Wilden All Saints CofE Primary School

Inspection of Wilden All Saints CofE Primary School Wilden Lane, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire DY13 9LP

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

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The executive headteacher of this school is Shelley Reeves-Walters and the head of school is Charlotte McDonald. This school is part of Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Matthew Carpenter, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Monica Guise.

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Ofsted has not previously inspected Wilden All Saints CofE Primary School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Wilden All Saints CofE Primary School to be outstanding for overall effectiveness, before it opened as an academy in August 2017. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 1 and 2 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are highly ambitious for pupils to succeed. All pupils achieve highly, including those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The curriculum takes full advantage of the local area, including a study of the Stourport basin. The four school houses are named after figures with local connections, including Alfred Baldwin and Rudyard Kipling. The school carefully designs curriculum trips, for example to Warwick Castle, to support pupils’ current learning. There are many opportunities in performing arts, including taking part in the school production.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave exceptionally well. They live up to the school’s values of ‘love, passion, stewardship, honesty, empathy and perseverance’. Pupils thrive on leadership responsibilities such as house captains, paired readers or helpers. Pupils love their school, set in the heart of the rural community. Almost all attend regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have access to a wide range of opportunities such as gym, dance, art and ‘bell boating’ – a distinct Worcestershire feature. Pupils choose their own clubs such as the ‘fox club’ where they come up with their own ideas for enjoyable activities. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. There is a strong culture of reporting concerns if anything worries them.

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

The school has carefully designed a highly ambitious curriculum. It reflects the local community and wider environment. For example, Nursery children learned about stained glass windows by visiting the local church. Older pupils have studied the industrial revolution in their area. The curriculum is very well sequenced to enable pupils to revisit learning and build their knowledge within and across subjects.

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

Reading is at the heart of learning. Pupils start learning phonics straight away in Nursery and Reception. The wide range of enriching activities and well-resourced classrooms bring reading to life. The school quickly identifies when pupils are at the early stage of reading or at risk of falling behind. Staff provide highly effective bespoke support to ensure that pupils become confident and fluent readers.

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

Real-life experiences such as the recent ‘Roman Day’ bring learning to life. Making fresh bread, modelling catapults and racing chariots enabled pupils to understand Roman society life. Children in the exceptional early years learning environment grow their own plants to see how they change each day. No opportunity is lost indoors or outdoors to bring in aspects of numeracy such as children counting chicks or comparing their sizes.

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

The school identifies the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND early on. Suitable adaptations ensure that all pupils are able to access the curriculum and that pupils with SEND achieve well. They meet the same learning intentions as their peers through well-modified tasks or resources.

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

Teachers carefully check how well pupils do in lessons and at the end of work units. They 1 and 2 April 2025

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know what pupils have learned and what their next stage in learning should be. Pupils have a very good recall of key concepts and vocabulary. They can talk articulately about how they apply prior learning to new tasks. Teachers and support staff quickly identify where pupils have gaps and misconceptions in order to address them successfully.

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Very high expectations of positive behaviour begin in early years, where children have become highly independent in making choices about their learning. Suspensions are exceptionally rare, and behaviour incidents are very few. Pupils are very polite and considerate throughout the school. They appreciate rewards such as afternoon tea with the headteacher.

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Attendance levels have continued to rise and are very high. Persistent absence is very low. In very rare instances of longer absence, the school is tenacious in following them up. They have built very strong relationships with parents and carers to encourage them to send their children to school regularly.

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The school plans opportunities very carefully to promote pupils’ personal development. Pupils have a very strong understanding of fundamental British values. They highly respect and value those with different traditions and beliefs. At a recent collective worship celebrating Mothering Sunday, pupils sensitively considered different types of families. The school has a vibrant array of visiting speakers. They help pupils to learn, for example, about financial management and healthy lifestyles and to consider careers such as dentistry and nursing.

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There is a wealth of opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles in the school, starting in early years. Pupils can be elected as worship leaders or become Reception buddies.

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Staff feel very well supported by leaders and the SAET in carrying out their roles and feel they take their workload into account. Those responsible for governance know the school very well. They hold leaders very closely to account through effective visits and reviews.

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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. 1 and 2 April 2025

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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). 1 and 2 April 2025

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School details

Headteacher Shelley Reeves-Walters (Executive Headteacher) Charlotte McDonald (Head of School) Website www.wilden.worcs.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school opened as an academy in August 2017. It is one of eight schools in the SAET.  The current executive headteacher was appointed in January 2025, and the head of school started in September 2019.  The school does not currently make use of alternative provision.  The school has a Christan ethos. The last section 48 inspection took place in May 2019. The next scheduled inspection should take place by July 2027.

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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 1 and 2 April 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 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. 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 executive headteacher, the head of school, the assistant headteacher, other leaders and staff.  Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils to learn their views of the school.  The lead inspector met with members of the trust, including the CEO, the chair of the trust and other trust representatives.  The lead inspector held a telephone discussion with a representative from the diocese.  The lead inspector also met with members of the local governing body, including the chair and vice-chair.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. This

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included parents’ free-text comments. They also considered additional feedback from parents. Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  Inspectors considered information on pupils’ behaviour, attendance and personal development.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and science. For each deep dive, they held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors heard pupils read to adults in the school.  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.

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Inspection team

Mark Sims, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Bailie Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 April 2025

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