Woodlands Primary School

Inspection of Woodlands Primary School Alban Crescent, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 5JF

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 6 and 7 July 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Woodlands School learn in a calm, orderly and caring environment. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils feel safe and enjoy school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the support they receive which helps with their well-being, such as being in the conservation area, the nurture room or looking after the school guinea pig. They trust adults to help them with any problems they have. Bullying is rare and pupils feel confident that if it does occur, adults will deal with it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They listen to their teachers and enjoy learning. They work effectively together and demonstrate high levels of respect for each other when discussing their learning, or playing together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning about other countries and people that they admire. Pupils read from a wide range of books and stories representing different cultures. They understand and respect that some people and places are different. This inspires pupils and helps them understand the school’s values of consideration and kindness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about the range of clubs on offer to them. They are ambitious and ready for their next steps in the future.

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better?

Leaders, including governors, have worked effectively since the previous inspection to develop the curriculum further. Curriculum plans are ambitious and lay knowledge out in a logical order. Teachers identify gaps in pupils’ learning effectively. Staff keep records of these gaps and support pupils to revise key information in future lessons. This supports pupils to know and remember more over time.

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better?

On the whole, new knowledge is introduced at the right time so that pupils can build on previous learning. However, there are some instances where knowledge in some subjects is not clearly identified, such as key subject-specific vocabulary. This means that teachers are not always sure of everything that pupils need to know.

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better?

Teachers have good knowledge of the subjects that they teach. Teachers appreciate the training and resources that leaders provide as it helps with their workload. Teachers use effective teaching routines and set expectations that support learning. This supports pupils’ confidence in their learning. Pupils remember what they have been taught. They can answer increasingly complex questions and complete more challenging tasks over time.

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better?

The early reading curriculum is well planned and taught. Pupils listen carefully to teachers reading and apply what they have learned to read familiar and new words. The books pupils use to learn to read are well chosen and match the sounds pupils know. This helps pupils to become fluent and confident readers. Pupils enjoy 6 and 7 July 2022

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reading. Leaders keep track of whether pupils are learning well and provide pupils with extra support to catch up if it is needed.

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Pupils behave well in lessons. They have positive attitudes to their learning. They take pride in the work that they produce.

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In the early years, children learn well. They listen to adults and concentrate on their work. Early years leaders have developed a curriculum which supports children to practise their learning throughout the day. The positive environment supports children to do this. As a result, children are ready for the next stage of their learning.

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School leaders prioritise ambition, resilience and perseverance as key aspects of pupils’ personal development. Teaching resources and plans reflect these values and so pupils understand how to be resilient and try hard. Additionally, pupils learn about a range of topics, such as healthy relationships and lifestyles.

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Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to attend school clubs. Leaders have made these accessible to all pupils. Pupils are enthusiastic about the range of visitors that they have who support them in their ambitions and teach them what can be achieved if they aim high. Leaders’ approach to provision beyond the academic helps to broaden pupils’ interests and understanding.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the full curriculum. Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, including those with SEND. Pupils’ needs are accurately identified and plans for support put in place. These plans show the adults clearly what help pupils need. Pupils with SEND achieve as well as all other pupils.

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Leaders and governors have led the school effectively since the previous inspection. They have maintained a focus on curriculum development, pupils’ safety and staff and pupil well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All necessary pre-employment checks are carried out and recorded appropriately. Staff access a range of appropriate training to help them to identify concerns about pupils and report them quickly. Leaders keep detailed records of concerns and have effective communication systems to ensure that key staff are aware of pupils’ vulnerabilities. They work systematically and effectively to ensure that other agencies help the school to protect pupils and provide swift support for families and pupils.

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Safeguarding

Staff teach pupils well about how to stay safe, including when working online. 6 and 7 July 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some curriculum plans do not identify all the important knowledge teachers need to teach, such as key subject-specific vocabulary. As a result, pupils do not learn all of the curriculum vocabulary that they should. Leaders must identify all key knowledge that pupils need to know so there are no gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

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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. 6 and 7 July 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226997 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 24 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new leadership team has been established since the previous inspection.  A small number of pupils are in registered full-time alternative provision.  The school runs a 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.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and science. For each deep dive, inspectors considered the design of the curriculum, spoke with leaders, visited lessons, scrutinised pupils’ books or listened to children reading and spoke with teachers and pupils.  Inspectors spoke with the local authority improvement partner. 6 and 7 July 2022

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 To inspect safeguarding, meetings were held with the designated safeguarding lead, teachers and pupils.  Inspectors spoke with governors and leaders with responsibility for SEND and early years.  Inspectors spoke with parents and carers of pupils with SEND.  The lead inspector also spoke with the leaders of the alternative provision used by the school.  Inspectors observed and spoke with pupils, including at breaktimes, and took account of the 38 responses to Ofsted’s survey of pupils’ views.  Inspectors reviewed the 36 responses and the 33 free-text responses submitted to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.  The inspectors took account of the 21 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Debbie Rogan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Linda Bartlett Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 July 2022

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