Wrockwardine Wood Infant School and Nursery

Inspection Report Wrockwardine Wood Infant School

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123406 Unique Reference Number Telford and Wrekin Local Authority 292651 Inspection number 6 March 2007 Inspection date Dorothy Bathgate HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Church Road School address Infant Type of school Wrockwardine Wood Community School category Telford TF2 7AH 3 °7 Age range of pupils 01952 387860 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01952 387864 Fax number 205 Number on roll (school) Vacant Position Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Fiona Corfield Headteacher 8 May 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 292651 6 March 2007 3 °7 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Wrockwardine Wood is an average-sized infant school with a nursery. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are below the national average. Significant numbers of pupils enter the nursery with skills, knowledge and understanding below those expected for children of this age. Following the retirement of the headteacher and deputy headteacher in December 2006, the school is being managed by an acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher. A substantive headteacher has been appointed to take up post from April 2007.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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Grade: 1

Wrockwardine Wood Infant School is an outstanding school where children of all abilities and backgrounds succeed and thrive. The commitment of all staff to deliver high quality education is driven by a passionate belief that every child deserves the best. The current acting headteacher provides exceptional leadership that fosters and sustains an ethos where staff are keen to try new ideas, and adapt their skills to new ways of working for the benefit of the pupils. Clear procedures for review, evaluation and development mean that there is a constant drive for improvement. The school provides excellent value for money. Given the pupils' below average attainment on entry to the school, the consistently well above average standards at the end of Year 2 represent outstanding progress. This excellent progress is a result of highly effective teaching and an inspiring curriculum. The school has received national recognition for its outstanding work on

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Grade: 1

the curriculum, in particular in design and technology. The school helps all children achieve exceptionally well because of accurate individual targets which give them clear guidance on how to improve their work. However, the school has rightly identified that children do not have sufficient opportunities to review or assess their own learning. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities and more able pupils receive highly focused support which ensures they are well catered for. Provision is extremely well matched to need in the Foundation Stage, where pupils get off to a flying start, and almost all pupils meet or exceed the early learning goals expected for children of this age. The school has the overwhelming support and confidence of parents. As one parent wrote, 'I have every confidence in the school's ability to educate my child to the highest standard possible.' Pupils are really happy in school because enjoyment of learning is

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Grade: 1

given a high priority. The richness and variety of the curriculum, combined with high quality teaching, mean that learning is always exciting and consequently behaviour is exemplary. Pupils get on well with each other and enjoy taking responsibility. All children are made to feel safe and secure. The school works very well with other agencies and maintains an exemplary partnership with parents, which effectively enhances the children's well-being and achievement. The school's many awards, including the Activemark 2006, confirm the success of its work in promoting and developing healthy lifestyles. All children are encouraged to respect and value themselves and to make the most of their individual talents and skills in preparation for future learning and adult life. The improvements made since the last inspection can be attributed to the single-minded commitment of an established team of teaching staff and the recently-retired deputy

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Grade: 1

headteacher and headteacher. There is clear evidence of outstanding capacity to build on the school's strengths. 2 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide more opportunities for children to assess their own learning and ensure consistency in these procedures throughout the school.

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Grade: 1

Achievement and standards are outstanding. The children in the nursery and Reception classes have an excellent start to their education and standards are above those expected by the end of their time in the Foundation Stage. A significant number are working well into the standards expected of Year 1. Children make good progress across all six areas of learning, except for a relative weakness in physical development. Baseline assessments in September 2006 highlighted specific weaknesses in communication, language and literacy skills for many children. However, swift action has ensured that they are making excellent progress towards achieving their targets. At the end of Key Stage 1, standards in the core subjects are exceptionally high and this has been a consistent trend over many years. Standards in writing far exceed national averages for both boys and girls. Evidence of these high standards was seen

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Grade: 1

in a lesson where children in Year 2 were able to use adjectives and similes to improve their writing with great success. Pupils make outstanding progress throughout Key Stage 1.The exceptionally high standards of work currently seen in all core subjects are a direct result of the challenging targets for improvement which are set and the high expectations of all staff. This means that all pupils are doing as well as they possibly can.

