Wymondley Junior Mixed and Infant School

Inspection of Wymondley Junior Mixed and Infant School Siccut Road, Little Wymondley, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG4 7HN

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 26 and 27 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending their school. Strong relationships are a notable feature of the school culture. Pupils feel safe and well cared for. If they have any worries, they tell an adult. That is because they know the adults will help them. Adults teach pupils how to manage their well-being. For example, pupils learn helpful strategies such as using breathing techniques to feel calm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in Reception, quickly settle in after joining. Adults are proactive in making sure that pupils feel a strong sense of belonging. Pupils benefit from the clear routines that are in place. Older pupils are supported to look after the younger children. This helps older pupils feel responsible, and it makes the younger children feel welcomed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ success. Pupils are expected to work hard, and adults support them to do so. Pupils enjoy the wide range of enrichment opportunities on offer and are very positive about sports such as swimming and football. Many pupils enjoy singing in morning choir. They really like playtime. The playground includes a variety of activities that the children enjoy engaging with, both with their friends and with adults. Pupils particularly love dancing, ball games and climbing on the equipment.

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better?

The school has ensured that pupils benefit from an education that is both challenging and enriching. Within the curriculum plans, staff are clear about the important skills and knowledge that pupils need to acquire. Teachers know what to teach pupils and when.

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better?

Overall, teachers are skilled at delivering the ambitious curriculum. They consider what pupils know before moving them on with their learning. If there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge, teachers quickly spot them, and they adapt their teaching to address this.

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better?

Staff are equally confident adapting teaching to ensure they deliver the curriculum in a way that meets the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers use their knowledge of pupils’ needs and what pupils with SEND know to plan effectively. This ensures that pupils with SEND are able to achieve well and access the same curriculum as their peers successfully.

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better?

The curriculum is not delivered as effectively in some areas because teachers do not check closely enough how well pupils are doing. Pupils receive work that is not well matched to their needs. This can result in pupils becoming disengaged with their learning or falling behind their peers.

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better?

In Reception, children benefit from leaders’ high expectations of what they should achieve. Staff plan activities that support children to achieve well. Despite only 26 and 27 September 2023

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recently joining the school, children are settled and motivated to do well. Adults have ensured that the environment is engaging and offers ample opportunities to develop children’s curiosity and interest. Children start learning phonics as soon as they join the school. Strategies are used to develop children’s language skills. For example, songs and nursery rhymes are an important part of children’s learning. Adults further support children with developing their communication through high- quality talk and interactions. This contributes towards children being well prepared for Year 1.

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Many pupils read regularly with an adult. Most older pupils are skilled readers. However, while this is the case, the school has not gone far enough in supporting a minority of pupils who are at an early stage of reading. Although most pupils keep up with the phonics programme, some do not. There are some inconsistencies in the way adults deliver the lessons. A minority of pupils who are struggling to keep up do not receive the most appropriate help. A small minority of pupils are too slow in gaining the skills they need to read confidently.

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Most staff are highly skilled in supporting pupils to display excellent behaviour. They purposefully teach pupils how to manage their feelings. Adults model the behaviours they expect to see. Pupils are very polite and friendly to adults and each other. Pupils celebrate each other’s achievements and praise each other for doing well. Lessons are very rarely disrupted due to off-task behaviour.

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The opportunities provided to support pupils’ wider development are rich and varied. Many pupils attend a club that they enjoy, such as gardening, reading or tag rugby. There is a wide variety of activities in which all pupils participate, such as forest school, playing the violin and trips to Wymondley woods. Pupils not only enjoy these opportunities, but they also develop their skills and confidence.

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School leaders have excellent relationships with the school community. Governors are proactive in supporting the school to do well. All parents would recommend the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A small number of pupils who are at an early stage of reading do not do as well as they should. In these cases, staff do not deliver the phonics programme consistently well. When pupils fall behind, staff do not give the weakest readers the most appropriate support to catch up. The school needs to ensure that all staff are equally well trained to deliver the phonics programme effectively. The 26 and 27 September 2023

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school must prioritise pupils who are not keeping up and give them the effective support they need so they catch up swiftly.  In a few instances, the work provided is not matched closely enough to what pupils already know and need to learn. The school needs to ensure that teachers check what pupils know and use this information accurately to set work that supports pupils to learn more.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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’ 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). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Tom Watts and Meghan Brown

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher was appointed in September 2023. A new assistant headteacher/ special educational needs coordinator was appointed in September 2023.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and 26 and 27 September 2023

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following areas: early reading, mathematics and history. In each area, inspectors met with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector also reviewed curriculum documentation with the headteacher.  Inspectors scrutinised education, health and care plans and ‘personal learning profiles’ from a sample of pupils across different classes.  The lead inspector held a discussion with a representative of the local authority.  The lead inspector held a meeting with members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body.  The lead inspector scrutinised the school’s behaviour and attendance records.  Inspectors spoke to a range of pupils from different classes across both days of

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inspection.  The lead inspector considered the 31 responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 26 free-text responses. The lead inspector also considered 16 responses to Ofsted’s survey of staff and 28 responses from pupils to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Bessie Owen, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Amy Luu Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 September 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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