Wellfield Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Wellfield Junior School Dumber Lane, Sale, Cheshire M33 5QX

p.1

Inspection dates: 20 and 21 September 2023

p.1

Outcome

Wellfield Junior School continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Wellfield Junior School is a friendly and welcoming school. Staff are determined to make sure pupils ‘care, respect, learn and succeed together’. There are supportive and respectful relationships between pupils and adults. These help pupils to feel happy and safe in school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for what pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve academically. This includes pupils who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced based provision). Pupils are keen to learn and achieve well across a range of subjects. They behave well because of the high expectations that staff set for their conduct.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They especially like the different leadership roles they can take on. For example, the pupils who act as Year 6 buddies make a significant contribution to the smooth transition into school for pupils from the infant school. Pupils develop into active citizens who enjoy helping others and raising money for charitable causes.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Parents, carers and pupils value the diverse range of clubs, such as kitchen garden, choir, art and sports clubs. This is because they offer something for everyone. Leaders ensure that they help pupils to find their passion. Pupils’ horizons are broadened through a range of exciting trips and visits. This helps to bring pupils’ learning to life.

p.1

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

The school has been led admirably through a period of considerable change. With the support of the local authority and governors, swift action has been taken to improve the quality of education. The school has not shied away from making difficult decisions to ensure that it is on a pathway to success. Governors monitor all aspects of the school’s performance. They seek external scrutiny to check their processes. 20 and 21 September 2023

p.1

2

The atmosphere in the school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave sensibly as they move around the school. They know the school rules, and most pupils adhere to them. Pupils show positive attitudes to their learning. In lessons, they help each other and take care not to disturb others.

p.2

2

The school’s curriculum is well crafted across all subjects. There has been careful consideration taken to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND and pupils who attend the specialist resource provision.

p.2

2

The school’s curriculum is followed carefully. Staff plan learning that helps pupils build on what they already know. They mainly question pupils effectively to test out their knowledge before moving on to new content. Teachers also usually ensure that they check what pupils have learned at the end of each unit of work to help inform the way in which their next steps in learning are taught. However, in some subjects, staff have only recently started to provide sufficient opportunities to recap and recall earlier learning. This means that some pupils are less confident than they could be in recalling learning from previous years.

p.2

2

The school has prioritised the teaching of reading. Across the school, displays and creative areas celebrate books and help to develop a love of reading. Pupils enjoy selecting books from in their school library. They also enjoy listening to the stories that staff read to them at the end of each day. This is helping to foster a love of reading across the school.

p.2

2

The school’s phonics and reading curriculum are new. Staff have had training. They usually make sure that any pupils who are struggling get the support they need to help them catch up. However, for a few pupils who struggle to read, books are not matched closely enough to the sounds they know and are learning. This holds back the progress that they could make. Nevertheless, by the end of Year 6, pupils’ achievement in reading is strong.

p.2

2

Pupils’ additional needs are identified accurately and early. Staff increasingly adapt the delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can learn the same content alongside their peers. In the specialist resource provision, staff and therapists work together well to tailor learning to pupils’ individual needs. They also work collaboratively with parents to create a detailed understanding of each pupil’s requirements. Pupils who attend the specialist resourced provision access some mainstream lessons as part of their provision. This helps these pupils to feel part of the school’s community.

p.2

2

The school creates many opportunities to engage with parents. For example, workshop sessions and online resources enable parents to support their child’s learning at home effectively. Parents are highly positive about the recent changes made at the school.

p.2

2

The curriculum provides many opportunities to enhance pupils’ personal development. It covers an age-appropriate range of topics that helps to prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils understand the importance of maintaining healthy relationships. Across the curriculum, they gain an appreciation of our diverse society. They respect and 20 and 21 September 2023

p.2

3

value differences between themselves and others. Pupils care about others and are keen to raise money for charitable causes, for example, the local food bank.

p.3

3

Staff are highly positive about the support and consideration that they receive from the school. There is a strong culture of teamwork among the staff. They are all on board with the direction the school is taking.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers have only recently started to provide sufficient opportunities to recap and recall earlier learning. This means that some pupils are less confident than they should be in recalling previous learning. The school should ensure that in these subjects, teachers afford pupils sufficient opportunities to recap and recall important earlier learning so that pupils can embed and use their knowledge fluently.  At times, the books that the weakest readers read are not well matched to their current knowledge of letters and the sounds they make. As a result, some of these pupils do not learn to read fluently and confidently as quickly as they might. The school should review the reading books that are used in school and sent home so that pupils practise their reading by using books that are well matched to the letters and sounds that they know.

p.3

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.

p.3

Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014. 20 and 21 September 2023

p.3

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.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 20 and 21 September 2023

p.4

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 13 September 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder from Year 3 to Year 6. At the time of the inspection, 11 pupils were on roll in this provision.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time inspection judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, she met with the subject leader, discussed curriculums, visited a sample of lessons, met with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and reviewed samples of pupils’ work. She also observed pupils from Year 3 to Year 4 reading to a familiar adult. 20 and 21 September 2023

p.5

6

 The inspector considered other subjects in the school’s curriculum. She talked to the leaders of these subjects. She also spoke to pupils about their learning in these subjects.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher, other leaders and staff.  The inspector met with governors, including the chair of the governing body. She also spoke with a representative of the local authority and a national leader of education.  The inspector spoke with different groups of pupils to gather their views of the school and talked to them about their behaviour and learning. She also observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at playtime.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. She also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  The inspector met with those responsible for safeguarding at the school. She scrutinised a range of documentation in relation to safeguarding. She also spoke with

p.6

6

governors, staff and pupils about safeguarding.  The inspector considered a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school-development plan, minutes of governing body meetings, headteacher reports and the leaders’ self-evaluation document.

p.6

Inspection team

Julie Barlow, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 September 2023

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7