Woodland Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 April 2024

Pupils flourish in this delightful, small, rural school. They say that there are 'never any sad faces' at the school. Strong and trusting relationships underpin this. Parents and carers share the same positive views about the school. The school sets high expectations for all its pupils to be successful. Staff offer high levels of support and encouragement for this to happen. Pupils respond positively by engaging fully in their learning. Pupils behave well. The recently introduced family time is contributing to this, where older pupils act as positive role models for the younger ones. Pupils have a well-developed understanding of bullying and all its forms. They insist it does not happen here but are, nonetheless, equipped with the knowledge and skills needed should it do so. Playtimes are busy, with large spaces for pupils to explore. Older pupils would welcome the opportunity to participate in more-structured activities during this time.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, approaches to checking what pupils already know and can do are still developing. This means that some subject leaders do not yet have a secure understanding of how well pupils are performing in their subject areas. The school should ensure that approaches to checking what pupils know and can do are embedded so that all subject leaders are able to check the effectiveness of their curriculums.
• In the early years, some play-based activities lack clear learning intentions. This means that opportunities to extend or consolidate children's learning as well as leaders expect are missed. The school needs to strengthen this aspect of the early years curriculum to ensure that every opportunity to consolidate or deepen children's understanding is taken.

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