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Grade: 1

Children's personal development and well-being are outstanding because they have excellent attitudes to learning, take great pride in their work and display a passionate enthusiasm for learning. These positive attitudes prepare them extremely well for the next stage in their learning and for future adult life. Pupils are constantly encouraged to be honest, to take turns, to share and to care for each other. Consequently, behaviour is exemplary both in the classroom and outside in the playground. The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and teachers work hard to plan and deliver a curriculum which is rich in opportunities for awe and wonder. Although attendance is good, the school is keen to work further with parents to reduce the number of requests for term-time holidays. Pupils have an excellent understanding of what it means to be healthy. The school encourages pupils to drink water during

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Grade: 1

lessons and to eat fruit and vegetables during breaks. Pupils appreciate this; one commented, 'Fruit and water make your brain work!'. Pupils make a good contribution to the community through their charity work and enjoy opportunities to take on responsibilities, for example as members of the school council. 3 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching is outstanding. All teachers know the pupils very well and this is evident in their skill in accurately diagnosing pupils' individual needs. In all lessons, pupils have many opportunities for interaction through paired discussion, enjoy lively active learning and are frequently set tasks which lend themselves to open-ended thinking. As a result, pupils are highly motivated, work hard and gain confidence. In all classes there is a calm and purposeful ethos where pupils feel secure. Assessment is used very effectively to target questioning during whole-class sessions and to plan tasks which are well matched to individual needs and interests. Consequently, pupils make excellent progress in lessons. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is exemplary because teachers have an excellent knowledge of how young children learn through play. Expectations are extremely high throughout the school and teachers have excellent

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding and the school rightly prides itself on providing an exciting, creative curriculum which maximises cross-curricular links and inspires and motivates children. Outstanding use is made of educational visits and visitors to provide a starting point for learning and to provide first-hand experiences from which pupils see the relevance of their learning to life. Children spoke enthusiastically about their visit to Blists Hill, a local Victorian village, which was used as the starting point for their work on the Victorians. Classroom displays, particularly of children's art, are of a very high standard and provide a colourful, stimulating and interesting environment. The nursery and Reception classes are stimulating places to learn because of high quality resources and thorough planning for all areas of children's learning. The outdoor areas are used exceptionally well and are a seamless part of the provision for learning.

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Grade: 1

Excellent links with external agencies enhance children's learning. Children enjoy a range of after-school activities and clubs, including football, dance and games.

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Grade: 1

Parents speak highly of every aspect of the school's work and are delighted with the outstanding care, guidance and support provided. Child protection procedures are in place and risk assessments are thorough. Pupils say that they feel safe because they know that they can go to adults or other pupils if they need help. They are particularly positive about the 'buddy bench', which is used very effectively to support children who may be upset, lonely or worried. All pupils achieve well because of the excellent use of assessment information to carefully plan activities that meet their individual learning needs and to set challenging targets. The school is aware that it needs to 4 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007 further involve pupils in the self-assessment of their work. There are many excellent opportunities for parents to become involved in family learning through workshops

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Grade: 1

and curriculum evenings. These reflect the school's belief that parental support has a significant impact on achievement.

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Grade: 1

The school has an excellent track record in maintaining a high quality of education and outstanding levels of care. The acting headteacher is an excellent role model. She is extremely well supported by the acting deputy and together they are providing highly effective leadership for the school. The School Change Management Team promotes excellent leadership at all levels within the school. Subject leaders are very well informed about standards and the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. They monitor provision carefully. Leadership and management set a clear strategic direction for the school and accurately identify the priorities for further improvement. As a result, there are high levels of achievement by all children. A key to this success is the strong emphasis placed on tracking pupils' progress and attainment, and on identifying areas for development. Governors are very involved in all aspects of school

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Grade: 1

life. They are extremely well informed about school development and contribute significantly to school improvement through monitoring targets from the school development plan. 5 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for making me so welcome when I visited your school on 6 March. I had a great day and, just like you, I think your school is a happy and exciting place in which to learn. It was so good to see you all enjoying your learning and wanting to learn more. You are taught by excellent teachers who want you to achieve high standards. They are very successful at doing just that! You are to be congratulated on the excellent progress you make and the high standards you achieve. I was particularly pleased to see some wonderful writing where you were using adjectives and similes. I enjoyed listening to some of your amazing descriptions of Handa with her hair 'as dark as the night sky' and 'as curly as a sheep's wool'. Those of you who sometimes find learning a bit difficult are extremely well supported by teaching assistants. Your behaviour is excellent both in lessons and in the playground. All the staff and governors

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

take good care of you and you are also good at caring for them and for each other. You told me how much you enjoy your fruit and vegetable snacks and understand how good they are for your growing bodies. Although you are going to have a new headteacher soon, Mrs Corfield and Mrs Guest are making sure that the school is led and managed extremely well this term. They know what to do to keep your school happy and are trying out some new ways of helping you to assess your own learning. This is really important because it will help you to make even better progress. I have asked Mrs Corfield to continue this good work and make sure that it happens in all classes. You can help, too, by thinking carefully about your work at the end of each lesson and telling your teachers what you think you could improve. Your parents are rightly pleased that you attend such an excellent school. Keep up all the good work. Thank you again for making my visit such a happy one!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 Inspection Report: Wrockwardine Wood Infant School, 6 March 2007

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