Wyke Regis Church of England Junior School

Wyke Regis Church of England Junior School

Address: High Street, Wyke Regis, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9NU Unique reference number (URN): 113787

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have ensured that inclusion is firmly at the centre of the school’s ethos and daily practice. Staff provide typically effective support for the wide range of needs of pupils in their classes. This includes special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), disadvantage and other barriers to their learning or wellbeing. These groups of pupils learn increasingly well, alongside their peers. Leaders have put in place clear and comprehensive systems and processes for identifying pupils' needs. They ensure that staff follow these processes in order to address pupils' needs successfully.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders know pupils well. They use additional funding effectively to reduce or remove any barriers that disadvantaged pupils face. This work is having an increasingly positive impact on pupils' ability to learn well. Leaders work closely with families, external professionals and specialists to secure the right support at the right time for pupils. Staff receive ongoing training, which enables them to use resources and teaching approaches with growing confidence and precision.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND provides pupils with effective support. Pupils learn to regulate their own behaviour, to build resilience and to re ‑ engage positively in learning. Leaders and staff plan carefully for each pupil's return to their classrooms so that they continue to learn successfully alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use alternative provision in the best interests of each pupil. They maintain strong oversight of pupils’ experiences and ensure provision remains appropriate and safe. Through this work, leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to removing barriers and enabling all pupils to participate fully in school life.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have designed a comprehensive, well-planned personal development and wellbeing programme. Pupils express their thoughts about important matters, such as what makes a good friend, why equality is important and how to maintain mental health with assurance. They show maturity when discussing the factors that are important for a healthy relationship and the reasons why they need to be vigilant about safety when online.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school's core values of compassion, perseverance and respect weave through all aspects of the school’s work and support the development of pupils' social, moral and cultural understanding. Pupils show respect and maturity for each other and the differences they may have.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school sits proudly within its local community and pupils develop a strong sense of belonging within the school and beyond. Pupils take part in community events and visit a local care home, which helps them develop a wider sense of citizenship and an appreciation for others. Pupils show positive attitudes towards each other and speak with empathy and consideration, when sharing their understanding of different beliefs and cultures. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of the fundamental British values and receive real

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Needs attention

life opportunities to appreciate their importance, for example, by visiting the Houses of Parliament to learn about the democratic process.

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Needs attention

Leaders have designed a variety of opportunities and experiences that broaden pupils’ interests and talents. For example, attending sailing helps pupils grow in confidence and learn new skills, while the eco-club gives pupils ways to care for their environment. Pupils also raise money for school and community projects. It teaches them to see the difference they make. They proudly explain how their fundraising helped the school buy a wildlife camera, which adds to what they learn about animals and habitats.

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Needs attention

Pupils receive emotional support when required. Pupils speak highly of the trusted staff in school who help them. This effective support helps pupils to learn how to regulate their own emotions.

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Achievement Needs attention

Published information from national tests shows that by the end of Year 6, pupils achieve outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics that broadly match the national average. Disadvantaged pupils also achieve well. However, in some areas of learning, pupils do not make the progress that they should from their starting points. For example, some pupils make the same errors repeatedly in their spelling, handwriting and grammar, including when they write in subjects other than English. This is because staff do not address these inaccuracies consistently or effectively when they occur.

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Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have taken steps to strengthen pupils' recall of multiplication facts in mathematics. However, these steps have not been developed with the necessary precision and rigour to secure improvement quickly enough. Consequently, some pupils cannot recall their knowledge securely or with fluency. This is evident in outcomes that are below the national average in the Year 4 multiplication tables check.

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Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have made changes to the curriculum and teaching that are intended to help pupils build secure knowledge in wider curriculum subjects. However, these changes have not improved pupils’ learning quickly enough. Across subjects, pupils’ ability to remember what they learn varies. Struggling to remember words, concepts and skills limits how well their understanding develops across the curriculum. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make positive progress from their starting points. However, inconsistencies in teaching and assessment limit the progress of some pupils, who lack the strong foundational knowledge that they need to succeed.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders are committed and determined to improve attendance. Their actions have secured improvements for a small number of pupils, who now attend more regularly. However, attendance remains a significant barrier for too many pupils. Overall, attendance continues to be lower than the national average. The improvements that leaders have achieved are not substantial enough. A considerable number of pupils are absent persistently. This limits their ability to learn securely, to make sustained progress and to be ready for the next stage of their education.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Behaviour across the school is positive. Staff maintain clear routines and are highly visible to pupils. Pupils conduct themselves calmly and respectfully in lessons and during unstructured times. Pupils move around the school in an orderly way and settle quickly into lessons. Pupils reflect and respond appropriately when behaviour incidents occur. The school’s values of compassion, perseverance and respect provide a basis for the positive relationships between staff and pupils, creating a culture of safety and belonging. Pupils understand and follow the behaviour expectations, which are based around positive relationships and reflection. Staff model respectful attitudes consistently and pupils trust that staff will manage any issues which may arise quickly and effectively. Bullying is rare, and leaders address any reported incidents thoroughly and appropriately.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum that clearly sets out what pupils should know and remember at each stage and in each subject. They have redesigned the curriculum in many subjects, but they have not ensured that all staff teach this curriculum consistently well. Consequently, there is variability in the quality of teaching that pupils receive. This variability hinders learning for some pupils, and makes it more difficult for them to know more and remember more over time.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

