Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School

Overview

This ungraded inspection confirms that Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.” The report describes a “caring school where everyone is valued and included,” where pupils are “happy learning and playing” and demonstrate “kind attitudes towards each other.” Leaders have successfully sustained high expectations for behaviour and achievement since the last graded inspection.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “ambitious” and “flows seamlessly from the early years through to the end of Year 6,” incorporating local heritage and building effectively on prior knowledge.
• Reading is prioritised from Nursery, with “well-trained teaching staff” ensuring “almost all pupils are fluent and accurate readers by the end of Year 1.”
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is “expertly devised,” enabling them to follow the ambitious curriculum “with success alongside their peers.”
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of activities, including “Mindfulness Mondays,” which help develop “resilience and understanding of emotions,” alongside opportunities to take on responsibilities such as being ‘guardian angels’.
• Staff are “skilled and patient,” using effective strategies to help pupils manage feelings, while governors make a “strong contribution to its development.”

Areas to improve

• Some teachers do not sufficiently identify or address misconceptions in writing skills, meaning some pupils “do not write as accurately as they could” in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• The school must ensure teachers use assessment information effectively so that “all pupils communicate consistently well in writing across the curriculum.”

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”