Ofsted Reports

I am very pleased to share the outcome of our recent Ofsted inspection with you.

We are incredibly proud of our school, our children and our staff. The inspectors recognised many of the strengths we see every day at Wood End Infant & Pre-School. They found that:

“Pupils are very proud to be part of this nurturing school.”
“Relationships are at the heart of everything the school does.”

They also noted that “there is a calm and kind atmosphere” and that pupils “feel listened to and valued”, with “a firm sense of belonging.”

These comments reflect the caring and inclusive community we have built together.

A strong outcome for our school

Our school has been judged to meet the expected standard.

We want to be very clear: this is a strong and positive outcome.

Under the new Ofsted system, reaching this standard is more challenging than achieving ‘Good’ in the past. Schools must now show strong practice consistently across the whole school and in every part of each area.

We are very proud to have achieved this.

A special strength – Early Years

We are especially proud that Early Years was recognised as a strong area of the school.

Inspectors highlighted the excellent start children receive:

“Children in early years make a great start to their early education. They achieve well and are very well prepared for Year 1.”

They also recognised the quality of relationships and teaching:

“Staff build highly positive relationships with children… [and] display expertise in their communication.”

This means our youngest children are given a very strong foundation for their future learning.

A tougher inspection system

Ofsted inspections are now much stricter than they used to be.

Inspectors now use an “exact fit” model, which means:

Every part must fully meet the standard
Judgements must be consistent across the whole school
Strong practice must be seen everywhere

This makes the system more demanding than before so we are very proud of our achievements.

Where we are now

In several key areas—Inclusion, Leadership and Governance, and Personal Development and Wellbeing—inspectors found that we are very close to the stronger standard.

They recognised important strengths, including:

Inclusion: pupils “feel a sense of belonging… [and] develop increased confidence and independence.”
Leadership and Governance: leaders “have fostered a culture of high expectations” and work to ensure pupils “have every opportunity to achieve well.”
Personal Development and Wellbeing: pupils “embrace the differences that exist between themselves and others” and benefit from a wide range of experiences.

Because of the “exact fit” system, being very close is not quite enough to reach the higher judgement of ‘Strong Standard’

This does not mean these areas are not strong. It means that some aspects are not yet consistently at the highest standard in every part, and this affects the overall judgement.

We are encouraged by this and confident we are close to the next step.

Safeguarding

We are pleased that safeguarding was judged to be effective:

“There is an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility… pupils are made safer and feel safe.”

Keeping children safe will always be our highest priority.

What it is like to be a pupil here

The report paints a very positive picture of daily life in our school. Inspectors found that:

“Incidents of bullying or discrimination are very rare.”
Pupils work hard and “typically… achieve well.”
Children “get off to a flying start” in Early Years
Pupils leave us “well prepared for the next stage of their education.”

They also highlighted the wider opportunities we offer, including trips, enrichment activities, leadership roles and use of our woodland area, helping pupils to develop confidence and life skills.

Looking ahead

We are proud of this report and clear about what we will do next.

We will continue to: