Winscombe Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Winscombe Primary School Moorham Road, Winscombe, Somerset BS25 1HH

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Outcome

Winscombe Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The executive headteacher of this school is Lorna Richardson, who is responsible for this school and one other. This school is part of the Wessex Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Gavin Ball, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Paul Jacobs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and welcoming school. Pupils demonstrate the school’s values to ‘care, aspire, respect and excel’. They show these by persevering in their work and in their actions. They are polite and kind towards each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the start of the Reception Year, children work hard. They know the classroom routines and follow these. Pupils engage well in lessons. They listen to staff and each other. They are keen to share their ideas. Pupils have the support they need to access the curriculum. This helps them to achieve well. Some published outcomes do not reflect how well-prepared current pupils are for their next stage of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Staff apply their expectations consistently. Pupils move around corridors in a calm and orderly manner. Playtimes are happy and pupils play well together. Older pupils support younger pupils to enjoy the dining hall and outside space. This helps pupils to have fun and active playtimes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff look after pupils well. They help them with any concerns they may have. As a result, pupils feel safe and trust adults to support them. 11 and 12 March 2025

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

The school has designed an effective curriculum. It is clear and logical. It supports pupils to build their knowledge over time. The curriculum provides pupils with regular opportunities to return to previous knowledge. This helps pupils to secure their understanding. The school has responded to lower outcomes in national tests for the multiplication tables, grammar, punctuation and spelling. It has made changes to its approach to the delivery of these curriculums. This is having a positive impact on the outcomes of current pupils.

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

The school has an accurate understanding of the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It identifies these early and supports them well to overcome their barriers. This includes adult support, adaptations and practical resources. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well alongside their peers.

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

The school makes sure that pupils build their reading fluency. When pupils are at risk of falling behind, they get the extra support they need. Pupils use their phonics knowledge to blend words. The books that pupils read match the sounds they know. Staff check and correct pupils when they mispronounce words. This helps pupils to secure their understanding. As a result, pupils read well and build their fluency and confidence.

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

In classrooms, staff model ideas clearly. This helps pupils to practise and apply their knowledge. For example, staff read a text to pupils before pupils practise reading themselves. Resources support pupils to build their knowledge as they move through the curriculum. For example, Year 5 pupils use counters to build their understanding of the value of decimal numbers. In Year 6, pupils use diagrams and number blocks to deepen their understanding of algebra.

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

In most lessons, teachers check pupils’ understanding. They provide pupils with opportunities to share their ideas. However, in some lessons, teachers do not check well enough if all pupils have secured their knowledge. Sometimes, only a few pupils respond to questions. As a result, teachers do not know how well pupils are securing their knowledge, and some pupils have gaps in their understanding.

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

The school keeps a close focus on the attendance of pupils. There are clear systems in place to check absence rates. When attendance starts to fall, staff work with families to improve this. This is having a positive impact on the attendance of pupils.

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

The personal, social and health education curriculum starts in the Reception Year. Children build their understanding of being safe and healthy. The school provides opportunities to support pupils’ wider development. Pupils reflect on the lives of others. For example, they find out about places around the world where water is scarce. Pupils consider their own water use, and they build a sense of responsibility to not waste water.

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

Pupils are proud of their leadership roles. ‘Crew Captains’ help younger pupils to settle well into school life. ‘Crews’ raise awareness and money for national charities. ‘Eco warriors’ raise awareness by making videos about the negative impact of single use 11 and 12 March 2025

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plastics. This builds their character and confidence. Pupils are active citizens in their local community. They join the community to mark Remembrance Day. At Christmas, they meet with and sing carols to people experiencing loneliness.

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Trustees and the local partnership board have an accurate understanding of the school. They undertake work to ensure that the school is effective. Staff feel well supported by leaders. They welcome professional development and collaboration across the trust, which has reduced their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, staff do not use assessment strategies consistently well to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught. This means that, at times, gaps in pupils’ knowledge go unaddressed, and pupils do not learn the curriculum as intended. The trust should make sure the school refines how assessment is used in these subjects to ensure that pupils secure and deepen their knowledge and understanding.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Winscombe Primary School, to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2014. 11 and 12 March 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). 11 and 12 March 2025

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School details

Headteacher Lorna Richardson (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Wessex Learning Trust.  Winscombe Primary School converted to become an academy school in December 2021. When its predecessor school, Winscombe Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the executive headteacher, the head of school, other leaders and staff. 11 and 12 March 2025

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 The inspector met with the CEO, trustees and members of the local partnership board.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning, heard pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text comments, and Ofsted’s survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Caroline Musty, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 March 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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