Woodlands Community College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 September 2022

Woodlands Community College is a purposeful and caring school. Pupils respect their teachers and appreciate the time they take to get to know them as individuals. Parents and carers rightly recognise that teachers have high expectations for what pupils can accomplish. One parent's comments reflect the views of many: 'Staff are helpful, supportive and dedicated to getting the very best from their pupils. We look forward to the achievements our child will make here.' Pupils learn about the school's '3R' values of 'respect, resilience and responsibility'. These are woven through all areas of school life from the behaviour system to the curriculum. The vast majority of pupils demonstrate these values consistently, through kind and respectful behaviour. Pupils feel safe and secure in school because they know that teachers and leaders do not tolerate unkind behaviour or prejudicial language. Many parents, staff and pupils commented on the rapid improvements made by leaders since the last inspection. Some described the school as having been 'transformed'. Pupils are proud and happy to attend this school. They feel confident that they will get a good standard of education here that will prepare them to be successful in the future.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils do not attend school often enough. As a result, these pupils are not achieving as well as they could. Leaders are prioritising this issue and have already put strategies in place to improve the attendance of these pupils. They should continue with these plans. Leaders and governors should monitor pupil attendance closely and ensure that the strategies they put in place are having a sufficient impact on attendance figures.
• Leaders have rightly identified some variability in how effectively teachers introduce and explain new concepts. Over time this has resulted in some older pupils developing gaps in their knowledge or not remembering what they have been taught previously. Improvements to the curriculum are helping to address this, but further training is needed to ensure that pupils benefit more consistently from high-quality teaching.

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