Good Morning all, please see our Ofsted report: Donnington Wood CofE Voluntary Controlled Junior School – Open – Find an Inspection Report – Ofsted

We love the introduction: The school’s values of ‘building friendships, encouraging perseverance, and inspiring hope’ permeate through the school. Staff and pupils are proud of their school. Parents and carers receive lots of support to make sure that pupils attend school regularly; this is a real success. Pupils feel safe and well supported. Staff provide a warm welcome to parents and pupils at the start of each day. Families are appreciative of the wide-ranging support that staff provide.

It goes on to state:

• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified swiftly. Leaders ensure that the right provision is in place to support pupils with SEND.
• The mathematics curriculum has been redeveloped recently. Leaders have carefully considered the important knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn and when. This work is having a positive impact.
• Leaders have identified the important concepts and knowledge that they want pupils to learn in each subject and how this knowledge will build over time.
• Leaders have made sure that reading is a high priority. They promote it through fun events, including inviting pupils into school in their pyjamas to ‘curl up with a good book’. Most pupils enjoy reading both at school and at home. consistent approach to teaching reading comprehension has been introduced and this is taught well. Pupils receive extra support to catch up in reading when needed. This is having a positive impact. Leaders introduced a new reading scheme to encourage pupils to read at home. Due to improvements in the teaching of reading, pupils are reading with increasing confidence, accuracy and fluency.
• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils learn about healthy lifestyles and relationships. They take part in extra-curricular clubs, including basketball, football and dodgeball. Pupils value learning to play musical instruments, such as the guitar and keyboard. They take part in a range of class and whole-school performances each year. Pupils understand that others may have different beliefs and opinions to their own, and they respect these differences.

They have asked us to look further:

• The curriculum has recently been redeveloped. In some subjects, the sequence of learning is not well planned. Some staff do not have the expertise needed to teach all aspects of the curriculum effectively. Leaders should ensure that important concepts and knowledge are organised and taught in a clear sequence over time for all subjects. They should ensure that staff have the necessary expertise to teach the whole curriculum as they intend so that pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well.

We have challenged this remark, as it basically reflected on the history teaching that afternoon on 4 lessons, and although they changed some of the wording, we have not been able to overturn it.

We felt it also contradicted itself many times as earlier states: As a result, most pupils with SEND achieve well.

We have lots of plans for this target, and have already started implementing it, including working with other schools.

We thank you for your continued support.

Mr Fox