Wellington Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Wellington Primary School Dudley Hill Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 3DE

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 November 2023

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Outcome

Wellington Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Wellington Primary School. They thrive in the caring and harmonious environment that staff create. Pupils are respectful. They understand the importance of treating everyone equally and fairly. They are very confident that they can confide in any adult if they are concerned or worried.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils realise their full potential. Staff skilfully remove barriers from pupils’ learning. This helps pupils to achieve well across the curriculum. Pupils respond well to the high expectations that staff have of their behaviour. During their time at the school, pupils develop into conscientious and active citizens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff help pupils to become well-rounded and tolerant individuals. Pupils care deeply about those less fortunate than themselves. They value their community. Pupils raise funds for a range of worthy causes, including children’s charities. Recently, they helped a local organisation to prepared food packs for the homeless.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils look forward to educational trips and visits to many places of interest, including Skipton Castel, Scarborough, the local church and various museums. Year 6 pupils enthused about their annual residential retreat, where they engaged in team-building and orienteering activities.

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

Governors, leaders and staff are united in their vision for the school. They have created a vibrant and purposeful school where pupils flourish. Children in the early years achieve particularly well. Children become confident, cooperative and skilled communicators from the earliest stages of their educational journey. 22 and 23 November 2023

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Staff have thought carefully about what they want pupils to know. They have created a logically ordered curriculum which teachers deliver effectively. If staff are not satisfied that the curriculum it is helping pupils to achieve to their best, they are quick to amend it. For example, staff recognised that pupils’ depth of understanding was not as strong as it could be in a small number of subjects. Consequently, the school has revised the curriculum in these subjects The curriculum is less securely implemented in these areas.

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In most subjects, the curriculum is taught well. Teachers check how well pupils are learning. This means that teachers have a good understanding of where pupils’ knowledge is secure. In those areas of the curriculum that have recently been revised, assessment is used less effectively to show how well pupils have learned the intended curriculum.

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The school ensures that reading and phonics sit at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils are familiar with the work of different popular children’s authors. They were eager to talk with the inspector about people who visit the school, including local poets, and members of a touring theatre company, who ran workshops focusing on Shakespeare’s plays.

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Staff have had the training that they need to deliver the phonics and early reading curriculums skilfully. Children start to learn phonics soon after they join the Reception classes. Children in the early years enjoy a rich variety of songs, stories and rhymes. Staff ensure that pupils who find reading more difficult get the extra help that they need for as long as this is required. Due to the school’s well-conceived approach to teaching reading, pupils soon develop into confident and fluent readers.

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The school identifies pupils’ and children’s special educational needs early. Staff work with a broad range of specialist partners, and parents and carers, to make sure that pupils with SEND get the individual support that they need quickly. Specialist school staff work closely with teachers and teaching assistants to ensure that different curriculums are modified so that pupils with SEND can readily access all areas of learning.

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Pupils are welcoming and well-mannered. They take learning seriously and listen carefully in class. Children in the early years are typically alert and engaged during story time. Pupils in the nurture base behave exceptionally well. During snack time, they informed the inspector that they know how to be ‘kind, sensible and safe.’

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The school’s support for pupils’ personal and social development is strong. Elected school council members and reading ambassadors are mature and responsible. Pupils understand democratic principles. They recently met a local member of parliament to discuss local issues. Pupils develop their wider interests through a range of experiences . Talented singers perform at public events. In addition, pupils regularly attend various clubs, including, science, cricket, football, craft and choir clubs. Pupils understand the fundamental British values. They appreciate cultural and religious diversity. Pupils also understand that discrimination of any kind is wrong and hurtful. Pupils know how to maintain their physical and mental health. They eat healthily.

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Governors support the school effectively. They know what the school needs to do to further improve. Staff feel that the school is considerate of their workload and well-being. 22 and 23 November 2023

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They appreciate the time that they have to plan learning and adapt the curriculum. Parents participate in phonics and calculation workshops. They enjoy finding out about their children’s leaning and attending coffee mornings.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A few areas of the curriculum have recently been revised. The curriculum is less securely embedded in these subjects than it is in others. The school should carry out further work to check and ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently well across all subjects.  In those areas of the curriculum that have recently been revised, assessment is used less effectively to show how pupils have learned the intended curriculum. This means that gaps in pupils’ learning are not identified. The school should take further action to refine the use of assessment.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014.

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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. 22 and 23 November 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' 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). 22 and 23 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Divinder Purewal

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School details

Website www.wellingtonprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders do not make use of alternative provision.  The senior leadership team has been reorganised and includes a new deputy headteacher.  The school provides a nurture base, which a small number of pupils attend for short periods.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.  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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school. 22 and 23 November 2023

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 The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher. He also held meetings with other staff, including those responsible for SEND, attendance and pupils’ behaviour, welfare and personal development.  The inspector met with members of the governing body. He held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, and design technology. For each deep dive, he discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to pupils read.  The inspector met with pupils to discuss their learning in some other subjects. He spoke with staff about their workload and well-being.  The inspector met with parents and reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View,

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including the free-text comments. He took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single 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.

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Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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