Woodhall Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 November 2022

Pupils enjoy attending Woodhall Primary School. Strong pastoral provision is in place. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about all that the school provides. One parent commented, 'Woodhall School is a very nurturing, small, family orientated school. Always willing to help and go the extra step!' Pupils are polite and well mannered. They behave well in lessons and around the school. Pupils enjoy learning and playing together. Pupils feel safe and say that bullying is rare. Pupils respond well to the clear expectations for behaviour. Underpinning these are positive relationships that exist between pupils and staff. High aspirations are promoted. Pupils are determined to live up to the school's values of passion, resilience, respectfulness, inclusivity, aspiration and family. They proudly rise to the challenges that staff provide. Pupils make a strong contribution to the life of the school. For example, they take on responsibilities such as being librarians or members of the school parliament. Wider personal development is carefully considered. Pupils develop character as a result of the experiences they have through the curriculum content. Pupils know that everyone is different and say this is okay. They understand the importance of tolerance. Pupils are supported to apply these attitudes in their day-to-day lives.

What the school should improve

• For some areas of the curriculum, leaders have not fully defined the knowledge they would like pupils to learn by the time they get to the end of Year 6. As a result, in these subjects, pupils are not building the full knowledge base that they need for the next stages of their education. Leaders should ensure that in every subject the knowledge they want pupils to learn is clearly and fully defined, especially end points, so pupils are well prepared for secondary school.
• Children starting in early years require a language-rich curriculum. Currently, the environment that children learn in, especially the outside area, is not language- rich enough. As a result, some children are not learning key vocabulary quickly enough to prepare them for Year 1. Leaders should ensure that they provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop their language skills so that children quickly acquire the key vocabulary they need for the next stage of their education.

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