Budbrooke Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the quality of teaching and raise standards further, especially in mathematics and for the most able pupils, by:
  • ensuring that all teachers set tasks that are accurately matched to individual needs and suitably challenging for all pupils
  • using questioning more effectively to require pupils to think deeply
  • providing more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills and knowledge in problem-solving activities using reasoning, both in mathematics lessons and in other subjects.
• Further improve leadership by:
  • sharpening links between leaders’ monitoring and school improvement targets
  • developing strategies to ensure that additional support in classes is used effectively to address the needs of all pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher provides effective and caring leadership. He has been central to driving forward the improvements in teaching that have led to pupils’ attainment rising across the curriculum. He is very well supported by the assistant headteacher who shares his commitment to ensuring that pupils at Budbrooke Primary School succeed in all aspects of school life. Parents value the work that leaders have done to ensure that their children are well taught and are safe and secure in school. The comment of one parent that ‘the headteacher is very approachable’ was representative of the views of a number of parents who responded to the online questionnaire or were spoken to by inspectors.
• Leaders have taken strong and appropriate action where teaching has not been effective. They have ensured that management of teachers’ performance is rigorous and used to hold staff to account for the progress that pupils make.
• Middle leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development within their areas of responsibility. They are involved in monitoring teaching and learning and are ambitious for pupils to succeed. There is a strong sense of collective responsibility among staff. They value the professional development they are provided with, including those from the multi-academy trust.
• The additional funding for the very small number of disadvantaged pupils in the school is used effectively to enable them to participate in all aspects of school life. This is indicative of the school’s commitment to ensuring equality of opportunity for all members of the school community. However, leaders have not ensured that they have published the school’s equality objectives on the website.
• The special needs coordinator is highly effective in ensuring that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with appropriate support to allow them to make good progress. She uses her knowledge and expertise of this area well to match additional support to individual pupils accurately. She closely monitors the interventions for these pupils to measure the impact that they have on their learning and progress. The additional funding is used well to provide individual or small-group support.
• The curriculum is well planned to stimulate pupils’ interest in learning across all subjects. Topics, such as ‘A Child’s War’ and ‘Dinosaur Planet’, provide good opportunities for pupils to learn and apply specific subject skills. Topics are enhanced through visits, including to RAF Cosford, and through ‘wow’ events, such as an evacuee day. The curriculum is further supported through a good range of clubs and after-school activities, including cheerleading, a forest-school club and a cookery club. Older pupils talked excitedly to inspectors about their forthcoming residential visit to Shropshire. Leaders ensure that these visits are carefully planned to support personal and social development and to allow pupils to undertake challenging physical activities.
• The school places a high emphasis on enabling pupils to develop skills and participate in a range of sports and games and has been awarded the Silver School Games Award. The additional primary physical education and sport premium funding has been used very effectively to extend opportunities for pupils further. In response to pupils’ requests, trampolining and archery clubs have been established, alongside other clubs such as cricket, rounders and athletics. Older pupils have been provided with training to act as play leaders, and run and organise clubs for their peers at lunchtimes.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported well. Leaders ensure that pupils have opportunities to extend their understanding of different faiths and beliefs, including through visits to places of worship, such as a mosque and a gurdwara. Assemblies are used effectively to emphasise moral and social issues such as tolerance and respect. This supports pupils in their development as citizens in modern British society. An annual arts week is used to help pupils experience a range of cultural activities. Peripatetic teachers provide pupils with instrumental tuition, including in piano and violin.
• The multi-academy trust provides support to the school through professional development for staff and involvement in monitoring and evaluation. Headteachers from across the schools in the trust work together well to provide input into joint reviews of teaching.
• School improvement plans focus accurately on the most important priorities. The plans have clear success criteria and timescales for when actions will be completed. However, monitoring and evaluation are not sufficiently sharply linked to these priorities. This limits leaders’ effectiveness in evaluating the impact of the plans on bringing about the required improvements.
