'Wonderful Warstones' given glowing report by inspectors

A Wolverhampton primary school has been given a glowing report by Ofsted, with inspectors finding it to be Outstanding in many areas.

Summing up Warstones Primary School as 'Wonderful Warstones’, lead inspector Kirsty Foulkes said that adults and children buy into its motto that ‘every child matters every day’.

Kindness, compassion and concentration are 'seen and felt throughout the school', with youngsters moving on from Warstones Primary as 'confident, happy, well-rounded people ready for life ahead'.

Parents and carers describe the school as 'a family', with pupils behaving 'beautifully' and following school rules with 'increasing independence and autonomy'. Pupils 'support each other in their work and play' and bullying is extremely rare.

Children 'enjoy their learning' and 'strive to achieve the high expectations' set by staff, with systems in place to immediately give pupils any help they need.

Reading and vocabulary are front and centre of the curriculum, and a love of reading begins with the youngest children and grows over time.

Leaders ensure teachers use 'consistent teaching and assessment methods' and inspectors say pupils 'enjoy and gain from this as they know what to expect in each lesson'. All pupils achieve well in English and mathematics.

Leaders and governors 'show an unswerving determination to meet the needs of every child', and 'go above and beyond in so many areas of school life'. Leadership of the school is 'subtle but strong', with staff well looked after. Safeguarding is effective.

The school has also brought to life its vision to be a hub for the community through the opening of a deaf resource base which has 'enriched school life'. The inspectors saw 'many occasions' where provision for pupils with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) was of 'exceptional quality'.

Inspectors found the behaviour and attitudes of pupils, the personal development of pupils, Early Years provision, and leadership and management to all be Outstanding. The quality of education is currently rated Good, with inspectors saying this is because revisions have recently been made to the curriculum which need time to be fully developed and embedded.

Headteacher Fiona Feeney said: “We are delighted that the hard work and dedication of all the staff working at Warstones Primary has been recognised.

“Our wonderful children and this whole community deserve nothing but the best and all the staff and governors at Warstones work tirelessly to give them that. It is so encouraging to have this noticed and validated by Ofsted.”

Councillor Chris Burden, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Work, said: "This is an excellent report with so much that Warstones Primary School does judged to be outstanding by Ofsted, and I would like to congratulate Fiona Feeney, her staff and governors, and the parents and pupils on this fantastic outcome.

"And I am confident that, once the recent changes to the curriculum are fully embedded, wonderful Warstones will be firmly on track to become outstanding across the board come its next inspection."

Pupils from Warstones Primary School celebrate their Good Ofsted success with Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, and Fiona Feeney, Headteacher.