Bridgewater Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to review and adapt the provision to meet the needs of pupils of varying levels of development and ability when they move from the early years to Year 1.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher has been pivotal to the success of the school. She ensures that the whole school community shares her uncompromising determination to enable all pupils to reach their full potential. Although the proportion of disadvantaged pupils within the school is well above the national average, the expectations for pupils’ achievement are highly ambitious. As a result, pupils are hugely positive and have high aspirations for their futures.
• The deputy headteacher has skilfully developed a detailed and accurate approach to assessment. It enables leaders, at regular intervals throughout the academic year, to monitor precisely how well pupils are progressing in relation to their challenging targets and to the expectations of the national curriculum. Such is the attention to detail that pupils make exceptional progress in English, mathematics and across the wider curriculum.
• The senior leadership team is very strong. It has an extremely thorough approach to monitoring all aspects of the school’s work and is constantly driving improvements. Senior leaders are outward-looking and seek to find best practice from other schools for the benefit of their pupils and staff. As a result, pupils excel and the training that staff receive ensures that their work is of the highest quality and their own career plans are well supported.
• Subject leadership is of an equally high standard. Leaders’ enthusiasm for their subjects is infectious. They thoroughly check the work of teachers and are ambitious for constant further improvements to practice. Excellent subject knowledge is shared with teachers and teaching assistants, and subject leaders implement incisive plans for improvement. These action plans give teachers very clear guidance on what needs to be done to improve further. This secures continuous improvement.
• The staff team is a very cohesive unit. Staff demonstrate their total commitment to the school’s values and ethos and are highly motivated to provide the very best for all pupils. This is evident from the harmonious and productive atmosphere within this learning community. Carefully planned training results in a group of highly skilled teachers and support staff. This has a direct impact on the high levels of achievement for all groups of pupils.
• The prudent use of additional funding provides bespoke additional support for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, these pupils make strong and sustained progress over time and receive the same opportunities to learn as others. This leads to outcomes for this group of pupils that are often higher than those of other pupils nationally.
• Additional physical education (PE) and sports funding has broadened the range of opportunities that pupils have during lessons and at playtimes. Pupils receive a high-quality PE programme that equips them with skills to know their own level of fitness and encourages them to choose healthy lifestyles. The specialist PE teacher closely monitors the engagement of pupils in after-school activities. He responds to pupils’ requests to try new activities and this has led to an extensive range of opportunities, including karate, basketball, lacrosse and dance.
• Funding for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is equally well spent. Pupils benefit from a range of teaching strategies that support their individual learning needs and personal development. As a result, pupils’ achievement from their often very low starting points is outstanding.
• The curriculum offers an extensive range of learning experiences, including trips to the beach, visits to zoos and residential opportunities. Pupils told inspectors how much they enjoy opportunities to explore places that are different from their local community. All aspects of the primary curriculum are covered and there is an appropriate balance between subjects. A raft of extra-curricular activities and clubs takes place after school and these supplement and extend pupils’ learning.
• The rich and varied curriculum leads to high academic achievement alongside the successful development of pupils’ personal and social skills. Consequently, by the time that they leave school, they are extremely well equipped for the next stage in their education. Pupils develop a deep understanding of the fundamental British values of tolerance and respect. This was very clear in the key stage 2 assembly visited during the inspection and in meetings and conversations with pupils. They are extremely well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils develop strong subject-specific skills beyond English and mathematics. Topics are used to link subjects together and bring learning to life. The breadth and depth of the varied curriculum have a positive impact on the ambitious careers that pupils aspire to, such as archaeologist, surgeon and scientist.
• Almost all parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. They say that they are well informed about the progress that their children make. They appreciate that the care and additional support that their children receive is extended to the wider family.

Governance of the school

• Governors are wholeheartedly committed to the school’s drive for excellence. They are well informed and bring a range of pertinent skills to their roles. They fully understand the strengths of the school and areas for further development. A combination of information gained during their visits to the school and knowledge of the local community enables them to challenge leaders and make effective contributions to improvement planning.
