Warthill Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 September 2022

Pupils are very positive about their school. Leaders provide opportunities that enable pupils to live out their motto, 'Be the best you can be'. Pupils and staff are proud of the federation with Sand Hutton Primary School. The fact of the school's being federated enables pupils and staff to come together for curriculum development, enrichment visits and extra-curricular activities. Staff have high expectations of pupils. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around school is consistently calm and orderly. Pupils know what bullying is. They give examples of incidents of 'falling out' that they know are not bullying. They are confident that if bullying happens, adults will sort it out. Pupils have exemplary attitudes to their learning. They show resilience and determination, especially when tasks are tricky. Relationships between adults and pupils are supportive, kind, trusting and respectful. Leaders plan, in the curriculum and in extra-curricular activities, ways to support pupils' personal development. Pupils participate in singing events and sports matches with other local schools. Children in early years get the best possible start to their education. The provision, in a mixed-age class, is well organised and is used constructively by the children.

What the school should improve

• Some subjects in the wider curriculum are not sufficiently planned well. This means that some subjects do not identify the small steps of learning for pupils. Without this, pupils do not have the right prior knowledge on which to build. Leaders should assure themselves that knowledge, skills and vocabulary build over time in the wider curriculum.
• Leaders do not have an effective system for checking on pupils' knowledge across the wider curriculum. They rely on professional dialogues between colleagues to exchange information. This does not give specific information on pupils' progress across the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that they use their checks on pupils' knowledge across the curriculum to influence future curriculum thinking.
• Some targets for pupils with SEND have not been reviewed. As a result, the targets are not appropriate as they do not match pupils' current level of need. Leaders should ensure that targets match the pupils' needs to help to ensure that they are given the right support to make progress.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)