• A number of parents expressed some concerns during the inspection about the amount and effectiveness of additional support provided to their children in the larger-sized classes in key stage 2. Leaders, including those from the multi-academy trust, recognise that this is an issue that needs to be addressed to provide some small-group support from teachers and teaching assistants to allow pupils of different abilities to make even more progress.

Governance of the school

• Governors are effective in challenging and supporting school leaders and have a strong understanding of the school’s strengths and also areas where it needs to improve further. Minutes from governors’ meetings show that they ask searching and pertinent questions of leaders. They use the information available to them, including the headteacher’s reports, to monitor the progress of pupils and compare the performance of the Budbrooke Primary School with other schools.
• Governors have a clear understanding of how teachers’ performance is managed and work with representatives of the academy trust to set suitable targets for the headteacher.
• Individual governors take responsibility for specific aspects of the school’s work, including health and safety and special educational needs. They provide feedback to other governors that enable them to make decisions on how further improvements can be brought about. They ensure that the additional funding that the school receives is used appropriately and effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The headteacher, through his role as the designated safeguarding leader, ensures that staff have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in keeping pupils safe and identifying any potential signs that may indicate concern. Training for staff is regular and thorough. Teachers and the majority of other staff are secure in their knowledge of how to protect pupils from radicalisation and extremism or child sexual exploitation. All other staff are scheduled to receive further training to extend their knowledge in these areas.
• Systems for recording concerns, including an online recording system, allow leaders to monitor closely any pupils who may be at risk of harm. Regular fire evacuation procedures are carried out to help ensure pupils’ safety.
• Security on the school site has been greatly strengthened since the school opened as an academy. There is a well-run and effective system for checking the identity of visitors to the school.
• Appropriate checks are carried out on all staff and visitors who work with pupils.
• Pupils have a good understanding of the risks that the use of the internet can pose. Pupils’ use of the internet in school is monitored to make sure that they cannot access unsuitable materials.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Relationships between pupils and adults are extremely positive and are based on mutual respect. Pupils are interested in learning and apply themselves well to the various tasks that they are given. Teachers make learning interesting and relevant to the pupils.
• The teaching of early reading is extremely effective. A whole-school approach to the teaching of phonics has been established and is now embedded. Teachers and teaching assistants skilfully ensure that pupils have a secure understanding of the sounds that letters make in words and can blend them together to read books that are well matched to their abilities, ages and interests. Pupils are supported in developing strong comprehension skills so that they fully understand the meaning of the texts they are reading. Reading is regarded as a central part of pupils’ homework. Pupils develop a love of reading as they move through the school. Pupils read for pleasure as well as a means of researching information.
• The teaching of writing is good. Teachers provide pupils with a strong knowledge and understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar. Opportunities for writing are well planned and enable pupils to use their skills in writing extended pieces of independent work that are of interest to the reader. For example, in a Year 6 lesson, pupils worked with calm concentration on reviewing and correcting their biographies of a famous Second World War leader. Due to the strong subject knowledge of the teacher, they confidently discussed how adverbs could improve their writing and applied this knowledge appropriately and accurately.
• Teachers set high expectations of how pupils present their work. The quality of pupils’ handwriting is consistently good across the school.
• Teachers use assessment well to monitor pupils’ progress and provide feedback that is helpful and indicates the next steps in learning. Teachers meet together regularly with other staff, both from within the school and other local schools, to ensure that their assessments are accurate.
• Parents are provided with clear guidance on what homework is expected of pupils through termly newsletters. The very large majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire believe that the amount of homework set for their children is appropriate.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are taught well. Class teachers plan carefully for their needs, following guidance from the special needs coordinator. Education assistants provide good one-to-one support for some pupils and ensure that tasks are adapted to their specific needs.
• There is a consistent approach to the teaching of computational skills, such as addition and division, across all classes. Teachers make sure that pupils develop a secure knowledge of core skills. However, opportunities for pupils to apply these skills in problem solving using reasoning are not embedded across all classes. As a result, pupils are not consistently required to think deeply about how they can and should apply their knowledge, both in mathematics and in other subjects.
• Teachers do not consistently ensure that the challenge for the most able pupils is sufficiently demanding. There are times when the same task is set for all pupils and this means that some pupils find the activity too easy. Where questioning is used well, it is matched to the different abilities of individual pupils. However, this is not the case across all classes.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are polite, caring and considerate individuals. They recognise that they are responsible for their own actions and that they have a duty of care for others. As a result, there is a harmonious and calm atmosphere around the school. Pupils display good manners, holding the doors open for others and saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Their behaviour in the dining room is good and they respond well to requests and instructions from adults.
• Pupils play well together on the playgrounds at breaktime and lunchtime. They appreciate the range of equipment that is available to them, including the ‘trim-trails’, and understand the need to take turns.
• Pupils respond well to the responsibilities they are given, including as house captains, school council representatives and play leaders. They take these roles seriously and older pupils understand the need to set a positive example to those younger than them. This is because all staff set positive examples of how to behave towards other people.
• There is a strong focus on ensuring that pupils adopt healthy lifestyles. Pupils are encouraged to take exercise and to make sensible choices about what they eat. Pupils develop a good understanding of the need to care for the environment through activities they undertake in the forest-school area.
• The before- and after-school clubs are well attended by pupils and appreciated by their parents. They are well run and provide pupils with a caring environment in which to play and talk with their friends. Governors have recently taken over responsibility for the running of these aspects of the school’s provision.
• Pupils understand that bullying is unacceptable and are well informed about what constitutes bullying and the different forms it can take. They said there is virtually no bullying in school. Pupils spoken to during the inspection said they would either report any incidents to an adult or make it clear that this type of behaviour was not accepted at Budbrooke Primary School.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave well, both in classrooms and at less structured times, such as during the lunchbreak. They listen to and respond quickly to instructions. Pupils understand that there are rewards for good behaviour but also sanctions if people misbehave. They know that the school behaviour policy applies to all members of the school community.
• Occasionally, when teaching is not sufficiently matched to the abilities of all pupils, a minority of pupils lose focus and drift off task. When this occurs, it is usually swiftly addressed by an adult.
• Systems for promoting good attendance are strong and, as a result, attendance is well above the national average. Pupils enjoy coming to school and parents recognise that regular attendance has a positive impact on learning. No group of pupils is disadvantaged by low attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress as they move through the school and reach standards of attainment that are above the national averages by the time they leave at the end of Year 6. Unvalidated assessment information for 2017 indicates that the proportion of pupils in Year 6 achieving the expected standard is particularly high in reading, writing and English grammar, punctuation and spelling. There has been an ongoing improvement in pupils’ attainment, both at key stage 1 and key stage 2, over the past two years. This reflects the focus that leaders have placed on developing teaching across the school.
• The progress of pupils currently in school is good. Evidence gathered during the inspection, including the school’s own assessment information and scrutiny of pupils’ work, indicates that teachers’ emphasis on high standards of presentation is reflected in the pride and care that pupils demonstrate through their work.
• There has been a significant improvement in the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check over the past two years. In 2017, nearly all pupils were at or above the expected standard. This is above the national average.
• Pupils make good progress across the curriculum. They apply their reading and writing skills well in imaginative pieces of work in subjects such as history and geography. In science, pupils undertake investigations to test out their hypotheses and draw sensible and informed conclusions.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Their progress is at least as good as other pupils in school and compares well to similar pupils nationally.
• The extremely small number of disadvantaged pupils make the same good progress as others in school and consequently attain at least as well as other pupils nationally.
• Pupils leave the school well prepared for their secondary education, displaying positive and inquisitive attitudes to learning.
• Attainment in mathematics is improving and is broadly in line with the national average. However, pupils’ progress in mathematics is not as strong as in reading and writing. This is because pupils are not provided with sufficient opportunities to think deeply in problem-solving activities that require reasoning.
• The most able pupils in school make expected progress from their starting points in school. However, the proportion reaching the higher standards in mathematics and writing is not as high as that in reading. This is because pupils are too often not challenged sufficiently in these subjects and are given work that is easily within their capabilities.

Early years provision Good

• Children start at school with skills and knowledge that are at least broadly typical, with some showing skills above those expected for their age. As a result of good teaching, accurate assessment and well-planned activities that engage their interest, children make good progress and are well equipped for their move to Year 1. The proportion of children who attained a good level of development was well above the national average in 2016. Provisional assessment information suggests that this will also be the case in 2017. Apart from in shape, space and measures, children’s attainment in nearly all of the areas of learning, and in personal, social and emotional development, is above average.
• At the time of the inspection, the majority of children had only been in school for a few days. Due to the positive and nurturing environment that teachers and other adults had created, all children had settled in extremely well and were happy and developing a good awareness of the routines of the Reception classes. Children engaged in animated conversations with each other and responded well to adults’ questions. Teachers and teaching assistants observed children’s participation in activities and recorded their responses to questions. This information was used to build up an accurate assessment of each child’s starting point, alongside information gained from parents and pre-school providers.
• Children are polite and understand the need to share, take turns and listen to other people’s views and opinions. Behaviour is good and children show consideration for other people’s safety through moving sensibly from one activity to another.
• Teachers recognise that many children already have good communication skills when they start at school. Consequently, adults challenge children to extend and develop these abilities through questions that allow sophisticated descriptions of what they are doing. An example of this was seen during the inspection, where children listened with rapt interest to the story of Elmer and then discussed why the elephant was multi-coloured and what problems this might cause.
• The leader of the early years provision has recently taken up the post. However, she has liaised carefully with the previous leader and has already developed a clear view of the areas that can be developed further to extend children’s learning. Leaders have made good use of staff development to improve teachers’ planning and make changes to the indoor and outdoor classrooms. These training opportunities have contributed well to improving teaching further and the strong progress that children now make in the Reception classes.
• Good use is made of additional funding to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The special educational needs coordinator ensures that early identification of any barriers to learning are identified and support is provided where needed.
• There are good systems in place to ensure that children are safe and well cared for. All welfare requirements are fully met. Appropriate numbers of staff have paediatric first aid training and regular checks are made on the indoor and outdoor areas to make sure there are no hazards that would compromise children’s well-being.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141244 Warwickshire 10037084 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 Academy sponsor-led 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 253 Appropriate authority The governing body Acting chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Denise Abbott Justin Stone 01926 492045 www.budbrooke.warwickshire.sch.uk/ admin2329@welearn365.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school does not comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish about equality objectives on its website.
• Budbrooke Primary School is an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well below average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils by the end of Year 6.
• The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club for its pupils.
• The school is part of the Community Academies Trust. The local governing body oversees the academy’s work. The school opened as an academy on 1 October 2014. When its predecessor school, Budbrooke Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, in December 2013, it was judged to be inadequate.
• The headteacher took up his post in January 2015.
• The chair of governors resigned from the governing body in the week before the inspection.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed pupils learning in 19 lessons or parts of lessons.
• The inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and listened to pupils read. They met with a group of pupils, including members of the school council. The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtimes and breaktimes, as well as in lessons.
• The inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s checks and records relating to safeguarding, child protection and attendance, records of how teaching is managed and the school improvement plans.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and a subject leader. The lead inspector met with two members of the governing body, including the acting chair of the governing body, and with a representative from the Community Academies Trust.
• The inspectors took account of the 127 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and free-text comments from parents. They also talked to parents at the start and end of the school day. They considered the 17 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Adam Hewett, lead inspector Michael Appleby John Bates Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector