Woodcote Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Woodcote Primary School Reading Road, Woodcote, Reading, Berkshire RG8 0QY

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Inspection dates: 20 and 21 February 2024

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Outcome

Woodcote Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is very ambitious. The school aims for all pupils to achieve highly and support each other with their well-being. Pupils’ wider development is developed exceptionally well. The school offers many inspirational extra-curricular activities and opportunities, such as street dance and singing at the O2 Arena. Through these, pupils are helped to develop confidence, independence and readiness for their next stage of education and life. Whole school trips to places, such as Waddesdon Manor and West Wittering beach, are valued highly and described as ‘really special’ by pupils, parents and staff. Most pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and are happy. They receive strong pastoral support and have positive relationships with staff and each other. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are excellent. The behaviour policy is applied fairly and consistently. Older pupils are passionate about their roles and responsibilities, such as helping to take care of the ‘Oakies’, who are the youngest pupils in the school, by modelling positive play, for example. Pupils’ good attendance and punctuality are supported effectively. This ensures that pupils attend school well.

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

The curriculum is designed and sequenced effectively. In core subjects, such as English, pupils are inspired by the curriculum and the school’s focus on books, poetry, plays and literature. This begins in Reception with a joyful approach to learning, such as ‘Secret Reader’ events and sharing nursery rhymes each week. A wide range of traditional and diverse books are at the centre of the school’s approach, and this supports pupils’ learning well. Pupils thrive in response to book clubs, library visits and the strong culture of reading that exists at the school. Pupils achieve particularly strong outcomes in English. In mathematics, most pupils apply efficient strategies that they have learned in lessons and build their knowledge well over time. 20 and 21 February 2024

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In wider curriculum subjects such as geography, pupils have secure knowledge and understanding. They build on what they have learned in Reception and then throughout the school. For example, when learning about longitude and latitude in geography, pupils use prior knowledge about their local environment and build on their wider understanding of places in the United Kingdom and around the world. Staff check how well pupils have learned precisely and adapt provision to make sure that pupils know and remember more. In Reception, staff use errors and misconceptions to explore and deepen learning.

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Staff make sure that pupils retain knowledge and skills, often revisiting learning and connecting lessons to trips, activities and memorable teaching moments. While some staff have very strong subject knowledge, this is not as fully secure across the whole staff team. This means that the curriculum is not implemented as effectively as it might be so that all pupils achieve as well as they could.

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Pupils learn to read well. The school is embedding their chosen approach to phonics to help those at the earliest stages of reading to learn successfully. Books are closely matched to the sounds that pupils have learned. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified quickly. They receive effective support, which includes adaptations to teaching. Where necessary, staff work with external agencies, such as speech and language specialists, to enhance this support. This helps pupils with SEND to learn well.

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The school is highly inclusive. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, have many opportunities to develop their talents and interests. Pupils talk enthusiastically about football, boccia, choir and art clubs. Pupils’ roles of school councillors, ‘play leaders’ and ‘buddies’ are meaningful and contribute well to the life of the school. The school arranges thoughtful opportunities to engage with the local community. For example, pupils create harvest boxes and deliver them to older members of the village. Year 6 pupils run a cafe, and visitors to the school praise the pupils’ behaviour, attitudes and kindness.

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Governors have a clear understanding of the strengths of the school and areas to develop. They carry out their roles effectively. Governors offer support and challenge with a focus on maintaining the school’s ethos, improving the school and prioritising disadvantaged pupils. The school engages with parents and carers positively. Staff overwhelmingly feel supported with their workload. Governors prioritise this with leaders to help staff focus all their efforts on teaching and learning at the school. Parents are extremely supportive. One parent captured the sentiments of many, saying that the school ‘gives me faith that my children can achieve the future they dream of’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 20 and 21 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, staff do not yet have all of the subject knowledge that they need to deliver the curriculum fully effectively. This means that a small proportion of pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should provide appropriate training so that all staff have the right expertise to teach all subjects equally effectively.

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Background

When we have judged 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 December 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.

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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). 20 and 21 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Helen Louise Pearce Harvey

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 The school currently does not use any alternative provision.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the staff and the members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The inspector also met with a representative from the local authority and other leaders within the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and, where possible, looked at samples of pupils’ work. 20 and 21 February 2024

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 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.  The inspector considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View. He gathered the views of pupils and staff through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspector reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including self-evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Carl McCarthy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 20 and 21 February 2024

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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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