Whitchurch Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Whitchurch Church of England Primary School Daniel Road, Whitchurch, Hampshire RG28 7LS

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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 Good 4 and 5 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are confident and caring. They understand the school's values of ‘love, courage and respect’ and model these thoughtfully. Pupils learn to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy and know how to stay safe online. Pupils love to take on responsibilities, such as house captains and librarians. They enjoy helping each other. Pupils know the importance of being kind and supportive within and outside of their school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn the curriculum well. Staff have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified quickly. The school adapts provision for these pupils expertly. Staff understand how to support the individual needs of different pupils effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and know that they can turn to trusted adults if they are ever worried or have any concerns. At break times pupils share, take turns and play happily. If any pupils find managing their own behaviour challenging, they receive the help that they need. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, but at times these expectations are not made clear for some pupils. Despite this, most pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are positive.

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

Governors know the school's strengths and areas for development clearly. They support and challenge leaders effectively and have a sharp focus on school improvement and staff well-being. Staff are dedicated to their work. They appreciate how they are supported by the school to manage their workload successfully. This helps staff to focus on their own professional development and improvements to teaching and learning. The school works in partnership with external agencies and the local authority effectively. Where necessary, the school involves specialists such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists to support individual pupils and to develop and share staff knowledge across the team.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils. The curriculum reflects this ambition. The school has identified the key knowledge and skills that it wants pupils to learn. Lessons connect logically, to help pupils build their knowledge well. For example, in science pupils described how the brightness of a light bulb increases with the voltage of cells used in an electrical circuit. Overall, by the end of key stage 2, most pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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

Across the curriculum, staff have secure subject knowledge. In most subjects, staff check pupils’ understanding and then adjust the curriculum appropriately. However, in some subjects, staff do not check how well pupils have learned the curriculum as effectively. A small proportion of pupils do not build on their prior knowledge securely. As a result, these pupils have gaps in their understanding and do not achieve as strongly as they could. 4 and 5 February 2025

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Pupils love reading. The school rightly prioritises teaching phonics to help pupils gain the strong foundations in reading that they need. Staff deliver the phonics programme systematically. Most staff model sounds precisely and are increasingly confident in how to help pupils learn to read. Reading books are matched closely to the sounds that pupils have learned. If pupils fall behind, they receive robust support to help them catch up with their peers quickly. Most pupils become confident, fluent readers. They talk enthusiastically about the books they have read. Pupils enjoy sharing stories together from the beginning of Reception Year to the end of Year 6.

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In the early years, children are very enthusiastic learners. Activities are planned carefully to help them to build their knowledge and skills effectively. Children are engrossed in their learning. For example, some children took part in role play of an Arctic exploration on the playground, chipping ice to excavate model animals that had been frozen in the water. Others wrote about igloos and some explored colour mixing while painting ice cubes together. Staff ask questions and prompt the children skilfully to extend their vocabulary.

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The school provides a wide range of trips and educational visits that help pupils to remember the curriculum. Local walks, visits to the library and residential trips support pupils in building their confidence and resilience. School clubs are appreciated, including multi-sports, football and netball, although some pupils say that they would like to take part in more. Pupils learn about different cultures and beliefs positively. They are encouraged to debate challenging issues in balanced ways. Pupils engage well with the curriculum, including through texts that represent different faiths, beliefs and cultures from around the world. Pupils learn to be respectful and responsible and how to care for the world around them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, some pupils are not clear about what behaviour is expected from them. As a result, some pupils’ behaviour in some lessons does not meet the school's high expectations. Some elements of those lessons are not as purposeful as they could be. The school should ensure that the newly developed behaviour policy is implemented consistently and effectively, and that staff expectations for pupils' behaviour are made clear for pupils.  In a small number of subjects, the school’s assessment strategies are not used effectively enough to enable teachers to check how well pupils are learning the curriculum. This means that a small proportion of pupils struggle to apply what they have learned previously to new concepts. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils’ prior learning effectively across the full curriculum. 4 and 5 February 2025

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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 February 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 and 10 October 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.  The school is a voluntary controlled Church of England school in the Diocese of Winchester. Its most recent inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 for schools of a religious character was in January 2024.

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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 and/or sixth form 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. 4 and 5 February 2025

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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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders within the school and wider staff. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. Inspectors also met with a representative of the local authority and a representative of the Diocese of Winchester.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, art and physical education. For each deep dive, where possible, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central

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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 inspectors considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View. The inspectors gathered the views of pupils and staff through Ofsted’s online pupil and staff surveys, as well as through interviews and discussions.  The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including self- evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings, local authority visit reports and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Carl McCarthy, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Trudi Sammons Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 February 2025

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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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