Warberry CofE Academy

Inspection of Warberry CofE Academy Cedars Road, Torquay, Devon TQ1 1SB

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Steve Bone. This school is part of Learning Academy Partnership (South West), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Tracey Cleverly, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Joanne Tisdall. 5 and 6 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, enjoy school. They arrive enthusiastically at the start of the day. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm and orderly. Pupils concentrate and have a keen interest in what they are learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils live up to the school’s values of resilience, compassion, respect, honesty, community and responsibility. Pupils get along well at breaktimes. They are mostly kind to each other. Staff sort out any worries swiftly. Pupils, parents and staff appreciate that the school is a safe, nurturing place where relationships are positive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school helps pupils to develop their interests and talents. Pupils enjoy the visiting after-school zoo club. They are enthusiastic about other clubs like football, multi-sports and choir. Pupils take on positions of responsibility. For example, they can become ethos ambassadors, who plan assemblies and help resolve issues on the playground. Pupils take pride in their efforts to help others, such as running mini- marathons to raise money for charity.

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better?

Warberry CofE Academy is in a period of transition. Nevertheless, the trust provides robust support and has helped manage these recent changes, while also improving provision. For example, the trust has supported the school to ensure that, in English and mathematics, the curriculum is well sequenced and sets out the important knowledge the school wants pupils to know and remember. In mathematics, pupils’ learning builds over time. However, in other subjects, the curriculum is not yet fully implemented. Pupils do not cover the depth of knowledge they should. For example, in geography, the subject content does not detail how pupils carry out fieldwork.

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better?

Reading is everyone’s priority. Many pupils join the school with challenges in their early development, including speech and language. Children get off to a good start in the early years. Children in the Nursery learn to listen and develop a love of exciting stories, where vocabulary development is a focus. They start to learn to read as soon as they move into the Reception Year. Children at the early stages of reading practise reading with books that match the sounds they have learned. Pupils further up the school have books that match their ability. The school checks any gaps pupils have in their reading knowledge regularly. Pupils achieve well in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Reading is valued and enjoyed by all.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities follow the same curriculum as their classmates and are typically well supported. In a few cases, however, their individual targets are a little vague. 5 and 6 December 2023

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The school has made significant improvements in pupils’ attendance. Through careful analysis and swift intervention, the school and the trust have reduced persistent absence.

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Personal development is a strength of the school. The personal, social and health education curriculum is well sequenced and age appropriate. It helps pupils to understand the world in which they live. For example, there has been a focus on teaching fundamental British values and the protected characteristics. Pupils understand the importance of equality, respect and tolerance. The ‘70 promises before Year 7’ programme provides pupils with rich and varied experiences that go beyond the academic. Pupils can learn how to play an instrument, visit the local football club or take part in a debate.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. Many commented on the recent significant positive changes. Staff appreciate the ongoing support they get from leaders and the trust for their training, workload and well-being.

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Parents are noticing the improvements that the trust and the school are making. Parents have renewed faith in the school and report that they are happy with what the school offers.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not implemented as intended across all subjects. The trust and school have not given enough consideration to how subject curriculums will enable all pupils to be successful. The school must ensure that subject curriculums are fully embedded, so that pupils know and remember more and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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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. 5 and 6 December 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). 5 and 6 December 2023

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Torquay Hub within the Learning Academy Partnership (South West).  The headteacher joined the school in June 2023.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provider.  The school runs its own breakfast and after-school club.  This is a school with a religious character. The school is designated as a Church of England primary school. The school’s last section 48 inspection took place in July 2018.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 5 and 6 December 2023

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 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.  Inspectors met with the trust lead, the deputy trust lead, the headteacher, the trust director of vulnerable pupils and inclusion, the special educational needs coordinator, the designated safeguarding leads, members of staff, a representative from the local authority, trustees, including the chair of the trust board, and local ethos and advisory committee.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics, geography and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited samples of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about

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their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including the free-text comments, and the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Gavin Summerfield, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Iain Freeland Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 December 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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