Welshampton CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Welshampton is a small and nurturing school.

Staff care deeply about the pupils they teach, and quickly build good relationships with pupils and their families. The school is committed to ensuring that every pupil does well. As a result, pupils get a positive start to their education.

The school's core value of 'growing together in strength, love and wisdom, we shine' is at the heart of its decisions. The ambitious curriculum captures pupils' interests and inspires them to want to learn more. The school thinks carefully about the visits pupils experience to bring the curriculum to life.

Pupils' work in books is of a high standard and reflects the school's exp...ectations.

Parents, pupils, and staff are positive in everything they say about the school. New pupils, including those in the early years, quickly settle into the school routines and are enthusiastic about their lessons and the many trips they participate in.

Pupils are proud to come to this school and they behave well. They are attentive in lessons and take care of one another. They enjoy school, feel safe, and attend regularly.

As a result, pupils thrive at this school.

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

The school is led by a highly passionate and committed team of leaders. They are mindful of staff workload and do all they can to support them.

Together with the governing body, they check what is working well. They use this information to create effective plans to improve the school. Staff receive support and professional development opportunities to help them in their teaching.

Since strengthening the foundation curriculum, the school has ensured that all pupils follow an ambitious curriculum in all subjects. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school has identified what it wants pupils to know and how this will link to future learning in all subjects.

The English, reading, and mathematics curriculum is embedded throughout the school. In these subjects, pupils can recall their prior knowledge and use this to help them in new learning. However, older pupils have gaps in their knowledge, which impacts their ability to achieve the ambitious end points of the new curriculum.

Children quickly settle into the early years classes. Lessons focus on developing language, mathematical, and early writing skills. Staff are skilled at encouraging pupils to explore new equipment.

They model new vocabulary and encourage children to give their own ideas. Children are very attentive. They join in songs and games and share well with other children.

Children leave the early years classes ready for the key stage 1 curriculum.

Teachers have good subject knowledge, and they consistently follow the school's guidance on how to present information to pupils. They use assessments effectively to identify how well pupils are remembering the curriculum.

Those pupils who need extra help receive it promptly, often on the same day. The school quickly identifies pupils with SEND. They regularly check the comprehensive school provision maps to ensure that SEND pupils get the support they need.

As a result, pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers and progress well.

The school has prioritised reading so that all pupils learn to read well. Teachers assess children as soon as they start nursery or Reception.

Children begin to learn the skills and sounds they need, which prepares them for the Year 1 phonics curriculum. The school has selected a range of high-quality texts for all year groups to read. There are several opportunities for pupils to read these books each day.

The school uses these texts effectively to help older pupils become fluent readers and inspire their creative writing.

The school has created a calm and orderly environment. Staff reward and celebrate pupils' positive behaviour in many ways.

For example, the house with the most points at the end of each term can choose a special treat; ice cream is popular.

Pupils are developing an understanding of different faiths and cultures through the curriculum, assemblies, and specific lessons. They learn about disability and equality.

For example, a paralympic athlete spoke to some pupils about their experiences in sport. Enrichment activities are wide and varied. Pupils take part in a range of sporting competitions that they love.

Sports day is an important day in the school calendar for the whole school community. It starts with breakfast, followed by races for all, and then a celebration picnic together.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils are kept safe in this school. The school ensures that staff have the training they need so that they can keep pupils safe. They quickly identify any concerns and report these to the designated safeguarding lead.

The concerns are then acted on appropriately and if additional support or advice is needed the school ensures this happens. The school makes all the right checks on staff before they start working at the school. However, this information is not organised in a systematic way that can be easily accessed.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has been implementing their strengthened foundation curriculum since September 2023. Because these changes are relatively new, some older pupils have gaps in their knowledge in some subjects. This impacts on some pupils ability to achieve the ambitious end points of the new foundation curriculum.

The school should support these pupils to address their gaps in knowledge, so that they can achieve the outcomes of the curriculum. ? The school completes all the necessary pre-employment checks of staff but are not ensuring that they keep this information in one central place which can be easily retrieved. The school must ensure all pre-employment checks are kept on a single central record.