Bellefield Primary and Nursery School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 20–21 March 2012 Inspection number 381894 Bellefield Primary and Nursery School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 135484 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 381894 Inspection dates 20–21 March 2012 Lead inspector David Curtis

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

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 298 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Goldstone Headteacher Steve Wigley Date of previous school inspection 3–4 February 2009 School address Windermere Road Trowbridge Wiltshire BA14 8TE Telephone number 01225 753530 Fax number 01225 719050 Email address admin@bellefield.wilts.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

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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’.

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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.

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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

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out at two days’ notice. Inspectors observed 22 lessons taught by 11 teachers. Meetings were held with the senior leadership team, the Chair of the Governing Body, the school council, a group of pupils from Year 6 and parents and carers. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at data showing pupils’ progress, policies relating to child protection and safeguarding and minutes of meetings held by the governing body. The inspectors looked at 72 questionnaires returned by parents and carers, together with those completed by staff, and pupils in Years 3 to 6.

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Information about the school

This is a larger than average primary school. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is a Nursery, a single Reception class and a mixed Reception/Year 1 class. Twenty-four per cent of pupils come from minority ethnic heritages, mainly Eastern European and Turkish. The proportion of pupils with English as an additional language is above the national average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above the national average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above the national average. The number of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the normal times is high. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations of pupils’ attainment and progress. The school received a monitoring inspection on 19 October 2010 when it was judged to have made good progress in making improvements and good progress in demonstrating a better

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Information about the school

capacity for sustained improvement following the previous inspection in February 2009.

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Information about the school

The on-site Surestart Children’s Centre was inspected on 21–22 March and is subject to a separate inspection report. 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

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Key findings

 This is a good school. Parents and carers are extremely positive about how the school supports their children’s learning and development. It is a very inclusive and harmonious school community. It has built successfully on the strengths identified in its monitoring inspection. It is not an outstanding school because although it is improving rapidly, improvements in pupil achievement and teaching are still required.  Pupils’ achievement is good and attainment is improving rapidly, especially at the end of Year 2, where they were low for the previous four years. They are now broadly average, for the first time in recent years, in reading, writing and mathematics. The upward trend in attainment at the end of Year 6 continues.  The rapid improvement in attainment is the result of good teaching, especially in the vital key skills of literacy and numeracy. Intervention programmes, such as ‘Every Child Counts’ and ‘Reading Pals’, contribute significantly to much

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Key findings

better progress made by pupils vulnerable to underachievement. Teachers’ marking is inconsistent in telling pupils how they can improve their work. On occasions, lesson introductions are too long and work is not matched to pupils’ abilities.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety awareness have improved significantly. Pupils behave well and feel very safe in school. Their attendance is also much improved, with a marked reduction in the rates of exclusion. In lessons, pupils show very positive attitudes to learning and are a key feature of their good behaviour and safety.  Leaders and managers are very successful in securing the rapid improvement of teaching and the attainment of pupils. They ensure that a strong focus is continually maintained on regularly checking pupils’ progress. In this way, as well as through rigorous and accurate self-evaluation, the school adopts a robust approach towards managing its performance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Reduce the number of lessons where pupils spend too long sitting and listening 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

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

to teachers and ensure activities match closely the learning needs of all pupils.  Improve the consistency of teachers’ marking by telling pupils how they can improve their work and linking this more closely to pupils’ targets for reading, writing and mathematics.

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Achievement of pupils

Inspection evidence supports the views of parents and carers that their children make good progress at school. Children start school with skills and knowledge that are well below expectations for their age, especially in communication, language and literacy. In Nursery and Reception, they make good progress, although attainment is below average when they start Year 1. Children enjoy learning their letters and sounds (phonics) and use their skills successfully to sound out ‘c’, ‘a’ and ‘t’ to read ‘cat’. Children listen attentively when required to do so and sustain interest and concentration in both adult-led activities and those they choose for themselves.

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Achievement of pupils

Good progress continues in Key Stage 1, with the result that attainment has improved from low to broadly average, for the first time in recent years. Attainment in reading at the end of Year 2 is now broadly average, with pupils confidently using their knowledge of letters and sounds to read new and unfamiliar words. Their comprehension skills are much stronger than in previous years and pupils show an enjoyment of reading. In lessons, pupils listen attentively to teachers and are confident in answering questions and explaining, for example, how to extend the number pattern ’15, 20, 25’. At the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is broadly average in reading, with an increasing proportion reaching above average levels. Pupils read fluently and with good understanding, as exemplified in a Year 6 lesson where pupils made outstanding progress in retrieving information to answer questions on ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ as part of their study of the Second World War. A

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Achievement of pupils

strength of pupils’ learning across the school is their ability to work independently for long periods. They take much care and pride in their work, including homework. They work very well with classmates, especially in discussion tasks, and are keen to help each other if they ‘get stuck’.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress and the gap in their performance compared with similar groups nationally is closing fast. Intervention programmes, such as ‘Every Child Counts’, show, on average, pupils making 14 months’ progress in key aspects of mathematics following a 20-week programme. Pupils from differing ethnic minority backgrounds, those eligible for free school meals and those pupils arriving at the school at other than the usual times also make good progress. Pupils with English as an additional language make outstanding progress, with many arriving at the school with no English and going on to reach or exceed the national average in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.

