Westbury-on-Severn Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Westbury-on-Severn Church of England Primary School The Village, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire GL14 1PA

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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 3 and 4 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this small, inclusive and friendly school. The values of ‘kindness, respect, friendship and hope’ are central to school life. Pupils feel safe and value their friendships. Most parents and carers agree that the school is a positive place to be. One commented, ‘My child loves this school. They have grown so much since starting and developed in confidence, all thanks to the staff and support given.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils form secure relationships with adults. Most demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. When some pupils become distracted, staff deal with it quickly, so it does not interrupt learning. Adults support those who struggle with their behaviour with consistency and sensitivity. Pupils are respectful and encouraged to be kind. Carefully tailored pastoral provision enables those who need support with their resilience to become independent, confident learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the opportunities to learn beyond the classroom. A range of extra- curricular activities excite pupils. These include drama, music, karate and sports clubs. Pupils enjoy going on school trips linked to the curriculum, including residential experiences. They like taking on areas of responsibility such as house captains, buddies and school council members. Pupils are proud to talk of their personal achievements.

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better?

The school community, including governors, has high aspirations for all pupils. The motto, ‘Small school, dreaming big’, shines through. Pupils develop knowledge and understanding of themselves and what they can achieve as well understanding the world around them. The majority of staff appreciate the support they receive to develop their expertise to aid pupils’ learning.

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better?

The school places reading at the heart of the curriculum. The profile of reading has significantly increased over the past few years. A carefully selected range of stories, songs and rhymes support children’s early reading development from pre-school into the Reception Year. A structured and consistent approach to the teaching of phonics helps children become confident and proficient readers. Books match the sounds children are learning. For those who struggle, careful checks on what they need to know enable staff to intervene to close gaps that occur. Older pupils enjoy reading. They talk enthusiastically about the books they are reading. One pupil said that reading enables you to ‘explore different places in your imagination’.

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better?

The school has developed an engaging and ambitious curriculum. The curriculum maps out the content pupils will learn in each subject. The well-developed mathematics curriculum ensures effective levels of engagement. Pupils use their knowledge to deepen and secure their understanding over time. In history, pupils have regular opportunities to recap and revisit work that helps them remember content in the long term. However, expectations of how pupils apply their writing 3 and 4 July 2024

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skills through the curriculum are not consistent. As a result, pupils do not always apply what they have been learning in writing across the curriculum.

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Assessment is used well to support pupils’ development of their reading and mathematical skills, including in early years. However, across some wider curriculum subjects, checks on what pupils know and can do are not always used precisely enough. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their curriculum knowledge.

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The school monitors the curriculum for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND receive relevant adaptations to their learning. For those with the most complex needs, the school ensures specific learning plans are in place to meet those needs. As a result, pupils with SEND grow in confidence and experience success.

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Pupils enjoy their social times. The wide range of playground resources has enhanced the opportunities for pupils to involve themselves in active play. Pupils enjoy taking on the role of play ambassadors. They support and encourage all children of all ages to play together and take on the responsibility of looking after the playground environment.

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Pupils have a highly secure understanding of other faiths and religions and know that it is good to be different. They are developing their understanding of fundamental British values through voting for their own school values, and most recently, taking part in a mock election. The school involves members of the local community in pupils’ personal development through leading clubs and the strong links with the local church.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in writing are not high enough. As a result, pupils do not demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of key writing skills across wider curriculum subjects. The school needs to ensure all staff have the same high expectations for all pupils to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in writing and apply this across all subject areas.  Assessment is not used precisely enough in some subjects across the wider curriculum. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge. The school needs to ensure that staff use assessment effectively to know how to identify gaps and inform next steps in learning. 3 and 4 July 2024

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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). 3 and 4 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Westbury-on-Severn Church of England School is a small village primary school organised over three mixed-age classes. The school runs its own pre-school on site.  The current headteacher took up her post in April 2022.  The school is a voluntary-aided Church of England school located in the Diocese of Gloucester. The last section 48 inspection took place in November 2021, when the school received a judgement of excellent.  The school does not use 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. 3 and 4 July 2024

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 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 held discussions with the headteacher, who is also the designated safeguarding lead, the special educational needs coordinator, groups of staff, a representative from the local authority and the Diocese of Gloucester and members of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited samples of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in other subjects, including modern foreign languages and physical education.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.

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 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.  Inspectors considered the 21 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 18 free-text responses, and 10 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Heather Barraclough, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lizzy Meadows Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 July 2024

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