Sherwood Primary School

Inspection of Sherwood Primary School Sherwood Way, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9GA

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Inspection dates: 29 and 30 October 2024

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The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since May 2012. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 29 and 30 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Sherwood Primary School is an extremely well-ordered and welcoming place. Pupils are happy and proud to be part of this exceptional school. They embrace new challenges with enthusiasm and confidence.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets the bar high for pupils’ academic success. It ensures that each pupil’s education is enriched with an impressive array of high-quality experiences. Pupils achieve extremely well from their differing starting points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff provide carefully crafted support to help pupils overcome any barriers that they may face. Pupils who need additional support, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), flourish as a result.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children settle remarkably quickly in the early years. They are keen to practise and apply their learning with the many new friends that they make at school. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to school are exemplary. They find learning fun and collaborate incredibly well together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Lessons and social times are equally harmonious. Pupils value their own and others’ uniqueness. They relish opportunities to help and support others within the school and wider community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils carry out an impressive range of leadership roles. For example, they work closely with staff to make suggestions about how the school might evolve and improve even further in the future.

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What does the school do well?

All involved in the school community share a remarkable sense of common purpose to ensure that all pupils achieve highly. Governors and staff are a powerful partnership. The governing body carries out its work with impressive diligence. It understands the needs of the community that it serves exceptionally well. Governors ensure that staff benefit from all the support that they need to carry out their respective roles.

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What does the school do well?

The school has an exceptionally well-designed and organised curriculum. As a result, teachers are clear about what they need to focus on with their classes. They are also clear about the order in which learning needs to occur. Teachers skilfully adapt how they deliver the curriculum for individual pupils when this is needed. This ensures that all pupils benefit from the right amount of challenge and support so that they achieve at a consistently high standard.

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What does the school do well?

Teachers are highly skilled at helping pupils to successfully build on what they already know. They seamlessly identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge or misconceptions that occur. This is particularly true in reading. Teachers also make sure that pupils develop a deep understanding of a wide range of vocabulary. This helps pupils to quickly absorb new information. Pupils develop an impressive recall of a wide range of knowledge as 29 and 30 October 2024

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they progress through the school. This prepares pupils with a solid foundation for their next stages of education.

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Reading sits firmly at the heart of the curriculum. The school carefully selects high-quality literature to captivate pupils’ interest and support their learning. This begins in the early years. Children are enraptured by the well-loved stories, songs and rhymes that their teachers share with them. Pupils, including those who are at the early stages of learning to speak English, become accomplished readers, making optimum use of the school’s enticing library areas.

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Children begin to learn how to use phonics to read words as soon as they begin the Reception Year. Teachers deliver the school’s phonics programme to a consistently high standard. Pupils quickly grow in confidence due to the unstinting support of highly skilled staff. Pupils regularly practise their reading with books that contain the sounds that they know. The few pupils who continue to find reading more difficult benefit from highly effective support until they can read accurately and fluently.

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All teachers are expertly trained in identifying and addressing additional needs, including SEND. Pupils with SEND achieve extremely well due to the high-calibre support that they receive from staff. These pupils embrace the encouragement that they receive. They access the many aspects of the wider life of the school and relish taking a full part in it.

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Pupils maintain consistently high standards of behaviour. There is little need for adults to remind pupils about the standards expected, as routines are well established and highly effective. Pupils strive to do their best at all times.

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The support that the school provides for pupils’ personal development is exceptional and is strongly linked to the school’s values. For example, pupils benefit from the plethora of trips and other activities on offer to them that broaden their understanding of the wider world. They celebrate the richness of the diversity in their own and wider community. Pupils express their own opinions confidently whilst respecting the views of others. These and other attributes prepare pupils extremely well for becoming an active citizen in later life.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 29 and 30 October 2024

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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). 29 and 30 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 29 and 30 May 2012, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection.  The chair of governors has also been appointed since the time of the last inspection.  The school provides a before- and after-school club for pupils.  The school does not currently make use of alternative provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision. 29 and 30 October 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection that 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 spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school. An inspector also spoke with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body.  An inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  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.  An inspector observed pupils from Year 1 to 3 reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, geography, physical

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education and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions 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 spoke with pupils about their learning in other subjects. They also looked at samples of pupils’ work from these subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes and when they moved around the school. An inspector scrutinised leaders’ records of pupils’ behaviour.  An inspector visited the school’s breakfast club.  Inspectors spoke with parents and carers as they dropped their children off at school. Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. They also considered parents’ free-text responses.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector Sarah Price Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Gary Bevin Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 October 2024

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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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