West Witney Primary School & Nursery

Inspection of West Witney Primary School & Nursery Edington Road, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 5FZ

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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 4 and 5 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love being part of this vibrant and supportive school community. They talk with enthusiasm about the many exciting opportunities that staff arrange for them. Pupils are very happy and safe here. When asked to describe their school, pupils used phrases such as ‘this is a place for everyone’, ‘teachers support our learning’ and ‘pupils are kind and look out for each other’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn across an interesting and engaging curriculum. They develop the skills needed to be successful. Pupils enjoy the on-site forest area, where they learn about the natural environment and habitats. The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievements. As a result, pupils achieve well and behave positively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk passionately about the school’s values. Staff promote and encourage pupils to be determined and inquisitive learners. Relationships between staff and pupils are caring and respectful. Pupils are confident to talk with trusted adults if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

During breaktimes, pupils play together well and show respect towards each other. Children in the early years develop positive relationships with each other. Parents are supportive of the school. A parent captures the view of many when they say that, ‘West Witney is a wonderful school, everyone is so welcoming and children are thriving.’

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

The school has designed and implemented an ambitious curriculum. It outlines the essential knowledge and key vocabulary that pupils will learn over time. The curriculum is sequenced carefully. It helps pupils to develop subject skills while they learn interesting information about important topics. In history, for example, pupils learn about the Witney wool trade, while developing their understanding of using different sources of evidence.

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

Teachers use their secure subject knowledge to carefully explain new information so pupils can relate this to what they have previously learned. There are well-planned activities that develop pupils’ understanding. Pupils talk confidently about their learning, showing how their knowledge is building over time. Teachers check how well pupils are learning the curriculum in effective ways. However, in a few subjects, the school is refining the process. As a result, pupils are not yet achieving as effectively as they could or securing deep levels of knowledge across all subjects.

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

Starting in Nursery, children are enthusiastic about their learning and are eager to do their best. Staff provide experiences and opportunities that support children to become keen learners. For example, in the hairdressing salon role play area, staff help children develop their language skills. They do this by supporting children to make appointments and talk about different hairstyles. Children are provided with a high level of care, clear boundaries and a caring environment. However, the school recognises the need to ensure a greater consistency in the different planned activities children undertake, so that children can build their knowledge and skills securely in readiness for key stage 1. 4 and 5 June 2024

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The school acts quickly to identify pupils with additional needs accurately, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils receive targeted and precise support to enable them to access the full curriculum. This includes the use of specialist resources to help pupils with SEND learn alongside their classmates.

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The school has prioritised the teaching of reading and it is the gateway to the school’s curriculum. From the early years, children follow a systematic approach to learning phonics. They read books that precisely match the sounds they are learning. The school identifies any pupils who are falling behind and provides the corrective support promptly. Staff make sure that pupils quickly learn to read. Pupils have access to a range of high- quality texts and they love reading. The school’s effective work supports pupils to read widely with confidence.

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The school supports pupils’ wider development effectively. It ensures that pupils understand the need to have strong morals and values to be good citizens. Pupils behave well and are very respectful towards each other and staff. The school’s clear expectations and rigorous actions result in pupils attending well. Pupils gain an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships. They learn about diversity, equality and tolerance. Pupils are encouraged to take on leadership roles, such as eco-leaders, school councillors and head boy and head girl.

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Pupils understand their responsibility to help others. For example, they create shoe boxes of gifts for children and write to a Member of Parliament about homelessness. They know how to stay healthy and active. Pupils learn how to make healthy food choices and enjoy making nutritious foods. They learn how to keep safe when, for example, using the internet, riding their bike and sitting around the campfire.

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The school is highly committed and has a determined drive to have a positive impact on pupils’ education. Those responsible for governance have a detailed understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Staff appreciate the professional development they receive to help them support pupils effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment in a few foundation subjects is less well developed than in the rest of the school. Consequently, the school is less clear about how well pupils are learning the curriculum over time. The school should strengthen how staff check pupils’ learning across the curriculum to ensure that pupils are achieving well in every subject.  In the early years, learning activities do not always consistently match the intended curriculum strongly enough. This means that children do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise and knowledge to 4 and 5 June 2024

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deliver the school’s curriculum consistently well across all aspects of the early years provision.

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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). 4 and 5 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Dr Kevin Stenson

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School details

Website www.westwitneyprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 January 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the school leadership team. The current headteacher took up post in January 2023.  The school currently uses one registered alternative provider.  The before-school club is managed by the school. There is an after-school club led by an outside provider.

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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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 4 and 5 June 2024

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, staff and pupils. The lead inspector also met with representatives of the governing body.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to pupils during playtimes and in lessons.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art, history and science. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents, including parents’ free-text comments, were considered. The inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and pupils.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; evaluated safer recruitment practices; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; met with the designated safeguarding lead; 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

Darren Aisthorpe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Foster Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 June 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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