Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School

Inspection of Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School Wellfield Drive, Burnley, Lancashire BB12 0JD

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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 Requires improvement 1 and 2 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school provides a nurturing environment where pupils and their families are valued and supported. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are happy. They feel well cared for and secure.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values of faith, hope and love are embedded throughout the curriculum. These values underpin the harmonious relationships between everyone in the school. Pupils cheerfully welcome visitors. They are kind and well-mannered.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils’ academic success across each area of the curriculum. Most pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Children in the early years are well prepared for key stage 1 and pupils in Year 6 are ready for their secondary education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes. They enjoy the praise and rewards that they receive for behaving well and working hard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the range of opportunities on offer beyond the academic curriculum. They spoke excitedly about visitors to school and the vast array of clubs on offer. Children in the early years, and pupils across the rest of the school, benefit from outdoor learning in the school woodland area. This helps pupils to learn more about the natural world and to develop their teamworking skills.

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better?

The school has been through a period of considerable change and uncertainty since it was last inspected, for example the instability in staffing levels. However, the school has made astute appointments to ensure that staffing is settled and all are on board with the direction that has been set for further development. The school has successfully overhauled the quality of education that pupils receive. It has developed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum in most subjects from the early years to the end of key stage 2.

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better?

The school’s well-designed curriculum means that staff know what pupils need to learn and when this should happen. Staff have benefited from a wide range of curriculum training. This is evident in their subject knowledge and the way in which they present learning. However, on occasion, some pupils do not have enough opportunity to recap and consolidate their learning. At times, gaps in pupils’ knowledge, including their subject vocabulary, go unchecked. This sometimes makes it difficult for pupils to make connections between their existing knowledge and new learning.

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better?

Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. There are effective systems in place to identify pupils’ additional needs. The school ensures that pupils with SEND receive the support that they need to achieve well. 1 and 2 November 2023

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The school promotes a love of reading. Pupils benefit from reading a wide range of interesting books. Staff have received training so that they deliver the new early reading curriculum effectively. As a result, most children in the early years and pupils in key stage 1 gain a secure knowledge of phonics. However, a small number of pupils are not supported to catch up in phonics as well as they could. This hinders these pupils from becoming fluent readers as quickly as they should.

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Pupils behave sensibly in and around school. They know how to follow the school rules. Low-level disruption is rare. Older pupils are proud to be positive role models for children in the early years. Pupils, including children in early years, have positive attitudes to learning and they work well together on tasks. Most pupils attend school regularly.

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The school ensures that pupils, including those most vulnerable, receive the support they need to thrive. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and how to keep themselves physically healthy. They learn about the differences between people, for example different families and religions. Pupils understand the importance of treating everyone with respect. Over time, pupils develop into caring and thoughtful citizens.

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Governors use their wide range of expertise effectively. They understand their statutory duties and fulfil their responsibilities well. Governors assure themselves about the quality of education that pupils receive by questioning leaders thoroughly. The school is considerate of staff’s workload and well-being. For example, it considers how best to implement new initiatives without overburdening staff.

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The school provides useful guidance for parents and carers on how best to support their children’s learning at home. For example, ‘reading cafes’ and workshops about phonics help explain to parents how to support their children with reading at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, pupils do not get enough chances to recap on what they have learned previously. Sometimes, gaps in their subject vocabulary and knowledge are not picked up well enough. This means that pupils cannot always apply what they have learned previously to new learning. The school should develop teachers’ strategies to check prior learning and subject vocabulary in these subjects to ensure that pupils know more and remember more over time.  A small number of pupils at an early stage of reading are not supported to catch up in phonics as well as they could be. This hinders how well some of these pupils develop reading fluency. The school should ensure that pupils who have 1 and 2 November 2023

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gaps in their reading knowledge are supported to catch up with their peers as quickly as possible.

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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). 1 and 2 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 May 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a Methodist and Anglican church school within the Diocese of Blackburn. The most recent section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place in September 2023. The next section 48 inspection is due from September 2028.  Since the previous inspection, several teaching staff have been newly appointed to the school.  The school does not make use of any 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. 1 and 2 November 2023

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 This is the third inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. The lead inspector also spoke with representatives of the local authority and the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also observed some pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects. They spoke to pupils about their learning in some of these subjects and looked at samples of their work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single

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central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils, and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke with pupils in meetings and around the school at lunchtimes and breaktimes.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including the leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement, and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. Inspectors also spoke with some parents during the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to the online surveys for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils to consider.

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Inspection team

Victoria Burnside, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Peter Berry Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 November 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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