Woodland Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 May 2024

Pupils are proud to be members of Woodlands Community Primary School. They are happy in school and enjoy being part of the school's caring and tight-knit community. Pupils are kind, well behaved and considerate. The school has increased its expectations of what pupils can achieve. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. This is because, until recently, pupils have not experienced a well-designed curriculum. Consequently, some pupils do not have a secure enough knowledge of the different subjects that they study. Children in the early years, including those in the Nursery Year, achieve well in all areas of learning. Typically, they enjoy learning and exploring the world around them. Pupils are active citizens. For example, they visit elderly residents in a local care home and sing in the community during festive seasons. Pupils also raise funds for a range of worthy causes, including children's charities. Pupils know the fundamental British values, including those of democracy and the rule of law. Pupils are taught to be respectful of everyone, regardless of their beliefs or background. Pupils benefit from rich and varied school experiences. This includes educational visits to many different places of interest, including natural history and science museums, art galleries and a wildfowl centre.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils continue to live with gaps in their knowledge due to the weaknesses in the previous curriculum. Some teachers are not well equipped to spot and address lost learning. This limits pupils' achievement across different subjects. The school should ensure that gaps in pupils' learning are remedied so that they can benefit from the more ambitious subject content that is on offer through the new curriculums.
• In a few subjects, teachers do not revisit and reinforce pupils' previous learning to make sure that it has been committed to their long-term memory. This hinders the progress that some pupils make through the curriculum. The school should ensure that teachers are supported so that they routinely enable pupils to deepen their learning over time.
• Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge of spelling, grammar and punctuation. This restricts their ability to express themselves accurately and produce high- quality writing. The school should ensure that teachers identify and then address gaps in pupils' basic writing skills so that they can write accurately.

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