Weald Rise Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Weald Rise Primary School Robin Hood Drive, Harrow Weald, Harrow HA3 7DH

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Outcome

Weald Rise Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Weald Rise is an inclusive learning community. Pupils come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and all are included in school life. Pupils new to the school are made to feel welcome and quickly settle in. Those pupils who join the school at the early stages of speaking English receive the support they need to learn the curriculum well, including specific help with speaking, reading and writing in English.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. They are taught to be kind and to support each other. Pupils are caring towards one another. For example, older pupils act as peer mediators, supporting younger pupils on the playground.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave incredibly well. They work hard in lessons. Pupils’ behaviour means that they can concentrate and learn effectively in class. Pupils take pride in their work and what they have learned. Staff have high expectations for pupils. Both staff and pupils model the school’s motto, ‘rising to the challenge, striving for excellence’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying is rare, and pupils are safe. They trust school staff and know how they can report a concern, either by speaking to an adult or using the worry box in class. Leaders deal effectively with any bullying or unkind behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of extra-curricular clubs that are on offer, such as cricket, art, drama and Minecraft club.

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

Leaders are ambitious and want to provide pupils with a high-quality education. They ensure that children from age two upwards are well cared for and engage in purposeful learning. 23 and 24 May 2023

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Leaders have developed a clearly sequenced and well-planned curriculum. They have ensured that what pupils learn enables them to be ready for their next stage of education. In most subjects, leaders have worked hard to ensure that key skills and knowledge are mapped out and revisited in a coherent way. For example, in mathematics, pupils regularly recall what they have previously been taught. This helps them to develop confidence and fluency.

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Curriculum design begins in the early years so that children build the foundations they need for subsequent learning. For example, children are immersed in counting, number and learning about shapes. Staff are skilled at developing and extending children’s mathematical understanding, and this is built on progressively throughout the school.

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Teachers have received training so that they know how to build up pupils’ knowledge and skills. They select and sequence activities logically so that pupils know more over time. However, some of the curriculum thinking is at an earlier stage of development in a few subjects. Because of this, pupils’ knowledge of key ideas is not as embedded. Leaders are working on further improvements. For example, in geography, leaders have recently refined the curriculum to develop pupils’ locational knowledge, as well as important subject-specific skills, such as using maps.

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Leaders give high priority to reading. Children’s reading journey begins in Nursery, where they enjoy stories and learn songs and rhymes. From Reception onwards, pupils are taught phonics through a structured programme. Phonics sessions are delivered effectively. There are occasional times when some staff do not pronounce each letter sound clearly and distinctly. This can make it harder for pupils to learn the sounds that the letters make.

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Leaders assess pupils’ progression in phonics on a regular basis. They use this information to make sure that phonic sessions are well focused, helping pupils to build on their existing knowledge. Pupils at risk of falling behind are given extra sessions to catch up and keep up. Pupils enjoy reading. They particularly like the weekly sessions where they get to read with older or younger pupils. There is a strong reading culture, which is encouraged as part of the headteacher’s challenge award.

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Staff provide well for pupils with SEND. They are skilled at identifying pupils’ needs. Adaptations to teaching, including individual support when pupils need it, help to ensure that any barriers to learning are reduced. Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their classmates.

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Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils learn beyond the academic curriculum. Pupils have opportunities to visit a range of places to enhance their learning. Trips to local places of worship aim to help pupils understand different religious beliefs. A recent focus on Commonwealth countries helped to develop pupils’ understanding of other countries and cultures. Pupils in Year 5 recently organised an enterprise day to raise funds for a trip to London Zoo. Visitors frequently come to the school to enhance the curriculum, as well as to talk to pupils about their future aspirations. For example, pupils recently enjoyed a visit from a radiologist, who spoke about her career. 23 and 24 May 2023

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Teachers are proud to work at the school and feel valued. They feel that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being and have made changes to improve these.

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The governing body provides support and challenge to ensure that leaders and staff continue to offer all pupils a good quality of education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide regular training and updates for staff to ensure they can identify pupils who are at risk of harm. Staff understand their responsibilities to keep pupils safe and know what to do when there are safeguarding concerns. Leaders follow up concerns quickly and work closely with other agencies when needed.

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Safeguarding

The curriculum offers pupils opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe, both online and in the community.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, leaders’ curriculum design is relatively new. Over time, pupils’ knowledge in these subjects has not developed and deepened as well as it has in others. Leaders should continue with their planned changes to the curriculum, maintaining their focus on ensuring that pupils build detailed knowledge across all subjects.  While overall the early reading curriculum is delivered consistently and effectively, there are a few instances where staff’s modelling of sounds is not as precise as it could be. When this happens, it is unhelpful to pupils’ learning of new sounds. Leaders should implement their plans to address these small number of inconsistencies in staff’s expertise in modelling sounds clearly and precisely.

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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. 23 and 24 May 2023

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2018.

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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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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. 23 and 24 May 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268794 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 16 and 17 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  The school has provision for two-year olds.

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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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team. The inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Computing, history and religious education were also considered as part of this inspection. 23 and 24 May 2023

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 To inspect safeguarding, the inspector looked closely at employment checks, safeguarding records, procedures and processes. He talked to leaders, governors, other staff, and pupils about safeguarding at the school.  The inspector talked informally with pupils, parents and staff to gather general information about school life. He took account of the responses to Ofsted’s surveys of the views of pupils, staff and parents.

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Inspection team

Nicholas Cornell, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 May 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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