Glendale Primary School (Prev. Wooler First School)

Overview

Wooler First School continues to be a good school, described as a nurturing environment where pupils are happy and love learning. Leaders and teachers know their pupils well, fostering a strong caring ethos and providing a breadth of opportunities, including outdoor learning and community engagement. The curriculum is ambitious and well-planned, particularly in mathematics and science, ensuring all pupils, including those with special educational needs, experience success.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, supported, and listened to, enjoying activities like ‘snack and chat’ sessions with the headteacher.
• Leaders have implemented a successful reading curriculum with daily reading and special events to foster a love of books.
• Teachers possess good subject knowledge, delivering engaging lessons that build on prior knowledge and address misconceptions quickly.
• The special educational needs coordinator provides highly effective support, ensuring pupils with SEND receive carefully planned assistance.
• Staff feel well-supported by leadership, which is considerate of their well-being and has taken actions to reduce workload.

Areas to improve

• Some older pupils lack the phonics knowledge necessary to read with fluency and require more targeted support to catch up.
• Some subject leaders do not monitor their subjects effectively, lacking an accurate view of how well pupils are learning key knowledge and vocabulary.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a strong culture of vigilance, up-to-date staff training, and systems that ensure pupils understand risk and stay safe.