Welford Sibbertoft and Sulby Endowed School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 March 2026

Pupils are proud of their school, where staff greet them warmly at the gate each morning. Many pupils arrive safely on bikes and scooters, keen to look after the environment. They eagerly collect raffle tickets rewarding their punctual arrival, hoping to win extra playtime. Through initiatives like these and feeling part of the community, pupils are encouraged to, and do, attend well. Pupils behave well, following the school’s rules and values. In their small community, older and younger pupils play harmoniously and make lots of friends. When pupils fall out or experience any unkindness, staff address this quickly. Pupils enjoy learning. They appreciate that their teachers are supportive and make learning fun. Leaders are ambitious for every pupil and strive to ensure that pupils with barriers to learning receive the right support. However, some of the recent improvements in their inclusion processes are not embedded. Consequently, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities often do not receive suitable adaptations to their learning and this hampers the progress they make across the curriculum. Pupils achieve well in many areas of the curriculum and largely secure the essential knowledge they need in reading and mathematics. However, they do not gain the foundations in writing as securely as they should and gaps in this knowledge persist. Leaders are taking action to address this, but there is more work to do. Children get off to a great start with their schooling in the early years. The oldest pupils are proud to be their official ‘buddies’ and help them settle in. They help children learn the lunchtime routines and support them on ‘welly walks’ or in church services. The school provides a range of enriching experiences that build pupils’ sense of responsibility and help them gain important life skills. These experiences enable pupils to explore the world and life beyond the school and prepare them well for their future lives.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should embed the improvements made in ensuring that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the specific support they need. They should ensure that staff understand fully the support set out in pupils' support plans and check the impact of support systematically, reviewing as necessary.
• Leaders should ensure that staff make consistently suitable adaptations to overcome pupils’ barriers to learning, taking account of pupils' attainment.
• Leaders should continue their work to improve pupils’ achievement in writing, ensuring that staff address gaps in spelling, punctuation and handwriting consistently.

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