• Governors ensure that funding is spent wisely. For example, they check that pupil premium funding is used to improve the experiences of disadvantaged pupils who consistently make excellent progress at Bridgewater.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff and governors receive well-planned, regular training to ensure that they are up to date with current legislative changes. All newly appointed staff and volunteers receive a thorough induction that makes clear their responsibilities for keeping pupils safe.
• Pupils told inspectors the ways in which the school helps them to keep safe beyond the school environment. They were very clear about the dangers of social media and discussed with real clarity how to keep safe when using the internet. Older pupils feel that they have been well prepared for their transition to secondary school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Excellent subject knowledge and a deep understanding of child development typify the high quality of teaching. Across all year groups, teachers use a vast range of strategies to make learning interesting and fun. As a result, pupils of all abilities make exceptional progress from their starting points.
• Teachers provide a rich array of learning experiences so pupils develop a love of learning from a very early age. This leads to extraordinarily high levels of engagement and strong outcomes in lessons. Pupils clearly understand the high expectations that staff have of them in all subjects and topics and they rise to the challenge.
• High expectations of what pupils can achieve are the norm in this school. Teachers regularly review pupils’ assessment information and when necessary a programme of bespoke support is implemented. As a result, pupils’ achievement is outstanding.
• The teaching of reading across the school is very strong. Phonics is taught exceptionally well, enabling pupils to work out unfamiliar words by blending the sounds that letters represent. At the start of the school day, parents told inspectors that their children make ‘amazing progress’ with their reading skills. Teachers and teaching assistants provide highly effective support for those pupils who do not read regularly enough at home. Leaders have introduced more time for older pupils to read high-quality texts and develop stamina to read for sustained periods. This is preparing pupils well for secondary school.
• Leaders have shown dogged determination in improving writing skills across the curriculum and this has paid off. The progress that pupils make from their starting points to the end of key stage 2 is outstanding. The quality and quantity of writing in different genres and for a range of audiences are excellent and celebrated on displays around the school. These high standards permeate all subjects. For example, in science books, pupils wrote a diary as if they were a red blood cell. The teacher assessed this work as they would for writing in an English lesson and also for scientific knowledge and understanding.
• In mathematics, a consistent and systematic approach to the teaching of key skills results in excellent progress for pupils from all starting points. High levels of challenge are evident in pupils’ books. Teachers’ approach to planning is consistent and builds progressively on pupils’ skills. Teachers prioritise securing pupils’ arithmetic fluency, which then moves sharply into developing pupils’ problem-solving and reasoning skills. As a result, pupils are confident mathematicians, whose progress in the subject is outstanding.
• The quality and quantity of work in pupils’ books across other subjects are equally exemplary. Pupils take great pride in the presentation of their work. They are provided with memorable experiences that help them secure and apply their knowledge and understanding. This prepares pupils extremely well for the next stage in their education.
• The small group of boys who did not achieve a good level of development by the end of Reception Year do not have the same level of concentration and stamina as other pupils. Staff are aware of this and the need to continue to adapt the Year 1 activities to accommodate the needs of this group.
• Teaching assistants work closely with teachers and are deployed very effectively. They make a strong contribution to pupils’ achievement. Assistants effectively deliver a raft of intervention programmes both to help pupils to catch up or to challenge the higher-ability pupils. The impact of intervention ensures that pupils make excellent gains in their learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• There is an exceptionally strong commitment to supporting pupils’ emotional well-being. A dedicated member of staff ensures that some of the most vulnerable pupils and their families receive carefully targeted care, support and guidance. Staff are well trained to identify and report concerns, which are acted upon in a timely manner.
• Since the previous inspection, the school has moved from one class to two classes per year group. Staff ensure that those who are new to the school are made to feel very welcome and their welfare needs are also met exceptionally well.
• Pupils are friendly and welcoming. They learn to appreciate others’ views and beliefs. This leads to a harmonious school, where everyone is valued for who they are.
