Woodmansterne Primary School

11 and 12 July 2023 Inspection of a good school: Woodmansterne Primary School Carshalton Road, Woodmansterne, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3HU

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Outcome

Woodmansterne Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Strong relationships between staff and pupils are at the heart of this happy school. Pupils feel safe and well cared for. Pupils rightly consider every member of staff as a trusted adult. The four core values of respect, responsibility, resilience and reflection permeate the school. Pupils are calm. They move around the school maturely and respectfully. They are sensitive to each other’s needs and are quick to support each other. Bullying is not a problem here. Staff are quick to intervene and support pupils if there are any issues.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils demonstrate exemplary attitudes to learning. Right from the early years, staff have high expectations and are ambitious for all pupils to achieve their very best. Pupils are keen to reach and exceed these expectations. They demonstrate this through a sharp focus on their learning. Across the school, pupils achieve well. They get off to a particularly strong start to their education in the early years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the school’s wide-ranging programme, which enriches the curriculum. This includes numerous opportunities for outdoor learning. Pupils love tending to and caring for the many animals on site. They take these responsibilities seriously. The school’s ‘No Outsiders’ programme has embedded a whole school culture of inclusion and equality.

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

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum across all subjects is effectively sequenced. This means that pupils remember their learning. The curriculum in early years is well developed. Leaders are ambitious for every child to experience a rich curriculum across all areas of learning. However, in key stages 1 and 2, the curriculum in some subjects does not yet connect well enough with what children learn in early years. This means that pupils are not always building their knowledge as well as they could be. Leaders are aware of this and have already begun making these links more explicit in some subjects. 11 and 12 July 2023

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Teachers plan and teach lessons in a way that means that pupils can easily remember their learning. Pupils make sense of their learning because of the way it has been linked together and put into context for them. Right from the early years, staff’s skilled interactions ensure that children are engrossed in their learning. Leaders have carefully considered how to check what children know and remember. Where there are gaps, teachers confidently address these.

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Leaders carefully identify and provide for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff quickly understand pupils’ barriers to learning and help them to overcome these through effective adaptations and support. This enables all pupils to successfully access the curriculum. Leaders have also focused on developing pupils’ independence. This starts in early years, where children select resources confidently and are active, independent learners. Throughout the school, pupils are quick to get on with their learning.

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Leaders have prioritised reading. Pupils and staff are keen to share their favourite books in the newly developed woodland library. Leaders have mapped out texts across the school to develop a love of reading. These include texts to promote a culture of inclusion. Reading is taught effectively. Teachers are well trained and pupils practise reading daily to develop their skills. Many children in early years get off to a great start to reading. Targeted additional support ensures that every pupil keeps up with their peers. However, books are sometimes not matched precisely enough to the sounds that pupils know. As a result, some pupils struggle to maintain fluency or read with understanding.

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Staff have high expectations for behaviour and expect all pupils to focus on their learning. Behaviour around the school is settled and calm. Pupils greet visitors warmly and are keen to talk about what they have been learning. Leaders make sure that pupils know the school’s golden rules and values. Pupils understand these and know what to do to achieve them. The school’s ‘values ambassadors’ act as role models for the whole school.

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School and trust leaders have ensured that pupils learn about equality and diversity. Alongside the curriculum, well-chosen texts and assemblies help to deepen pupils’ learning. Fundamental British values are taught explicitly. Pupils learn about democracy through opportunities, such as voting for year group representatives on the pupil parliament. Leaders have thoughtfully planned out character and leadership development for pupils. Across the school, pupils relish their leadership responsibilities.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders. For example, they are not overburdened by assessment. Leaders have thought strategically about how to consider staff workload and well-being. They have made conscious decisions to reduce teachers’ workload around marking and planning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Robust procedures underpin thorough record-keeping. Leaders have implemented an extensive training programme. This ensures that staff are aware of local issues. Leaders 11 and 12 July 2023

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are tenacious at following up any concerns with external agencies to ensure that pupils and their families receive the right support. Governors have prioritised safeguarding. They routinely check the school’s processes by talking to staff and pupils.

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Online safety is expertly woven through the wider curriculum. Pupils talk confidently about their trusted adults. They are reassured by the many ways they can share worries, such as the ‘worry bubbles’ or ‘ask it baskets’.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Books are not always matched well enough to pupils' reading knowledge. This hinders some pupils' reading fluency and ability to make sense of what they are reading. Staff need to use their knowledge of pupils' reading to ensure that books are more closely matched to the sounds they know.  In some subjects, leaders have not considered carefully enough how the subject curriculum in key stages 1 and 2 builds on what children learn in early years. As a result, pupils are not always using their prior knowledge as well as they could be. Leaders need to ensure that the school's curriculum takes account of and builds on what children learn in early years.

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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 predecessor school, of the same name, to be good in November 2016.

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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. 11 and 12 July 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. 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Woodmansterne Primary School converted to become an academy school in July 2019. When its predecessor school, Woodmansterne Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of The Bourne Education Trust. The board of trustees has delegated some strategic responsibilities to the school’s local governing committee. This is outlined in the trust’s scheme of delegation. The trust remains the responsible body for this school.  The school has an onsite nursery that was part of this inspection.  The school runs its own breakfast and after-school club.  The school does not currently use any 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 their evaluation of the school. 11 and 12 July 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and art and design. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also heard pupils read to a member of staff.  The inspector met with leaders, staff, pupils and those with responsibility for governance, including the chair of the local governing committee and a member of the board of trustees.  The inspector observed break and lunchtimes and the start and end of the school day.  The inspector scrutinised minutes of the local governor committee meetings.  The inspector met with the special education needs coordinator to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND. They visited lessons to look at the support these pupils were receiving.  The inspector considered the responses to the confidential staff and pupil

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surveys. They took account of the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, parents’ free-text comments.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector looked at the safeguarding information on the school’s website and other documents, records and policies. The inspector met with leaders and spoke with pupils and staff. They scrutinised school records of the safeguarding checks carried out on adults working at the school and spoke with those who have responsibility for governance.

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Inspection team

Emma Law, 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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