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Quality of teaching

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

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Quality of teaching

Inspection evidence supports the views of parents and carers that their children are taught well. Teachers’ planning is a strength, especially in showing in very clear detail what pupils of each ability group are expected to achieve. A particularly strong feature is that planning focuses very sharply on the needs of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, together with those who have English as an additional language. Good quality planning, linked to very effective support in lessons by teachers and teaching assistants, contributes significantly to good progress in lessons and the rapid improvement in standards.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers’ use of the school’s recently introduced ‘Creative Curriculum’ is highly effective in promoting good learning and progress. In Years 5 and 6, where the topic is the Second World War, pupils spent the day in role as evacuees and were prepared, as happened during the inspection, for an ‘air raid’ and moved immediately to the ‘Anderson Shelter’. By being in role, pupils learn to have a real empathy with life as an evacuee and this, in turn, promotes effectively their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In two outstanding lessons, pupils made excellent progress in writing letters home, by responding to those that they had received from their ‘parents’ still in London. Across the school, there is convincing evidence that the ‘Creative Curriculum’ motivates and enthuses pupils in their learning, including homework.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers have high expectations of pupils, especially in terms of their learning to work independently. Management of behaviour is good and learning is effective because work is matched closely to pupils’ needs. While teachers mark pupils work regularly and against the learning objectives for the lesson, occasionally they do not let pupils know how they can improve their work. This inconsistency links closely to teachers not always telling pupils what they need to do in order to reach a new target in reading, writing and mathematics, once the current ones have been reached. While most lesson introductions are brisk and challenging, there is still the odd occasion where pupils sit for too long on the carpet listening and do not spend enough time on activities specifically matched to their levels of ability.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

All pupils who returned the questionnaire said that they felt safe in school and this was confirmed by discussions with them. Pupils particularly value their teachers and know that they can turn to them with worries and concerns. Parents and carers who completed the questionnaire agreed that the school keeps their children safe and that behaviour is good, and inspectors agree with this. Pupils expressed no concerns over behaviour either in lessons or in the playground. They are confident that bullying does not take place. They show a good understanding of the different forms of bullying. For example, they have a strong awareness of the dangers of ‘cyber bullying’, such as through e-mails, text messages and social networking sites.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ attendance has improved to broadly average as the result of sustained efforts by leaders and the governing body to engage pupils, and parents and carers, in 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

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

recognising the importance of regular attendance and its impact on pupils’ learning and progress. There have been no exclusions or racist incidents recorded in the current school year.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Relationships between pupils in lessons are strong, with examples of pupils readily helping and supporting each other, without prompts from their teacher. Older pupils act as excellent role models for younger pupils, for example in taking them to collective worship and the daily ‘Wake and Shake’ session.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher and the senior leadership team, have been successful in driving the school forward since its last inspection and the monitoring inspection. The key successes have been in improving the quality of teaching from satisfactory to good, which has been the chief factor in the rapidly improving attainment of pupils, especially in Key Stage 1. Determined actions have improved attendance, reduced exclusion rates to zero and eliminated racist incidents. Leaders and managers have a detailed and accurate picture of the performance of all groups of pupils by gender, ability, ethnicity and mobility. They use this information highly effectively to target support for those pupils identified as underachieving , through successful intervention programmes. The training of 17 volunteers to be ‘Reading Pals’ and their high quality support for pupils is a key factor in the marked improvement in pupils’ reading. As a result of these significant

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Leadership and management

improvements, the school has the good capacity for further improvement.

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Leadership and management

The ‘Creative Curriculum’ is effective in supporting and extending pupils’ learning. It is especially helpful in guiding pupils towards good use of their key literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology skills in other subjects and homework. Through the use of topics, such as ‘India’, ‘Africa’ and ‘World War II’, the curriculum makes an effective contribution towards promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Leadership and management

The school leaders, staff and governors do not tolerate discrimination in any form and the promotion of equality of opportunity is effective because of the rapid closing of gaps between the performance of pupils in the school and that of pupils nationally. The governing body is supportive of the school and effectively challenges senior leaders in relation to the outcomes for pupils. Along with school leaders, it ensures that all safeguarding and child protection requirements meet current requirements.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Bellefield Primary and Nursery School, Trowbridge BA14 8TE

Thank you very much for making your contribution to the inspection through completing questionnaires, reading to us and talking to us in lessons and around the school. We enjoyed meeting you. We are pleased to tell you that you go to a good school and that it has improved since its last inspection. I am pleased to say that these are some of the areas in which the school is very successful:

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Inspection of Bellefield Primary and Nursery School, Trowbridge BA14 8TE

 You make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and because of this, you now achieve as well as other pupils nationally.  In lessons, you work hard and with good concentration.  You really enjoy the good new ‘Creative Curriculum’ that your school provides.  Teaching is good and teachers have very high expectations that you should work hard – and you do!  Senior leaders and the governing body are determined that you should all learn to the best of your ability.

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Inspection of Bellefield Primary and Nursery School, Trowbridge BA14 8TE

Here are a few things that your school needs to do to make it outstanding:

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Inspection of Bellefield Primary and Nursery School, Trowbridge BA14 8TE

 Ensure that you do not spend too long listening to teachers at the start of lessons and that the work you are asked to do is at the right level for you  ensure that when they mark your work, teachers always write comments to help you improve and give you clear ideas about the next targets you need to achieve.

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Inspection of Bellefield Primary and Nursery School, Trowbridge BA14 8TE

You can help, especially by asking teachers how you can make your work better if they do not tell you and always using your individual targets to help you learn in lessons.

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Inspection of Bellefield Primary and Nursery School, Trowbridge BA14 8TE

David Curtis Additional inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining 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 .

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