In reading, writing and mathematics, leaders teach knowledge in a logical order. However, in mathematics, the teaching that some pupils receive does not help them to learn multiplication facts securely. This makes it more difficult for pupils to recall their multiplication knowledge and to use it readily and accurately, for example, in calculations.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff teach spelling explicitly. Pupils also learn grammar and handwriting. However, leaders have not established a consistent approach to the assessment of pupils' spelling, handwriting and grammar skills. Some pupils, therefore, continue to repeat errors and do not develop the fluency and accuracy that they need in order to apply these skills well in all subjects.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff have received training to improve their teaching of communication, speaking and listening skills, and to support pupils to retain the knowledge that they learn in lessons. These improvements are having a positive impact on pupils’ engagement in lessons, and on staff's confidence in these aspects of their teaching.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have a thorough understanding of the school’s context and demonstrate care for the school. The wellbeing of all pupils drives their passion and commitment. However, sometimes, leaders at all levels do not focus on the most important priorities. Their actions for improvement sometimes lack necessary precision, rigour and ambition. This means that sometimes, leaders' work does not bring about the positive, rapid impact that they intend. Leaders do not always implement changes effectively. A lack of clear accountability means some of the actions that they expect staff to take do not happen consistently. Leaders do not check often enough that staff follow agreed expectations or policies, especially in relation to pupils' attendance, to the use of assessment and to curriculum delivery. This leads to variability in the impact of actions on pupils’ learning.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff describe a positive and supportive culture, and leaders prioritise staff's wellbeing appropriately. Leaders provide regular opportunities for staff to develop their skills, including through recent collaborations with local schools. These opportunities include high-quality training from external experts. Early career teachers feel supported. They value the programmes that have been put in place to develop their skills. Leaders show strong commitment to the school and community, and parents value the care their children receive.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Those responsible for governance are highly invested in the school and wider community. They support leaders well, are actively involved in school life and fulfil their statutory duties. However, governors do not consistently ensure that they receive the information that they need about the school's improvement priorities. They sometimes lack clarity about where they should be focusing their work. This limits governors' ability to hold leaders effectively to account for their work to improve the school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils feel a strong sense of belonging because staff create a predictable and safe environment, where positive relationships shape daily school life. Leaders greet pupils and families warmly each morning. Pupils enter their classrooms in an orderly fashion, prepared to focus on learning.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils achieve in line with national outcomes at the end of key stage 2. However, pupils in Year 4 are still performing well below pupils nationally. Leaders know this and are working to strengthen pupils’ multiplication fluency. In some subjects, pupils do not experience teaching that is of a consistently high quality. This lack of consistency limits pupils' ability to build secure knowledge and skills. Sometimes, pupils make errors in spelling and handwriting that are not identified and addressed by staff. This hinders pupils’ accuracy and fluency in their writing.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils know that staff expect pupils to behave positively, and they typically do. Pupils value the contributions they make to their community, such as raising money for local charities. Pupils experience daily life through the school’s core values. These values promote qualities of compassion, perseverance and respect, and help to shape collective worship, school celebrations and the support that the school provides for behaviour. Pupils speak confidently about the opportunities that help them develop these qualities, including organising an affordable Christmas toy sale.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from the school's inclusive and welcoming approach. Some pupils face barriers to their learning and wellbeing, such as disadvantage or special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Regardless of these barriers, pupils receive effective support to learn the curriculum. This includes in the school's specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND, who have social, emotional and mental health needs. The atmosphere in classrooms is purposeful and pupils focus well on their learning. Pupils take part in a range of enriching experiences, including sailing club and outdoor activity residential trips.

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Next steps

Leaders should support teachers to identify gaps in pupils’ foundational skills and address these quickly to help pupils secure the accuracy and fluency needed to achieve their best. Leaders should create the conditions for pupils to revisit and connect key knowledge and skills, so they build secure understanding and remember important content across subjects. Leaders should support effective systems that identify attendance concerns and address barriers, securing sustained improvement for pupils with low attendance. Leaders should define focused, evidence-based priorities, and governors should challenge effectively so accountability drives sustained improvement.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Gary Hepburn.

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About this inspection

This school is part of a federation called The Wyke Regis Federation. This federation is made up of Wyke Infant School and Wyke Regis Church of England Junior School.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the head of the federation, who is also the headteacher, the deputy head of federation, the assistant head of the junior school, the special educational needs coordinator, the local authority challenge partner, the schools school improvement advisor, the chair of governors, the vice chair of governors and a cooperative member of the governing body.

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About this inspection

The school is registered as having a Church of England religious character.

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About this inspection

The federation provides a specially resourced provision for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. At the time of inspection, no pupils from the junior school were attending this provision.

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About this inspection

The school makes use of one unregistered alternative provision.

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Team inspectors:

Laura Bennett, Ofsted Inspector Angela Folland, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 19 May 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (final) 65% 62% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (final) 73% 75% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 69% 73% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 73% 72% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 68% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 74% 74% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 69% 73% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 68% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 59% 47% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (final) 35% 46% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (final) 69% 63% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 57% 62% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 54% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 61% 58% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 54% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 69% 61% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 65% 59% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 58% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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