Woodbury Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Woodbury Church of England Primary School Castle Lane, Woodbury, Exeter, Devon EX5 1EA

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Woodbury Church of England Primary School is a warm and welcoming place. Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy their learning. They understand how the school’s values help them to be kind and respectful, and to never give up. Parents and carers speak highly about the school’s community feel and the way in which staff support pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and conduct. Pupils are polite and courteous, welcoming visitors with a smile. They understand the school rules and respond enthusiastically to the routines that are in place. This starts in the early years. Children sustain their attention, follow instructions well and are eager to learn. There is a calm and purposeful environment in classrooms and around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils say that adults listen and support them when they need to share any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs, such as newspaper, sewing, music and football. They value the opportunities they have to become play ministers or members of the school council and ethos group. Pupils say that these roles build their confidence, help others and improve their school.

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

Leaders and staff have high expectations for what all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. Leaders have designed a curriculum that carefully considers what pupils need to know and when they need to know it.

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

Reading is a priority in the school. Staff and pupils share a love of reading. Pupils say that reading takes them to different places and helps them to learn new words. As they move through the school, pupils read a range of texts with increasing accuracy, fluency and expression. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Children begin learning phonics as soon as they start school. They learn and remember new sounds well. Staff benefit from the training they receive to teach phonics effectively. Books that pupils read match the sounds they learn, which helps them to gain confidence. If pupils fall behind, they have the support they need to help them to catch up quickly.

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The mathematics curriculum is designed well. This starts in the early years. Children use their mathematical knowledge to confidently describe patterns in number. Staff develop pupils’ mathematical understanding well as they move through the school. As a result, pupils are able to explain their mathematical thinking when solving more complex problems involving multiplication and division.

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Pupils learn well in most of the wider curriculum subjects. In art, for example, teachers routinely check on what pupils know and remember. They use this information well to deepen pupils’ understanding. Pupils respond well to this. For example, they use words such as ‘contrast’ and ‘bold’ to compare the work of different artists. However, in some areas of the curriculum, this is not the case. Some teachers do not check well enough what pupils know or have remembered. Pupils’ understanding is not deepened. This hampers the progress that some pupils make.

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Leaders are ambitious for what pupils with SEND can achieve. They work closely with outside agencies to make sure that these pupils receive the help they need. Staff know the pupils well. Systems to identify, assess and meet pupils’ needs are clear. Individual pupil plans are precise and regularly reviewed. As a result, most pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers.

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Pupils display exemplary attitudes towards their learning. They behave well in lessons and during social times. Children in the early years are respectful and play well together. They show high levels of independence in what they do. Children get off to a successful start because of this.

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Leaders provide pupils with wide-ranging opportunities to develop personally. Pupils have a strong understanding of fundamental British values, such as the rule of law and individual liberty. They talk about relationships and families with maturity. Pupils develop their sense of character by raising money for charities or by singing at a local care home. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Governors are ambitious for the school. They have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities for improvement. Governors hold leaders to account robustly for their actions and are considerate of staff workload and well-being. Staff value the team spirit that exists in the school. They talk positively about the way in which leaders listen to them and provide them with the time they need to carry out their roles effectively. 19 and 20 April 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that there is a clear safeguarding culture across the school. They provide staff with up-to-date and regular safeguarding training. Staff use this well to spot the signs that a child might be at risk and act quickly. Leaders work well with a range of professionals to help vulnerable pupils and their families. They carry out appropriate checks on the suitability of staff to work with pupils.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in the real and online world. They understand the importance of not sharing personal information and sharing any concerns with a trusted adult.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, assessment is not yet used well enough to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught, or to deepen their understanding. As a result, some pupils do not build successfully on what they already know. Leaders need to ensure that teachers use assessment effectively across all subjects to build pupils’ understanding over time.

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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 an ungraded inspection and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2017.

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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. 19 and 20 April 2023

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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. 19 and 20 April 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268600 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 31 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a voluntary-aided Church of England school which is part of the Diocese of Exeter. The last section 48 inspection took place in November 2017, where the school was judged to be outstanding.  The school is part of the Cedar Tree Federation.  The head of school was appointed in January 2020.  There have been some changes to the governing body since the last inspection.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.

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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 have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 19 and 20 April 2023

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 The inspector met with the head of school, subject leaders, the inclusion lead, staff, pupils, representatives from the governor body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, looked at samples of work and spoke to pupils about their learning.  The inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  The inspector considered how well the school protects pupils and keeps them safe. He met with the designated safeguarding lead to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding. The inspector also scrutinised the school’s single central record.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. Additionally, the inspector spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.

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 The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. He also took into consideration the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Ben Jordan, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 19 and 20 April 2023

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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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