Bearwood Primary and Nursery School

Bearwood Primary and Nursery School Barons Road, Bearwood, Bournemouth, BH11 9UN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Leaders and managers are ambitious for the school resulting in improvements in pupils’ progress and in the quality of teaching.  Pupils learn well, including those supported with extra funding under an initiative known as the pupil premium. The proportion of pupils exceeding the levels expected for their age has improved, particularly in writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ progress is tracked well by teachers and senior leaders, which ensures that all groups of pupils, including those who are disabled or with special educational needs, achieve well.  Teaching and learning are good overall. The majority of lessons are engaging and promote pupils’ interest.  Pupils’ personal development is good. Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning and behave well in and around the school.  The governing body ensures pupils are safe at school and that safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In a small minority of lessons, the pace of learning is too slow which limits the progress of some pupils, particularly in Year 3 and Year 4.  Teachers do not always check often enough how pupils are doing or give pupils enough opportunities to take on board comments made in marking.  Some pupils, particularly those in middle ability groups, do not have enough opportunities to work independently to practise their skills.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 13 lessons, two of which were joint observations with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. Observations featured 11 different teachers. In addition the inspection team made a number of shorter visits to lessons and to groups receiving extra support and heard a sample of pupils read.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised documents including the school’s improvement plans and the school’s records of current pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance. Documents relating to planning, monitoring and safeguarding were also looked at.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and staff, including senior managers and a telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and a small number of parents and carers bringing their children to school were spoken with.

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Information about this inspection

 The views of staff were taken into account as expressed in writing and through the Ofsted questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Laura Dickson, Lead inspector Additional inspector Michael Burghart Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a broadly average-sized primary school.  The proportions of disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those supported through school action are below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement is above average.  Virtually all pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for extra support funded by the pupil premium initiative, (including those known to be eligible for free school meals, children in local authority care and those from service families, such as in the army) is below average.  The school runs its own breakfast club and provides a range of before- and after-school activities for pupils.  The school operates its own nursery and it also works in partnership with a private playgroup based on the school site which is not managed by the governing body.  The school meets the current floor standard which sets the government’s minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for attainment and progress. The school is managing falling pupil numbers due to changes in the age at which pupils transfer to secondary education across the local authority and is now a one form entry primary school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in Year 3 and Year 4, by:  increasing the pace of learning where it is too slow to ensure pupils are fully involved and motivated  involving pupils more in responding to teachers’ marking  checking pupils’ understanding and progress more thoroughly throughout lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the attainment of pupils in middle-ability groups across the school so that a greater proportion reach at least the national average at the end of Year 6 by:  planning sufficient practical opportunities for pupils to practise skills, particularly in mathematics  providing more opportunities for independent learning  introducing even more effective planning for the use of teaching assistants to help middle- ability groups in lessons.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children joining nursery enter with levels below those expected for their age with particular weaknesses in early literacy skills and emotional development. Good provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures that by the time children enter Year 1 the majority are close to the national average.  Pupils continue to do well in Year 1 and Year 2 because of the good teaching they receive and the way their learning needs are identified and supported. Pupils achieve well and make good progress in these year groups and consequently attainment is at least average at the end of Year 2.  Progress in Year 3 and Year 4 is secure but less marked and this reflects the slow pace of a minority of lessons which restricts the learning of some pupils. Where teachers’ expectations are high there is stronger and more ambitious teaching which reflects on how well pupils achieve by the end of Year 6.  Attainment over time has been generally above average with a small dip in 2012. Currently Year

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The achievement of pupils is good

5 and Year 6 pupils are achieving well and their work shows that they are on course to reach standards above national expectations, especially in writing.  The school’s effective tracking of all year groups ensures appropriate support is provided for pupils at risk of underachieving, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who achieve as well as their classmates. Although achievement is good overall, fewer pupils achieve well in mathematics. Here teachers do not consistently plan well enough to provide sufficient practical opportunities to allow pupils, especially in middle-ability groups, to practise what they have learnt and develop their understanding of how to solve problems.  The school is effectively developing pupils’ reading skills by systematically teaching them the relationship between letters and sounds and by the effective liaison with parents and carers. Pupils read with confidence and are able to sound out letters in order to read unfamiliar words.

