstanding in February 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.

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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. 29 and 30 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211921 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website http://www.st-pauls.leics.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11 and 12 February 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in September 2019.

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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 her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, curriculum leaders, a range of staff, and a small group of governors, including the chair.  The inspector held a telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult. 29 and 30 March 2022

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 The inspector also discussed the curriculum and reviewed samples of pupils’ work in some other subjects.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at other times around school.  The inspector evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding by reviewing the school’s record of pre-employment checks and holding discussions with leaders, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Christine Watkins, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector 29 and 30 March 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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