Woodthorpe CofE Primary School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

The leadership team has maintained and improved the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Along with your deputy headteacher and governors, you continue to provide strong leadership to this school. Although full, the school is small. The caring ethos is a feature within an inclusive and welcoming culture. This welcome begins at the gate where parents and carers gather, knowing that you or your deputy will be there to listen to any concerns or simply to talk. Many parents took the opportunity to tell me how delighted they were with the school. They told me about the ‘open door for all parents’, that ‘qualms are sorted out straight away’ and that their children ‘love coming to school’. Although extremely positive, parents are not completely uncritical. They are as ambitious as you are that their children are happy and learn well. For example, a couple of parents spoke about challenge for the most able children, saying that there is scope for more. This was an aspect of the school that I looked at carefully during my visit. The constructive relationship with parents is not an accident. For example, the online system used in the Reception class and throughout key stage 1 enables teachers and parents to share photographs and explanations securely about their own children and their learning. This forges strong partnerships between home and school from the start. For those parents whose children are more vulnerable, the quality of communication between school and home is highly valued. Many examples were shared at the gate and through Parent View, Ofsted’s survey for parents. You ensure that the children are at the heart of this friendly school. Pupils are eager to learn. They were seen making choices about the level of challenge they needed in mathematics lessons, with choices labelled bronze, silver, gold and platinum. One pupil was seen working on a challenging question at the edge of his knowledge, while nearby another pupil was consolidating her understanding of what fractions mean. Pupils’ excellent learning behaviour was evident in most classes visited during this inspection. Pupils were discussing the questions in front of them and helping each other. They were polite, cooperative and kind to each other. Their attendance and conduct are good. You are right to feel very proud of them. You and your staff have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. You introduced French into the curriculum almost straight away. It is well established. Pupils are now exposed to a range of engaging activities as they learn to converse in French. Other areas for improvement were looked at more closely during this inspection. Detail will follow later in this letter. Pupils’ progress, evident in 2017 outcomes and during this inspection, has improved in Reception and key stage 1, and is now consistently good from all starting points and for pupils who are disadvantaged. Pupils’ knowledge of phonics is strong. At key stage 2, there is also good progress made to the expected standard by the end of Year 6. There is still room for more of the most able pupils to reach the highest standards, especially in reading and writing. Safeguarding is effective. Numbers are small and you know the pupils well. As the school’s designated safeguarding officer, you have ensured that staff are trained and know what to do if they have a concern. Training for staff is regular and so their knowledge is kept up to date. Training covers a range of potential safeguarding risks. Recruitment procedures are secure. Policy and practice take account of the most recent legislation. You ensure that safeguarding records are kept, and you take decisive action where necessary to ensure that each child is protected. You work effectively with other agencies to keep pupils safe and secure. Pupils’ conduct and support for each other play a significant part in their feeling of safety when in school. In informal conversations with me, they were happy and communicative. A wall display on e-safety captures some of the work done by pupils to keep their friends safe from possible dangers. The site is securely fenced, and governors are alert to any potential dangers arising from the old building. Visitors are checked on arrival to make sure that they are who they say they are. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.