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The achievement of pupils is good

Pupils say they enjoy reading and read regularly at home.  Pupils’ good attitudes to learning and their strong relationships with staff enhance the progress they make across the curriculum.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching observed by inspectors was good and sometimes outstanding. Evidence confirms that teaching is typically good. Where teachers’ questioning provided high levels of challenge pupils were excited and engaged and made particularly fast progress. In one lesson, for example, the teacher read a story on an African theme which had pupils hanging on every word and later provoked excellent discussion around the cost of education and the pupils’ own feelings.  Senior leaders check on the impact of teaching on learning rigorously. They ensure that the government’s national expectations for the quality of teaching are met and, through well- organised and purposeful performance management, ensure that teachers are provided with any training needed to make improvements.  There is a consistent approach to the way teachers check and mark pupils’ work across the school which gives pupils guidance on how to improve their work. However, not all teachers

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The quality of teaching is good

ensure pupils have time to respond to marking or use the guidance effectively which sometimes results in pupils repeating mistakes and not moving on to the next stage of their learning quickly enough.  Teachers provide pupils with a curriculum that meets requirements and is enhanced by a good range of visits, visitors and extra-curricular activities. Planning is tailored to meet the needs of pupils but in some lessons work is not so well matched and pupils do not fully understand the task. Teachers and their assistants do not always check pupils’ understanding fully and so some pupils, particularly those in middle-ability groups, do not always achieve their best.  In the minority of lessons, for example in Years 3 and 4, where introductions are too long and pupils have to spend too much time listening rather than doing their work, they do not achieve as well as they could.  Homework, linked to the enriched curriculum, gives pupils further opportunities to consolidate

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The quality of teaching is good

reading, writing and mathematics skills and knowledge already taught in school.  Pupils take pride in their work because of the way they are encouraged by the school. Good achievement in lessons is celebrated in the school’s ‘Learning to Learn’ initiative which helps pupils to know how well they are doing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils demonstrate good attitudes to learning by their eagerness to take part in lessons and respond to their teachers. Topics such as the Second World War and the universe are notably popular.  Pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage come into school with confidence. They are happy and enjoy socialising with older pupils, for example at break times and during the well-run breakfast club. Pupils of all ages play well together and while there are very few incidents of inappropriate behaviour, pupils say it is dealt with quickly by staff. The school’s ‘Listening Ear’, which is a system whereby pupils are given the opportunity to talk to adults if they need to, was introduced as a direct result of the suggestions of the school council. Pupils say they feel listened to and cared for.  A very small minority of parents and carers raised concerns over how pupils behave. Inspectors found behaviour to be good in and around the school. Pupils and staff say that this is always the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

case. The school’s behaviour policy and systems for rewards are having a positive impact on how pupils behave.  Pupils are polite and courteous. They enjoy having responsibility for making decisions like the playground buddies and playground equipment to improve their experiences at playtime.  Pupils have good moral awareness and a developing understanding of different cultures, particularly through their links with Ghana and a school in London.  High expectations of behaviour are evident in displays of pupils’ work, school rules displayed in all class bases and the pupils consideration for their environment.  The school has made a determined effort to improve pupils’ attendance, for example, by not allowing holidays during term-time. As a result, attendance is now above average.  Safeguarding procedures are clearly effective as pupils say they feel safe.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school benefits from strong leadership, and committed staff and managers share senior leaders’ vision for continuous improvement and work to see that no pupil is discriminated against. The leadership team is ambitious. Its effective partnership with the governing body and local authority has a strong impact on improving the school.  Leaders and managers have improved the quality of teaching through a programme of regular classroom visits and scrutiny of pupils’ work, which ensures pupils overall are learning well. There is a clear correlation between how well pupils achieve and how well staff are paid.  The curriculum has recently been successfully reviewed with a strong focus on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, providing opportunities for pupils to visit local areas of interest and to welcome visitors in to school. The ‘Seeds for Africa’ project has seen pupils bring

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The leadership and management are good

in their own pocket money to help others, with a very positive impact on consideration for others.  Highly effective policies and procedures ensure that the school fully meets statutory requirements with regard to safeguarding and child protection, for example through the vetting of staff.  The strength of the school’s self-evaluation is clearly evident in its accurate judgements of the quality of teaching and learning. Aspects which require improvement have already been identified and strategies put in place to address them with notable success, for example in raising attainment in reading and writing. This gives the school a strong capacity to improve further.  The headteacher and governing body have successfully managed the restructuring of the school from two to one form entry while ensuring pupils good achievement.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body provide a strong level of support and challenge to the school.

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The leadership and management are good

Governors are well informed about how pupils are doing. They are committed to their role, and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the decisions that they take against pupils’ progress. The governing body plays a key role in setting ambitious targets for the school and fulfils its statutory duties well. It manages the budget effectively, for example in allocating extra resources to support pupils under the pupil premium initiative.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 113749 Local authority Poole Inspection number 401386

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ann Harris Headteacher Wendy Govan Date of previous school inspection 13–14 January 2010 Telephone number 01202 590703 Fax number 01202 590703 Email address school@bearwood.poole.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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