Wilfred Owen Primary School

Inspection of The Wilfred Owen School The Monkmoor Campus, Woodcote Way, Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 5SH

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade 7 and 8 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘Aiming high together’ sums up the approach of this warm and welcoming school. Mutual respect is evident between pupils and adults. Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy attending. They feel safe because they know that staff always listen to them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the different types of bullying. They say that although it rarely happens, staff quickly sort it out when it does. Staff care about pupils and want the best for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have made reading a priority. Pupils enjoy hearing their teachers read daily to them and appreciate the wealth of exciting books they get the chance to read from their class book corners and the school library. In some other subjects, there is more work to do on the curriculum, and pupils are not helped to achieve as well as they should. Leaders’ recent actions are starting to put this right.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking on extra responsibilities. Older pupils are proud to help younger pupils by organising games and activities at playtimes. Pupils understand the need to keep healthy, both mentally and physically. They are proud to represent the school in rounders and basketball tournaments.

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better?

Significant staffing and leadership challenges combined with COVID-19 means this school has been through a turbulent time. Since September, the acting headteacher has taken decisive action. Positive action has been done with other leaders to review and improve the school’s curriculum. This work is in its early days; therefore, there has not been time to finalise the curriculum or train the staff sufficiently well. Despite this, there are many ‘green shoots’ becoming evident.

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better?

Leaders have started to review the curriculum. This is more developed in some subjects than in others. In the subjects that are further ahead, for example mathematics and reading, leaders have made it clear what knowledge they want pupils to learn and the order in which it must be taught. They have provided training for staff. Staff and leaders check regularly how well pupils are learning and take appropriate action. This ensures that staff deliver these aspects of the curriculum well. As a result, pupils progress well.

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better?

In some subjects, the curriculum is very newly implemented, and staff have not yet received the training they need. This means that they are not always clear about the best ways to deliver the curriculum. This stops pupils from knowing more and remembering more. In other subjects, the curriculum is being reviewed because currently, it does not set out in sufficient detail the most important knowledge pupils should learn.

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better?

Leaders have made reading a priority. They have provided staff with training and 7 and 8 June 2022

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clear guidance. Teachers have the confidence and expertise to deliver the phonics curriculum well. Pupils quickly learn to read new sounds as soon as they start school. Their books match the sounds they are learning. Pupils who need to catch up get the right support. Pupils enjoy reading. They know it is important and helps them with their learning.

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The leader responsible for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is skilled and understands the needs of pupils well. She ensures that the provision for pupils with SEND is well planned. When pupils have more complex needs, the school ensures they get the well-targeted support they need. This includes working with other professionals and schools.

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Strong leadership in the early years drives high-quality learning by ensuring that all staff know what to teach and how. Children settle quickly because staff ensure their needs are met. Adults encourage children to talk about familiar stories, listen and communicate well. Children are excited to learn and explore number. They behave well and enjoy playing and talking together.

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Pupils are well mannered and polite. Staff help pupils sort out any disagreements they have. As a result, pupils behave well, and learning is rarely disrupted. Leaders implement secure systems to monitor pupils’ absence and challenge any persistent absence; as a result, this is reducing.

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Leaders ensure that pupils are prepared for the world they live in. Through assemblies and the new relationships curriculum, pupils learn to be tolerant and respectful of others. They have a secure understanding of healthy relationships. They learn about the importance of respecting people from different faiths and cultures. Trips to the Museums of Liverpool and Llangollen and involvement in the ‘grow a pound’ project help broaden life experiences. Pupils, including school safeguarding champions, are proud of their roles in school life.

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Leaders, trustees and governors understand the schools’ priorities for improvement. They provide suitable support and challenge, supported by external specialists. Staff feel proud to work at the school and well supported by their leadership team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know the school community well. They understand how best to support pupils. Leaders ensure staff are well trained. Staff know what action to take if they have concerns about a pupil. Leaders respond quickly and work with other agencies if needed to provide the right support. Weekly meetings ensure safeguarding is a priority at the school.

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Safeguarding

Pupils say they feel safe in school because teachers will always listen and help them. The school teaches pupils how to stay safe, including online. 7 and 8 June 2022

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Leaders carry out appropriate checks on new staff. Records are carefully kept up to date.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have a clear intent for their subjects and are in the process of redesigning many aspects of the school’s curriculum, but have not yet had the opportunity to finalise this work. This means that some areas of the curriculum have not yet been fully developed. Leaders should ensure that there is an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum in place from the early years through to Year 6. This will help teachers to plan the next steps in learning that pupils need so that pupils know more and remember more across the curriculum.  Because some areas of the school’s curriculum are very new, not all staff have received the training they need to support them to deliver the curriculum well. Leaders should ensure that staff are well trained and supported to deliver the curriculum well.

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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. 7 and 8 June 2022

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School details

Website www.wilfredowen.shropshire.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 At the time of the inspection, the headteacher was absent and the acting headteacher was present throughout. The acting headteacher has been in the position since September 2021.  The school uses an alternative provision which is registered.  The school operates its own breakfast club.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The lead inspector met with the chair of trustees, the chair of the governing body and the chief executive officer. 7 and 8 June 2022

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 Inspectors held meetings with the acting headteacher, who is a designated safeguarding lead, the office manager, the assistant headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and other leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics history, and music.  For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors made visits to classrooms. Most of these visits were with leaders, including the assistant headteacher and subject leaders.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, in classrooms and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke to pupils about their learning and experiences at school. They looked at pupils’ work to see how well staff implement the curriculum.

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 Safeguarding documents were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children. Inspectors checked that staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures effectively across the school.  Inspectors considered responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, and 44 free-text responses received during the inspection.  Inspectors spoke to several parents before school.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plan, policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, published information about pupils’ performance and minutes of governing body meetings.  Inspectors considered information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Stephanie Moran, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Ray Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 June 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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