Wykeham Primary School

Inspection of Wykeham Primary School Aboyne Road, London NW10 0EX

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 November 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good 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 March 2015. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 19 and 20 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Wykeham Primary School provides a welcoming and nurturing environment in which pupils feel happy and safe. Pupils are confident that if they have any worries, there is always an adult in the school who will listen and help. Relationships between staff, pupils and their families are warm and supportive. This creates a positive school environment with a real sense of community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour around school and in lessons is positive. In lessons, pupils are attentive and try their best. Pupils are thoughtful, polite and well mannered. They enjoy going to school and attendance is high.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Starting from the early years, pupils learn the school’s values of excellence, equality and enjoyment. The school has high expectations for the achievement of all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve strongly. Staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly and adapt the curriculum successfully. By the end of key stage 2, most pupils achieve well and are ready for their next stage of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to take on roles of responsibility, such as being school councillors, eco- warriors or being a buddy for younger children. Pupils approach their roles with maturity and are proud to make a valuable difference to their school.

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

The school has designed a curriculum that is broad and ambitious. It has identified the important knowledge and skills pupils need to secure in each subject. Overall, the curriculum is well sequenced and assessed, ensuring that new learning builds on what has been taught previously. For example, in mathematics, children in early years learn to recognise and count whole numbers up to 10. Older pupils use this knowledge to complete complex mental calculations and explain their reasoning. In design technology, children in the Nursery use a variety of tools, textures and techniques to make paper faces showing emotions from the book ‘The Colour Monster’. In Year 4, pupils explore levers, pivots and fulcrums when making Roman catapults.

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

Pupils achieve broadly at an age-appropriate level in reading and mathematics, but some do less well in writing. In some areas, the curriculum is not fully embedded. This means that pupils in these subjects do not develop their understanding deeply.

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

The school’s reading curriculum ensures that pupils experience high-quality texts from the early years to Year 6. Teachers use regular assessments to identify any pupils who fall behind. These pupils are given the help that they need to catch up quickly. The school carefully matches reading books to the sounds that pupils know. The school has trained all adults in the phonics scheme. However, sometimes the teaching of phonics and writing lacks precision and is not delivered consistently. This means that pupils are less confident in remembering sounds and letters and using these in their reading and early letter formation. As a result, some pupils do not learn how to write fluently and form letters well enough. 19 and 20 November 2024

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Pupils with SEND are supported effectively. They receive targeted help where needed. This includes in their lessons and in individual intervention sessions. Staff are skilled at identifying pupils’ educational needs and making necessary adaptations. This means that pupils with SEND flourish and achieve well.

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The school sets high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Staff get children into helpful routines as soon as they join the school. Pupils are keen to learn. They follow instructions, behave well and are attentive during lessons. These positive attitudes play an important part in how well they learn. Pupils attend regularly and persistent absence rates are low.

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The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development is strong. This work includes visits, residentials and after-school activities which pupils enjoy attending. Pupils speak with fondness about citizenship workshops and recent trips to the local reservoir for canoeing and the Houses of Parliament. The curriculum to support pupils’ learning in personal, social and health education is well thought out. Pupils talk about values such as respect, tolerance and kindness. They relish the diversity of their community and learning from each other. As a result, pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education and life in modern Britain.

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Governance is strong and knowledgeable about the school’s work. They provide effective challenge and support in planning for the future. Most staff, including those new to teaching, feel valued and are proud to work at the school. They appreciate leaders’ support for their workload and well-being. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the education and care their children receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are kept safe at school. Recruitment processes are rigorous, including pre- employment checks.

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Safeguarding

Pupils have an age-appropriate awareness of how to keep themselves safe. The computing curriculum is designed to help pupils learn about keeping themselves safe online.

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Safeguarding

There are some weaknesses and inconsistencies in the school’s record-keeping. Some staff are uncertain about where to report any concerns they may have. Some records are incomplete or not easily accessible. To address this, the school is moving to a new system to record safeguarding concerns. 19 and 20 November 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are inconsistencies in how early reading and letter formation are taught, even though the school has a systematic and well-planned approach to early reading and writing, including phonics. This means that some pupils do not secure the key knowledge they need to become confident readers and writers. The school should ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to implement the phonics programme consistently well.  The curriculum in some subjects is not fully secure. It is not at a point where it is implemented to a consistent standard. Because of this, pupils’ learning is not reflective of the depth and ambition of the school’s curriculum. The school should ensure that curricular aims are fully embedded in teaching so that pupils develop their knowledge and skills consistently.  Systems for reporting and checking the school’s work around safeguarding are not fully developed or understood by all staff. Information is not easily accessible at times. The

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

school should ensure that record-keeping is coherent and well organised, and that staff have a clear, confident understanding of how to fulfil their responsibilities in this area.

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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). 19 and 20 November 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 24 and 25 March 2015, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher were appointed in September 2024 upon the retirement of the previous headteacher.  The school does not use 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. 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 evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 19 and 20 November 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 meetings with the acting headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher, other curriculum leaders and groups of staff and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, computing, design and technology, and science. To do this, they 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 also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair. He also met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View. They considered the

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responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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 reviewed school documents, including those relating to governance, behaviour and attendance. Inspectors scrutinised leaders’ plans for improvement and their assessment of the school’s effectiveness.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils at breaktimes, in the dining hall and on the playground.

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Inspection team

Sean Flood, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jacquie Fairhurst Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 November 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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