Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School

Overview: Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School is a small school with a strong sense of community, where pupils are proud to attend and behave well. The school has a clear vision and values, which are modelled by staff and pupils alike. Pupils are well-prepared for their next stage of education and achieve in line with national averages.

Strengths:

• Pupils are well-prepared for their next stage of education and achieve in line with national averages.
• The school has a strong sense of community, where pupils are proud to attend and behave well.
• Leaders ensure that pupils understand the importance of regular attendance and have a secure understanding of the barriers that some pupils may face in attending regularly.
• The school has a well-considered pastoral support system, which prioritises pupils' emotional wellbeing and helps them to manage their feelings so that they thrive.
• The school works closely with parents and carers, sharing information about children's learning at regular times.

Areas to improve:

• Leaders and teachers do not use assessment information effectively to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Checks on pupils' learning are not used effectively to identify gaps, and teachers do not address pupils' gaps in knowledge swiftly enough through subsequent teaching.
• Leaders need to secure pupils' foundational skills, including handwriting, by ensuring consistent practice and precise modelling across year groups.

Safeguarding: The safeguarding standards are met, and leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon, and managed.