• Pupils say that they feel safe, and parents agree with this. There is a strong focus on personal safety and pupils are very clear about how to stay safe when using the internet. Pupils told inspectors that, if they have any concerns, there are trusted adults on whom they can rely. This leads to a calm and purposeful learning environment in which pupils thrive.
• A very small minority of parents raised a concern through Ofsted’s free-text messaging service regarding support for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities. Inspectors found that the school goes above and beyond the call of duty in ensuring that pupils are thoroughly and accurately assessed and that the packages of support are tailored to meet the individual needs of pupils.
• Staff running the breakfast club provide pupils with a good start to the school day and help to ensure that pupils are ready for learning.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils are intrinsically motivated to behave impeccably both in lessons and during free time. This is because of the very high expectations from staff that pupils will respect each other and celebrate the achievements of others. As a result, pupils play safely together and show real consideration for those whose views may differ from their own.
• Incidents of poor behaviour are very rare. Behaviour logs show incidents for the previous academic year to be in single figures. Pupils who have found it hard to manage their own behaviour at their previous schools are invariably successful at Bridgewater.
• The appointment of a learning mentor has greatly improved pupils’ overall attendance, which is broadly in line with the national average. Leaders ensure that pupils from all groups attend equally well.
• The school council is proactive in organising fundraising events for a range of charities. School councillors represent the views of their classmates, a valuable experience of democracy. Those who met with the inspectors demonstrated their understanding of challenges facing people from other countries and cultures. They showed empathy for those who find themselves homeless through natural disasters. This demonstrates how the work of the school council contributes to pupils’ moral and cultural development.
• Without exception, pupils who spoke to the inspectors and those who completed the Ofsted pupil survey were overwhelmingly positive about behaviour and all other aspects of school life.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils achieve exceptionally well at this school. The standards that they reach by the end of Year 6 have continued to improve since the previous inspection.
• From their starting points into Reception, which are typically below those expected for their age, pupils make outstanding progress across the school. As a result, a significantly higher proportion of pupils meet and exceed the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics than is seen nationally at the end of key stage 2.
• The published data for 2016 indicated a dip in the progress pupils made across key stage 2. However, these pupils started in Year 3 with above-average standards. By the time they left Year 6, this group of pupils had maintained their higher standards, meaning they were very well prepared for their secondary school. The 2017 data shows that pupils’ progress across key stage 2 improved strongly in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The achievement of pupils currently in the school strongly indicates that outstanding progress is being sustained. Across each year group, the progress being made by all groups of pupils is exceptional.
• Disadvantaged pupils often make progress that is better than that of other pupils nationally. This is due to the unyielding commitment by leaders to removing any barriers that may inhibit pupils’ learning. Detailed analyses of pupils’ social, emotional and academic needs ensure that pupils receive the most appropriate level of support. In 2015, the school won a national pupil premium award, which recognised the school as one of the most improved in the country in terms of attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils. Current data shows that this group of pupils continues to thrive.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities also achieve well and make exceptional progress. This is because pupils receive high levels of additional and bespoke support, ensuring that their basic skills and personal development needs are met. The vast majority of this group have difficulties with speech and language. As they move through year groups, the school is successful in reducing the number of pupils in this group.
• The starting points of pupils into Reception are such that few are recognised as high prior attainers. However, aspirational targets, pupils’ excellent attitudes to learning and exceptional teaching mean that some pupils are able to make the faster progress needed to reach high standards. In 2017, the proportion reaching the higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics combined was above the national figure in 2016.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make outstanding progress in response to the close attention that teachers pay to the starting points and learning needs of individuals. Some pupils arrive at the school with very limited knowledge of English but quickly catch up. This is due to the emphasis placed by teachers and teaching assistants on modelling accurate spoken English. It is also as a result of the exceptionally positive attitudes of pupils to learning.
