Outwoods Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Outwoods Primary School Southlands, Atherstone, Warwickshire CV9 1EH

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Outcome

Outwoods Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at this school. Outwoods Primary School offers them a warm and welcoming environment. Pupils love coming to school and most attend regularly. Leaders and teachers have high expectations, which pupils meet. When pupils need help, their teachers support them. Consequently, pupils feel at ease and are ready to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils participate in exciting lessons that help them to achieve well. This boosts their confidence when attempting more challenging work. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (Bluebells) achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to make decisions and to express their views. They listen to and respect others’ viewpoints. Some pupils are ‘gender champions’, and they ensure that everyone works and plays together nicely. Bullying is rare. When it happens, pupils are confident that staff will sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value their extra-curricular activities, which develop their interests and talents. They attend clubs that develop their passion for nature and living sustainably. Their vivid display work reinforces the school’s motto of ‘love of learning, learning for life’. Pupils are delighted to care for the school’s pets. Cilla, the school cat, is a firm favourite.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and balanced curriculum. This is organised logically so that pupils’ knowledge builds over time. For each subject, leaders have identified the key knowledge and vocabulary that they want pupils to learn. For example, in art and design, Year 6 pupils talked with confidence about Ryan Alexiev’s use of tone in his cereal portraits.

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

While curriculum planning is developing well, teachers’ use of assessment needs attention. For example, in mathematics, children in the early years foundation stage and key stage 1 11 and 12 July 2023

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are sometimes moved on too quickly to new topics without having mastered some key number facts. This results in some pupils in key stage 2 struggling with automatic recall of facts. This slows their progress.

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Children in the early years foundation stage are happy and enjoy learning. Routines are well established from the minute that they join the school. The magical nursery setting excites children and stimulates learning. Leaders ensure that the school’s curriculum starts in the early years where vocabulary for all subjects of the national curriculum is introduced.

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However, in the early years foundation stage and key stage 1, teachers do not pay enough attention to ensure that pupils form their letters and numbers correctly. This prevents pupils from recording their work neatly and, at times, affects the accuracy of their recording.

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The culture of reading is strong throughout the school. Staff are well trained to deliver the early reading curriculum. Pupils who find reading more difficult get the help that they need and keep up with their peers. Teachers read to pupils from a range of books including fiction and non-fiction. Pupils love these sessions. In Year 3, they did not want the story session to end.

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Pupils with SEND are identified without delay. They work in small groups with knowledgeable teaching assistants who support them well to keep up. Pupils with SEND, both in the main school and in Bluebells, are fully included in all aspects of school.

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Pupils enjoy learning. Teachers break down learning into manageable steps so that pupils are very clear about what they need to do. Classrooms are exciting learning environments where there is no low-level disruption.

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Fundamental British values underpin curriculum planning. Pupils learn to care for the world and to respect the beliefs and cultures of others. Pupils in Year 6 compared the democracy of today with that of the ancient Greeks. This provided an important building block for pupils’ understanding of how Parliament works.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge, and they plan pupils’ learning collectively. This means that they know pupils’ previous and future learning. They present new learning clearly with a specific focus on making links with other subjects, such as linking art and design with geography when studying coastlines.

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Staff are happy to work at the school because leaders and governors ensure that that they are well trained. Leaders stress the importance of work-life balance and ensure that staff’s workload is managed effectively.

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Governors know the school well and provide support and challenge for leaders. They work strategically to help leaders to prioritise the actions for school improvement. 11 and 12 July 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding. They encourage vigilance among staff. They know how to report any concerns swiftly. This helps leaders to take appropriate action quickly to keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

Record-keeping is thorough and detailed. Leaders carry out relevant checks to ensure that adults are suitable to work with children.

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Safeguarding

Leaders understand safeguarding risks in and around school. They work closely with external agencies to keep pupils safe. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online.

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Safeguarding

Pupils have a trusted adult in school, who they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Younger pupils do not form letters and numbers well. This can lead to mistakes and limits pupils’ speed and accuracy in their work. Leaders should ensure that staff consistently model their high expectations of handwriting and number formation, so that pupils know how to present their work accurately.  In some subjects, teachers do not assess learning thoroughly enough before they move pupils on to new topics. This prevents pupils from firmly embedding learning in long- term memory. Leaders should ensure that assessments are in place for checking end-of- unit understanding so that pupils can develop fluency and automaticity in their learning.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2017. 11 and 12 July 2023

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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. 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 and 24 May 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a specialist resourced provision catering for 10 children who have an education, health and care plan for complex communication and interaction difficulties.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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, the senior leadership team, and the mathematics and the SEND coordinator.  The inspector met with the leader of early years foundation stage.  The inspector also met with the school improvement partner, the chair of governors, and members of the governing body. 11 and 12 July 2023

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 Deep dives in reading, mathematics, and art and design were carried out. Each deep dive included discussions with subject leaders, visits to lessons, discussions with teachers and pupils, and scrutiny of pupils’ work.  The inspector heard several pupils read.  The inspector considered a range of documents provided by the school in relation to curriculum planning, assessments and safeguarding.  The inspector reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses.  The inspector spoke to several parents as they were collecting their children from the school.  The inspector reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire and spoke to staff during the inspection.  The inspector spoke to pupils informally in lessons, out on the playground and at lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Bogusia Matusiak-Varley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 July 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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