Winnersh Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Winnersh Primary School Greenwood Grove, Winnersh, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 5LH

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone receives a warm welcome at this happy, inclusive school. Pupils are proud to belong to such a diverse community. They value each other’s unique qualities and know that everyone has a place in our world. One pupil, typical of many, commented, ‘What matters is what you are like inside.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love learning and try their best in lessons. They rise to the school’s high expectations for them to achieve well. Pupils demonstrate the school’s values of ‘being involved, showing respect and embracing challenge’. These values, alongside respect and kindness, are lived out daily. The school is a harmonious community, where pupils feel they belong and where friendships are forged. Pupils get on well together and behave well. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and nurturing.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the school’s extensive range of after-school clubs. From sports clubs and street dance to ‘the geographer’s guild’ and chess, there is something for everyone. Pupils also enjoy the numerous lunchtime activities. These make a meaningful contribution to pupils’ social development. Pupils’ learning and personal development are considerably enhanced through well-considered visits to places of interest. The popular Year 6 residential visit enables pupils to experience new and adventurous activities, such as abseiling, mountain hikes and night walks.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has ensured that pupils continue to achieve well and leave Winnersh Primary well prepared for secondary education. The school has also taken effective action to strengthen mathematics and the wider subject curriculum. The key knowledge pupils need to learn is sequenced logically from the early years through to 17 and 18 June 2025

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Year 6. Carefully chosen topics help pupils make connections between subjects and develop their vocabulary.

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However, despite these strengths, in a few wider curriculum subjects, content is not sufficiently well defined. The school does not give staff clear enough guidance about what to teach and emphasise. In places, there is too much for teachers to meaningfully cover. This means that some content is not covered in sufficient depth. As a result, while pupils achieve well overall, they do not build or deepen their knowledge as well as they could in some wider curriculum subjects.

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The school instils pupils with a love of reading. Most children in the early years get off to a great start in learning to read. As well as an effective phonics programme, the school immerses pupils in a wide range of motivating texts. Throughout the school, the reading and writing curriculums are closely intertwined. This well-considered approach enables pupils to ‘read as writers’ and ‘write as readers’. The success of the school’s work is seen in the very positive Year 1 phonics and key stage 2 published outcomes for reading and writing. These were above the national averages in 2024. However, the support for the small number of pupils who have not kept up with the school’s early reading programme is not as effective as it could be. This risks these pupils falling further behind.

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Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use this to explain new learning effectively. This helps pupils to understand important knowledge and concepts in subjects, such as mathematics. For example, well-chosen resources and clear explanations help children in Reception Year to learn about shapes and number. Clear modelling supports older pupils to apply their knowledge of place value when finding a mathematical ‘rule’ in decimal number patterns. Staff routinely check pupils’ understanding, noting and addressing any misconceptions. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, occasionally, learning activities are not focused as well as they could be on the school’s intended learning.

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The school’s effective processes enable any additional needs to be identified promptly. Staff understand pupils’ needs. When appropriate, they adapt learning activities to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can learn alongside their peers and achieve well. Staff also ensure that pupils with SEND are supported well to participate fully in the wider life of the school.

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The school provides very well for pupils’ broader development. This includes a comprehensive enrichment programme. The personal, social and health education curriculum provides pupils with a good understanding of personal safety and healthy relationships. Pupils develop a strong understanding of social justice. They understand the importance of equality and know that there is no place for discrimination.

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Leaders and governors have kept the school on a steady path and successfully steered it through changes and challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. They carefully consider staff workload and well-being when introducing new initiatives, for example, by phasing in changes. Staff feel well supported and enjoy working at the school. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are a few inconsistencies in the school’s work to support pupils who have not kept up with the early reading programme. This support is not as effective as it could be. As a result, the weakest readers are at risk of falling further behind. The school needs to iron out these inconsistencies and ensure that staff have the expertise they need to provide effective early reading support in the way that leaders intend.  In a few wider curriculum subjects, the school has not identified clearly enough the most important knowledge it wants pupils to learn and remember. Typically, there is too much content for teachers to cover meaningfully and sometimes learning activities are not focused sharply enough on the intended learning. As a result, pupils do not build or deepen their knowledge well enough. The school needs to refine the wider subject curriculum and ensure that it is implemented in the way that leaders intend.

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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 to be 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 school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2016. 17 and 18 June 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). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up post in January 2023.  The school uses two unregistered providers of alternative provision.  During this school year, there have been some changes to the membership of the governing body. Five new governors joined the governing body in October 2024.

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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 this into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other leaders, including the leader for SEND. 17 and 18 June 2025

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 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 that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector took account of parents’ views through their responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text comments. She also spoke with some parents on the morning of the second day of the inspection.  The views of staff were considered during meetings and discussions and through their responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Sue Cox, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 June 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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