Walcott School celebrates ‘good’ inspection

Headteacher Andrew Sewell, who also oversees Mrs Mary King’s School in Martin under the Carrdyke Federation, said the school is delighted that both schools now have a ‘good’ rating in all areas, having both been inspected within a few months of each other.

Walcott Primary School was visited in June and the inspection was published on September 22.

In light of the previous rating, Mr Sewell said: “We are all the more pleased to have secured this outcome and the recognition that we offer, ‘an effective curriculum that extends beyond an academic’ and that ‘pupils behave well in lessons and school is a calm environment where pupils can focus on learning.’”

Reading was seen as a high priority at the school, delivered well. If pupils fall behind with their reading, leaders work swiftly to help pupils catch up.

The curriculum was said to be well sequenced and planned beyond merely academic subjects to include areas such as healthy eating and relationships. Teachers have good subject knowledge.

Leaders are said to have installed a more systematic approach to checking on pupils’ learning, but teachers were not yet always using it well enough to know what pupils have understood in order to plan future lessons.

The report said pupils are enthusiastic in lessons and ask curious questions, but children with special educational needs or disabilities were not always provided with appropriate strategies to access learning and this needed to be addressed by leaders.

The inspectors said a new system to record safeguarding concerns was in place and now leaders needed to ensure all actions and outcomes are recorded.

They said parents and pupils were positive about the school, while staff feel highly valued, with access to high quality training. They felt proud of the school.

Mr Sewell said they are now looking forward to the future with open days for prospective parents on October 11 – 1.30pm-3pm and November 15 - 1.30pm-3pm and 5pm-7pm.