Walsingham CE VA Primary School

Inspection of Walsingham CE VA Primary School Wells Road, Walsingham, Norfolk NR22 6DU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 13 and 14 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to their local school. Their attendance is high. The mixed-age classes help pupils to develop good relationships. Pupils have warm and friendly relationships with the adults. They take part in lots of exciting activities, such as overnight residential trips, with pupils from the other schools in their federation. They talk animatedly about the trips they go on. Pupils particularly like visiting the seaside and Cromer Zoo.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is designed to be ambitious and build on pupils’ prior learning. However, not all pupils benefit from the challenging curriculum. Sometimes, pupils do not receive work that is appropriate to what they already know. Some pupils are not supported to quickly develop the skills they need to be confident readers. When this happens, pupils do not keep up with the ambition of the curriculum and fall behind.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In Reception, children develop a range of skills. Children like singing counting songs to help them learn their numbers. During their ‘choosing’ time, they take part in activities that build on earlier learning. For example, children enjoy using measuring scales to see which toys are lighter or heavier.

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better?

The school’s curriculum matches the ambition of the national curriculum. It is designed to meet the needs of pupils who are taught in mixed-age classes. The curriculum is planned to ensure that pupils deepen their understanding over time. In some areas, this is working as the school intends. Teachers deliver new information to pupils clearly and precisely. They adapt what they are teaching depending on pupils’ age or stage of learning. They then check what pupils understand, and quickly help them if they make mistakes. Where this happens, pupils achieve well. They are excited about what they are learning and proud of their work.

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better?

Teachers have been well trained to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has effective processes in place to identify pupils who may need additional help. They are quick to engage with external agencies to get appropriate support for pupils where needed. Staff receive precise plans about how to help pupils with SEND. They follow these plans closely. This helps pupils with SEND to achieve well.

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better?

However, the school has not given staff appropriate training in all areas. Teachers are not always clear on how to adapt their lessons to meet the needs of pupils without SEND. Too often, lessons are not ambitious enough. Teachers are not consistent in when they check pupils’ learning. Therefore, the work that teachers give pupils does not always build on their different starting points. Too often, the pupils in the class all complete similar work. If they finish early, the additional work they receive is not consistently effective at deepening their learning. This means some pupils do not meet the aims of the school’s curriculum. 13 and 14 March 2024

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The school has implemented a phonics programme that supports pupils from Reception to learn to read. Over time, pupils learn the skills they need to read fluently. However, staff have not received appropriate training in how to deliver phonics sessions as leaders intend. This has led to inconsistencies in the delivery of the programme. Too often, pupils are being held back rather than being supported to move ahead. Once pupils finish the phonics programme, they do not consistently benefit from an ambitious reading curriculum. This means that some pupils do not develop the confidence and love of reading that they should.

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During lessons, pupils often behave well. They listen to the adults and follow instructions appropriately. However, there are a few occasions when adults’ expectations of how pupils should behave are too low, and adults do not enforce the behaviour policy consistently. When this happens, this can lead to pupils being distracted and, consequently, falling behind in their work.

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The school ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils are respectful of others. They learn about different religions and beliefs. Many pupils take advantage of the range of clubs on offer. They like being active and developing new skills. Football, art and cooking club are all popular.

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Leaders, including governors, have a strong commitment to ensuring all actions that they take are in pupils’ best interests. They have worked appropriately to ensure consistency for pupils when staff have been absent. Leaders take account of the workload and well-being of staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not ensured that teachers are clear about how to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils. Teachers’ checks on what pupils have learned are inconsistent. This means that sometimes teachers give pupils work that is not adequately adapted to their starting points. Subsequently, not all pupils meet the challenge of the curriculum and do not learn as well as they should.  The school has not trained staff adequately to allow them to deliver their reading curriculum with fidelity. If pupils fall behind in their reading, too often their peers must also revisit prior learning rather than being supported to move ahead. This means pupils do not always develop the skills and knowledge they need to become confident readers. Leaders need to make sure that staff are trained to deliver their reading curriculum as intended.  Occasionally, there are inconsistencies in how effectively adults implement the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

behaviour policy. Sometimes, adults do not have high enough expectations for how pupils should behave. When this happens, a small minority of pupils disrupt 13 and 14 March 2024

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others’ learning. Leaders must make sure that all staff consistently apply the behaviour policy to ensure pupils behave well.

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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). 13 and 14 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 May 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new executive headteacher was appointed in September 2021.  The school is part of a federation that includes four primary schools.  The school does not currently 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.  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.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions 13 and 14 March 2024

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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.  Inspectors reviewed curriculum plans, and scrutinised pupils’ books, for early years, science and geography.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  The lead inspector met with governors and reviewed documentation relating to governance and school improvement.  The lead inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority as well as an external adviser whose services are used by the school. She also scrutinised documentation relating to quality assurance.  Inspectors reviewed attendance records and observed pupils’ behaviour around

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the school site.  An inspector scrutinised documentation and met with leaders to discuss the school’s approach to pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors met with the special educational needs coordinator and reviewed documentation relating to pupils with SEND.  The lead inspector considered responses to the parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. She also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Bessie Owen, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Imran Khan Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 March 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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