• The relentless focus on assessment and the development of speaking and listening ensure that pupils make outstanding progress in their early reading skills in the early years and Year 1. Nearly all reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check and results have been above the national average for the last three years. As they move through year groups, pupils are able to read confidently, make predictions and talk about authors’ intent. They develop a love of reading.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Outcomes for children by the end of the early years have improved since the previous inspection. The leader of the early years demonstrates the same determination, expertise and skills as her colleagues elsewhere in the school, to sustain the highly effective provision. She has an accurate view of strengths and areas to improve on because assessment procedures are robust.
• Careful analysis of assessment information ensures that children receive targeted support. As a result, most children reach a good level of development by the time that they leave Reception. The progress of boys has rapidly improved in the last three years and is now very similar to that of girls. The overall proportion reaching a good level of development in 2017 was higher than the national average of 2016, despite the fact that more than 50% did not attend this school’s Nursery and some had no pre-school experience prior to joining the Reception class. This represents outstanding progress from children’s starting points, which are below those typically expected, particularly in speech and language. Progress for all ability groups is substantial and sustained, and children are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1.
• The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. The early years leader ensures that teachers and teaching assistants maintain a sharp focus on the starting points of children in reading, writing and mathematics. She checks that they plan interesting, accessible activities both in the classrooms and outdoors. There is a particularly strong emphasis on developing children’s use of speech and helping them to persevere.
• Children entering the Nursery class at the start of the day settle very quickly. Although at the time of this inspection children had only been attending for a few weeks, it was clear how well they had adapted to school routines and expectations. The Year 6 prefects play a significant role in helping children to settle at the start of the day. They clearly demonstrate that they care for the children and act as superb role models.
• The learning environment across the early years classrooms is highly stimulating, and staff provide a good range of activities. Both in the classroom and outdoors, children benefit from a wide range of opportunities to explore and investigate. Staff quickly build strong relationships with parents, who become involved in their children’s assessment when they start school. Staff give parents the confidence to ‘stay and play’ with their children, so that they can encourage their children’s learning beyond the school environment.
• Staff are skilful in extending children’s interests into learning opportunities. For example, in the outdoor mud kitchen, children were eagerly making soup. Staff questioned the children on the ingredients that they were using, which helped the children to list and decide on the order in which the ingredients were added. This was very effective in encouraging conversations as well as linking the spelling of words to the sounds that they had been learning in their phonics session. Such high-quality engagement with children is commonplace throughout the early years and reflects the typically excellent teaching.
• Children behave superbly because they are well supervised, routines are well established and teachers’ and teaching assistants’ expectations are high. This means that children learn to sustain their interests and maintain their attention for increasingly longer periods.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105912 Salford 10032308 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 401 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Olatunde Olagunju Emma Henderson Telephone number 0161 790 2281 Website Email address www.bridgewaterprimaryschool.co.uk bridgewater.primaryschool@salford.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 July 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. Since the previous inspection, the school has moved from one form entry to two classes in each year group other than in Nursery and Year 6.
• Most pupils are White British, with English as their home language. There is an increasing number of children from different ethnic groups.
• The proportion of pupils at an early stage of learning English as an additional language is much lower than that seen nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is more than double that seen nationally.
• There is an above-average proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.
• The headteacher and other teachers work with staff from a local group of primary schools to provide and receive support.
• The school provides a breakfast club.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed a range of lessons or parts of lessons. Some of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. The inspectors looked at pupils’ work, listened to pupils reading and talked with pupils about their lessons and school life.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, middle leaders, subject leaders, teachers, representatives of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.
• The inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised documentation relating to pupils’ progress and to the school’s management, including the arrangements to ensure that pupils are kept safe.
• Inspectors considered six parents’ responses to Ofsted’s free-text service and 21 parental responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day and considered the school’s own surveys of parents’ views. They also took account of the responses to questionnaires from 20 members of staff and 49 pupils.

Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, lead inspector David Blackburne Stephen Rigby Jon Ashley Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector