Bramcote CofE Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 13–14 March 2012 Inspection number 380537 Bramcote CofE Primary School Inspection report

p.1

Unique reference number 122788 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 380537 Inspection dates 13–14 March 2012 Lead inspector Andrew Stafford

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 173 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Cindy Jones Headteacher Sarah Meredith Date of previous school inspection 05 May 2009 School address Hanley Avenue Bramcote Nottingham NG9 3HE Telephone number 0115 925 8548 Fax number 0115 925 8548 Email address office@bramcote.notts.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

p.1

after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.2

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

p.2

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspection team observed 14 lessons taught by eight teachers, of which six were joint observations with the headteacher. They held meetings with parents and carers, groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff. The inspection team took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, heard a sample of pupils read, and looked at the school’s tracking of pupils’ progress, teachers’ planning, records of classroom observations, the minutes of meetings of the governing body, the school’s self-evaluation and reports from the local authority. The inspection team scrutinised 118 questionnaires from parents and carers, and those completed by pupils and staff.

p.3

Information about the school

This school is smaller than the average primary school. Most pupils are of White British heritage and there are fewer pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds than is typical nationally. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much lower than average. The percentage of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including the proportion who have a statement of special educational needs, is below average. The government’s current floor standards, the minimum expectations for attainment and progress, are met. The school has achieved several awards including Healthy School status, Artsmark and is a Dyslexia Friendly school. Since the previous inspection the school has increased in size with additional accommodation. The acting headteacher, appointed in September 2010, was appointed as permanent headteacher in November 2011, and two new members of the teaching staff have been appointed since the previous inspection.

p.3

Information about the school

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.4

Key findings

 This is a good school where pupils’ behaviour and safety are outstanding. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive about all aspects of the school’s work. Attainment is above average and improving, particularly in reading. Pupils make good progress from starting points when they arrive in Reception that are typical for their age. The effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Despite many strengths, the school is not outstanding because the quality of teaching is not yet high enough to ensure that all groups of pupils reach their full potential.

p.4

Key findings

 Excellent behaviour and very effective pastoral care and support enable pupils to develop outstanding personal skills. They are happy, hold positive attitudes, feel safe and enjoy learning. Well-targeted support ensures that pupils at risk of falling behind are quickly back on track.

p.4

Key findings

 The quality of teaching is mainly good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers are enthusiastic and use interesting activities to make learning fun. Teachers regularly assess pupils’ work but do not use assessment consistently well enough to help pupils understand what they need to do to reach even higher levels. When they do, teaching and learning are outstanding.

p.4

Key findings

 The headteacher, staff and governors know the school’s strengths and areas for development well. They lead teaching well and have managed many improvements in performance since the previous inspection, showing a good capacity to maintain improvement in the future. Monitoring and evaluation of pupils’ progress is carried out increasingly rigorously and, along with the good curriculum, is helping to address quickly areas that have previously been less strong. The school provides many memorable experiences for its pupils and this helps their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development to be good. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that more teaching is outstanding by sharing the best practice in assessment so that pupils understand how to improve their work to reach their full potential.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

The very large majority of parents and carers who returned the questionnaires are happy with their children’s progress. Inspection evidence confirms that progress is good. Children start in Reception with skills that are generally around those expected for their age, although lower in linking sounds and writing than other areas of learning. Excellent induction procedures with parents and carers, and good links with nursery settings in the area, help the children to settle quickly and get a confident start to their school life. Children play together and behave very well. They make good progress and typically enter Year 1 having exceeded the levels expected for their age in all areas of learning. Attainment in reading by the end of Year 2 is above average and improving strongly. This is helped by the school’s very effective daily phonics (the sounds that letters make) session. Listening to pupils in Year 1 and Year

p.5

Achievement of pupils

2 reading confirmed that their attainment is above average. The school’s assessment shows clearly that progress in reading is good. Progress throughout the school is good and pupils consistently leave school at the end of Year 6 with attainment in reading, writing and mathematics that is above average. There is no significant variation in the progress made by different groups across the school.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

The school’s data shows that progress has improved and is now securely good in all areas that were relatively less strong, such as writing and mathematics at Key Stage 1. This is due to innovative changes to the curriculum and well-targeted use of teaching assistants. The inspection confirmed that learning is good and sometimes outstanding. Excellent progress was seen with some Year 5 pupils recounting the story of The Whale’s Song. Very effective teaching methods have sparked great eagerness in pupils’ learning and demonstrate the school’s effectiveness in advancing equality of opportunity. Throughout the school, pupils who are disabled and those with special educational needs make good progress. This is helped greatly by the challenges presented through very sensitive and well-focused support from the teaching assistants.

p.5

Quality of teaching

Teaching is rated highly by the very large majority of parents and carers, and also the pupils. Enterprising teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage, with a well- organised range of activities that capture children’s interest and imagination, helps them make consistently good progress and develop understanding rapidly. The Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.5

Quality of teaching

overall quality of teaching in the school is good and in some lessons outstanding. Teachers are very enthusiastic and create a very purposeful learning environment. Lessons proceed at good pace and there is a wide range of interesting activities to engage children, including many opportunities for them to practise their basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT). The school has invested in a well-trained teaching and support staff who work closely together in planning so that time is used well to ensure that the quality of teaching for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is of high order. Pupils eagerly told the inspectors about their projects of making and selling a variety of goods during enterprise week. This was to raise money for a children’s home in Bangalore. This is just one of the ways that the school’s provision makes a strong

p.6

Quality of teaching

impact on pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Innovative use of the curriculum, weaving together reading, writing, art and technology was seen in work from Year 6 lessons on Indian fables. The pupils made rapid progress as they worked together to produce their versions of the stories, painted rangoli patterns and cooked yellow dahl as part of understanding a different culture and its traditions.

p.6

Quality of teaching

As part of the school’s drive to promote equality of opportunity, staff acquire a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of their pupils. Teachers plan their lessons well with work that is carefully modified for the pupils’ different ages and abilities. This was seen particularly well in a Year 2 English lesson where different groups of pupils each had their own appropriate tasks to enable them to build the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Pupils gain in confidence well because they are given many opportunities to voice their opinions and share ideas. Teachers usually tell pupils the purpose of lessons and they check regularly how well the pupils are doing. However, they do not always give the pupils clear ways of being able to tell for themselves whether they have been successful; for example they do not consistently indicate the sequential steps to success and thus progress is not always

p.6

Quality of teaching

as good as it could be. Teachers mark work thoroughly. As well as correcting mistakes and giving praise, the comments made are not consistently linked to assessment systems to help pupils know how they can improve their work.

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is outstanding and there is much evidence from older pupils and from comments from parents and visitors to indicate that it has been for some time. Pupils say, ‘bullying just does not happen’, and they get on really well together. Inspectors could not find evidence of bullying of any kind. Incidents of poor behaviour are extremely rare and any that occur are dealt with very well. Attendance is consistently above average and children are punctual to school. All parents and carers who returned the questionnaire agreed or strongly agreed that behaviour is good. Similarly, the pupils’ questionnaires showed that the very large majority agreed that behaviour is good in lessons all the time.

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour has a strong impact on their learning. This was seen many times during the inspection. For example, mature interaction was seen in a Key Stage 2 Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

physical education lesson where pairs of pupils successfully completed a range of different exercises, recorded the number of repetitions and measured each others’ heart-rate. They displayed great pleasure in their achievements and congratulated partners for their efforts.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Throughout the inspection there were many examples of pupils being considerate towards others. Older pupils look after the younger ones very well, for example in acting as Buddies, helping them to form friendships if they are having difficulty. Most pupils agreed that they feel safe in school all the time. They told the inspectors that school is very safe because the adults look after them very well. They have an extremely good understanding of how to take care of themselves and one another. One pupil, new to the school, described how he had felt very welcome through the way other pupils had gone out of their way to be friendly and helpful. Many pupils were able to describe how the school challenges them with new experiences that lead to the outstanding confidence they display.

p.7

Leadership and management

The headteacher and her staff know every pupil very well. Senior and middle leaders, including those in the Early Years Foundation Stage and those responsible for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, are relentless in holding staff to account for the performance of their pupils. They make learning highly enjoyable and provide them with a good curriculum that has a positive impact on the pupils’ personal development. There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including art, music, ‘Mad Science’, cookery, dance, newspaper and singing clubs and growing fruit and vegetables in the school garden. The promotion of the pupils’ spiritual, moral social and cultural development is good. Time is built in for reflection in many lessons as well as assemblies. An assembly seen during the inspection illustrated how well the school stimulates an environment of respect for others. Pupils sang heartily together and contemplated how to react to, for example,

p.7

Leadership and management

diversity in gender, race, religion and beliefs.

p.7

Leadership and management

Monitoring and evaluation of pupils’ progress is carried out increasingly rigorously and is helping to address quickly areas that have previously been less strong. Consequently, attainment and progress are improving strongly. The school has a very accurate view of the strengths and areas for development in teaching and its quality has improved. It acknowledges that to improve further there should be a greater focus on developing a higher proportion of outstanding practice.

p.7

Leadership and management

Members of the governing body work closely with the school through effective links with subjects and teachers. They hold the school to account well through efficient monitoring of targets and careful scrutiny of data on attainment and progress.

p.7

Leadership and management

The equality of opportunity for each pupil is good and any possible discrimination is tackled rigorously. Safeguarding is robust with clear policies and very thorough risk assessments. Parents and carers agree strongly that the school keeps them well informed and acts promptly and efficiently on any concerns. They welcome the Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.7

Leadership and management

opportunities the school gives them to be involved in their children’s learning. Many comment very favourably about the conscientiousness and approachability of the headteacher and staff. Based on the improvements that have been made since the previous inspection, the capacity to improve further is good.

p.8

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

p.9

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

p.10

carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

p.11

Inspection of Bramcote CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG9 3HE

Thank you for welcoming us to your school and telling us your views, including through the questionnaire some of you completed. We were impressed by your behaviour and good attitudes to learning. Your school is good because it prepares you well for your next stage of life. You benefit from a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. As you move through the school you make good progress, particularly in reading. Your teachers and support staff are caring and those of you who need help benefit from good support. Many lessons are exciting and opportunities to go on a range of visits out of school help you to develop a better knowledge of the world. Everyone is treated equally and you rightly told us you feel safe. By the end of Year 6 you are growing into caring young people who respect others.

p.11

Inspection of Bramcote CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG9 3HE

Your headteacher, teachers and support staff are constantly seeking ways to make the school better. The school has improved since its previous inspection and, with your support, should continue to get better.

p.11

Inspection of Bramcote CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG9 3HE

Part of our job is to suggest how this should happen. We have asked the school to make more of the teaching outstanding by telling you precisely how to improve your work so that you can reach the next level.

p.11

Inspection of Bramcote CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG9 3HE

You can all help by continuing to attend well, work hard in lessons and look after each other well.

p.11

Inspection of Bramcote CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG9 3HE

We wish you all the very best for the future.

p.11

Inspection of Bramcote CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG9 3HE

Andrew Stafford Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Compla ining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.11