Broad Town Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve leadership and management by: taking further swift action to ensure that all pupils’ outcomes, especially those in mathematics, are improved in key stage 2 working with parents to ensure that pupils’ attendance rises, especially for those who are persistently absent.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by: further developing the school’s work to ensure that teachers provide pupils, including the most able, with activities in mathematics that enable them to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills ensuring that teachers provide opportunities for pupils to develop their skills in writing so that they are able to use grammatical knowledge, such as tenses, appropriate sentence construction and punctuation accurately and consistently in their work increasing the opportunities pupils have to edit and improve their work ensuring that pupils apply their reading skills more effectively to develop their comprehension of texts.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and other school leaders have developed a culture of high expectations for all pupils and adults. They promote equality of opportunity for all pupils within the school. As a result, pupils participate well in all aspects of learning and extra-curricular activities.
• Leaders’ self-evaluation is accurate. Leaders know their school well and have improvement plans that are having an impact on pupils’ outcomes. For example, pupils’ attainment and progress in writing is rising, due to precise and appropriate improvement work. A scrutiny of pupils’ books alongside the school’s assessment information for current pupils shows that the vast majority of pupils currently on roll make good progress. This includes pupils who are disadvantaged and the most able.
• Leaders and governors are very proud of the school and ensure that everyone works closely as a team. Leaders have focused on the way that reading and writing are taught and combined this with well-focused professional development. As a result, pupils’ outcomes in writing have risen.
• School leaders have coped well with the high levels of mobility in the school. They have ensured that pupils who are new to the school are well catered for by providing them with the support they need to develop further and make progress.
• Leaders’ monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment ensures that actions taken to improve pupils’ progress have a positive impact. They adapt these plans well, according to need. However, the school’s plans for improving mathematics have not been implemented quickly enough to ensure that they have a swift impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• The school provides well for the high proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. The special needs leader has created meticulous tracking of the needs of these pupils to ensure that the provision they receive meets their needs well and enables them to make progress.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils effectively. Leaders have been creative in the manner in which they have supported these pupils. This has improved pupils’ self-esteem and meets their social and emotional needs as well as improving their academic outcomes. These pupils are now making better progress.
• Leaders use the sport premium effectively. Funding has been used to develop the provision for all pupils to ensure that they have more opportunities to compete in events. Funding has increased levels of participation for pupils and provides greater access to competitive experiences within and outside school. The school has been successful in ensuring that pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles.
• Pupils enjoy the school’s interesting curriculum. They are keen to share their learning and skills. First-hand experiences, such as trips and residential visits, help to develop pupils’ understanding of the world around them. This enables them to have a better understanding of the learning taking place in the classroom.
• The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils talk confidently about democracy, respect and tolerance of each other. They are able to apply these principles to their everyday lives and interactions with others. Pupils are also keen to discuss the wide variety of displays around the school, which have influenced their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• Parents are positive about the school. They feel that their children are well cared for and that the school is well led and managed. Parents spoken to during the inspection praised the manner in which the school is inclusive and manages their children’s needs well.
• Although leaders monitor pupils’ attendance well, the persistent absence of a few pupils remains high. Consequently, there is more to do to continue working alongside parents to address the barriers to attendance.

Governance of the school

• Governors are very committed to the school and support leaders well. They are generous with their time and visit the school regularly. Governors meet with school leaders regularly, look at pupils’ learning in their books and visit classes.
• Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Leaders provide them with pertinent and relevant information to enable them to check the progress of actions specified in the school’s improvement plans. However, governors do not routinely ask challenging questions in their meetings with school leaders to help them assess the impact of actions.
• Governors hold leaders to account for the school’s performance. They have an accurate picture of the current attainment and progress of all groups of pupils across the school, particularly those who are disadvantaged and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. They are very aware of the needs of all the pupils in school and how the school is helping pupils develop further.
• Governors have links to subjects and other aspects of the school’s work. They exercise effective oversight of pupil premium funding, additional funding for special educational needs provision and the primary school physical education and sport premium. As a result, pupils’ needs are catered for well.
• The governing body has recently recruited further expertise to fill vacancies. These new governors have the necessary experience and skills to ensure that the school sustains improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school’s systems are well established and enable leaders to ensure that pupils are safe. There is a vigilant culture of safeguarding and all leaders, staff and governors prioritise pupils’ safety and well-being. Leaders have positive relationships with outside agencies and have previously sought further support to provide pupils with additional support when it has been required.
• Staff are well trained and knowledgeable about their responsibilities for keeping pupils safe from harm. They have a good understanding of the school’s procedures. Leaders have ensured that all staff and governors have an awareness of the risks of radicalisation and extremism. They also have a good understanding of the different cultures and heritage of some of the pupils.
• The teaching of safety in the curriculum ensures that pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe online and know what they would do if they were concerned about something. Pupils also have opportunities to learn about road safety and other dangers in the real world. Pupils are aware of bullying, but report that this does not happen in their school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ achievement and their behaviour in lessons. Pupils work hard in lessons and they can describe the improvements that they have made in their learning since the start of the year.
• Consistent and effective whole-school teaching approaches provide pupils with a good-quality education. Pupils know what is expected of them and they enjoy learning.
• Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge when introducing new skills and ideas to pupils. Pupils usually see clear demonstrations of what they need to do to be successful. As a result, pupils are now developing age-appropriate skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The assessment system, used by leaders and teachers to check pupils’ progress, is accurate. This is helping to identify and target pupils who may be at risk of underachieving. Leaders plan timely interventions to accelerate pupils’ progress. There is scope to focus more on pupils who would benefit from additional challenge and support to enable them to make better progress from their starting points.
• Teachers deploy teaching assistants effectively in split-aged classes to provide additional support to those pupils who benefit from more bespoke learning.
• Pupils read often, both in school and at home. Pupils report that they enjoy reading for pleasure and are developing the range of texts that they read. Although pupils answer questions of a literal nature, they find questions of interpretation more challenging. Their weaker comprehension skills have limited their reading attainment in the past. The school is now teaching pupils these skills and progress can be seen, especially in upper key stage 2.
• In writing, teachers give pupils opportunities to develop their written skills across a range of activities. Because teachers’ knowledge of grammatical features of writing is strong, pupils know that they need to include these in their writing, when appropriate. However, they are not consistently writing in the correct tense or varying sentence construction with precision. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to produce extended pieces of writing so that they can apply these skills.
• Pupils’ understanding of calculation in mathematics is strong. Teachers are starting to provide more opportunities for pupils to apply this knowledge and understanding in problem-solving and reasoning activities. However, sometimes pupils lack the vocabulary to explain their answers, which limits their development in this area.
• Pupils are not afraid to make mistakes because teachers encourage them to try their best. Many of the pupils reported that ‘making mistakes is part of learning and improving’. The school’s approach to these ‘marvellous mistakes’ enables the pupils to feel confident when trying new strategies in learning and developing their understanding. However, teachers do not routinely give pupils the opportunity to edit or correct their work. As a result, editing skills are not as well developed.
• Examples of pupils’ high-quality work on display set the tone for the vibrant learning environment in classrooms and around school. Teachers use other displays, with learning prompts, to enhance pupils’ learning further.
• Teachers and pupils enjoy good relationships across the school. This results in high levels of engagement, a shared purpose and a belief that everyone can achieve.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The relationships between adults and pupils are strong, which contributes to pupils’ enjoyment of school. Pupils say that their teachers are caring and always take time to help them in their learning. Pupils undertake a variety of roles within school, such as leaders of learning and digital leaders, which they carry out responsibly.
• Staff are skilled in addressing pupils’ personal and emotional needs. They know pupils well and respond sensitively and appropriately to support pupils’ specific needs, especially those pupils who are disadvantaged or pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Pupils feel safe and secure in school. Pupils of all ages have a good understanding of the potential risks when using the internet and use it safely and with confidence. For example, they know the importance of protecting their personal information and know not to agree to meet someone in person whom they have met online. They are clear that they must tell an adult if something makes them feel uncomfortable.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils conduct themselves well and generally demonstrate self-discipline. They are courteous and polite to each other, showing respect. They are aware of the school’s values and talk about how they apply these within their own lives. The school celebrates hard work and good manners. Pupils value this acknowledgement and are proud when their work is placed in the ‘golden book’ or they win the ‘Manners Cup’.
• Leaders and staff have put in place additional support for pupils who require support to manage their behaviour. They use external services well to provide specialist strategies to help pupils with their behaviour. This has a positive impact and exclusions are extremely rare. However, pupils say that, occasionally, a few pupils lose concentration and become inattentive, which slows down their progress in lessons.
• Overall attendance rates have been broadly in line with national averages. In 2017, persistent absence was high for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders analyse pupils’ individual attendance effectively and put in place strategies to try to boost attendance. However, this work needs to continue to ensure that persistent absence declines.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The small cohorts of pupils taking national tests each year at both key stage 1 and key stage 2 need to be analysed and interpreted with caution, as one pupil represents a significant percentage of the whole cohort.
• Over the past year, pupils have made quicker progress, and this is happening increasingly across the school. However, it is not yet reflected in published data for the end of key stage 2. Current pupils in Years 5 and 6 are making good progress; however, their low starting points mean that attainment remains lower than average.
• The school has coped well with the high mobility of pupils, especially those with additional needs. Of the pupils who left the school in 2017 at the end of key stage 2, only five pupils were in the school at the start of the key stage. As a result, the impact on the school’s published data does not always reflect the learning and support that takes place.
• Leaders responded well to a dip in the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in writing in 2016. The measure rose in 2017. This was due to a concerted and well-implemented action plan, which focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning in writing across the whole school. Although there is further work to do, standards are rising.
• Standards in reading and mathematics are not as high as they are in writing. Some pupils, and especially the most able, do not receive the support and challenge they need to achieve well. As a result, they are not able to apply their mathematical skills to solve problems. Also, some pupils, and especially the most able, cannot apply their reading skills well enough to demonstrate their understanding of the text.
• Attainment has improved in key stage 1. This improvement is also reflected in the work currently seen in pupils’ books. They are working within age-appropriate expectations and have been well prepared to move on to the next stage of their learning.
• Good phonics teaching in Reception and Year 1 equips pupils to learn new sounds and read tricky words. The proportion of pupils who achieved the standard expected in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 was well above the national average in 2016 and 2017.
• Progress for current pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and for those pupils who are disadvantaged is stronger than the published data. This is the result of focused and pertinent support from leaders and teachers. They provide pupils with bespoke learning to support them to make good progress.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership in early years in the school is good. The leader has an accurate view of the strengths and areas for improvement and has a sensible and appropriate action plan. She has identified relevant actions to improve teaching, learning and assessment as well as outcomes.
• The teacher, along with the additional adults who support in the mixed-age class of Reception and Year 1, has a clear understanding of the learning needed to ensure that children make good progress. However, staff do not consistently give children clear direction about how to complete learning tasks successfully.
• Outcomes at the end of 2017 declined to below national averages, especially in writing. Current assessments and scrutiny of children’s work show that this aspect of learning has improved and children are on track to achieve well by the end of the year.
• Teaching for the most able children in the Reception class is strong. Staff give these children opportunities and activities to extend their understanding and work alongside older pupils in the class. Support and challenge for other children who need support is also good. Bespoke teaching and learning for developing communication and the language skills of current pupils have been successful. These children are making stronger progress.
• Children are regularly involved in designing their learning environment. For example, children created the ‘superhero headquarters’ and play resources for the work on dinosaurs. Consequently, children are enthusiastic about their learning.
• Relationships are good. Teachers and additional adults interact well with children and have fostered their personal and social development. As a result, they cooperate well with each other to develop positive behaviours. The children are confident and self-assured as well as being independent in their learning.
• Leaders and staff have formed strong and trusting relationships with parents and families. The regular early-morning learning-sharing sessions for children and families are very successful and popular with parents. These enable parents and carers to share best practice in helping children to communicate, read, write and learn about numbers and shapes.
• All safeguarding and welfare requirements meet statutory requirements. Staff are well qualified and have the necessary experience and expertise to deliver good teaching and sustain improving outcomes for children and their families.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 126306 Wiltshire 10042700 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary controlled 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 66 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Local authority John Oldfield Bridget Long 01793 731395 www.broadtown.wilts.sch.uk admin@broadtown.wilts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils attending the school are of White British heritage. There are pupils of Traveller heritage within the school.
• The proportion of pupils who are in receipt of pupil premium funding is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is well above the national average. Numbers of pupils who have education, health and care plans are proportionately just above the national average.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• The lead inspector observed pupils’ learning across the school. All lesson observations were undertaken alongside the headteacher.
• The lead inspector looked at pupils’ current work in books across the curriculum and carried out learning walks across the school.
• The lead inspector heard pupils read in Year 1, Year 5 and Year 6 and spoke with them to find out about their attitudes to reading.
• Meetings were held with governors, middle leaders and pupils. The lead inspector met with the challenge and support partner from the local authority.
• The lead inspector took account of 12 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and informal discussions with parents when they brought their children to school. The lead inspector talked to pupils at break and lunchtime, as well as during lessons.
• The lead inspector looked at a wide range of school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plan, school policies, governors’ minutes of meetings and the school’s own assessment systems and monitoring records.
• The lead inspector reviewed a wide range of safeguarding evidence, including the school’s single central record and behaviour and incident logs.

Inspection team

Paul Smith, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector