Breamore Church of England Primary School

Breamore Church of England Primary School Salisbury Road, Breamore, Fordingbridge, SP6 2EF

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Overall effectiveness

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

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Leaders have, until recently, been too slow to take the measures required to improve teaching so that all pupils reach their full potential, particularly the most able.  Teachers do not know enough about the stages pupils move through as they learn to calculate and so pupils do not progress quickly enough.  Progress in reading is not fast enough because there is not enough consistency in how pupils are taught.  Teachers do not plan enough activities that allow pupils to use and develop their reading and calculation skills, particularly in other subjects.  Some lessons are too slow and there are times when pupils are not given clear enough explanations as to what they are supposed to do or time limits in which to complete tasks.  Progress for children in the Reception class is hampered as there are not enough opportunities planned by teachers for the outside learning environment.  Plans for the future do not indicate milestones

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

that can be checked by leaders to see if they are improving pupils’ achievement.  The governing body does not have the skills to challenge the school or to become more involved in how improvements can be made.

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The school has the following strengths

 Improved checking systems are enabling leaders to hold teachers more to account, resulting in current pupils making faster progress.  Progress in writing is good because teachers have been trained well and give good individual support in lessons. Marking of pupils’ written work is good.  The school looks after pupils well and pupils who are potentially vulnerable or find learning difficult are well cared for and make good progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are polite, well mannered and courteous and enjoy good relationships with adults and each other.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons, all of which were joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. In addition, he made a number of other short visits to lessons. He also looked at pupils’ books and observed other aspects of the school’s work including an act of collective worship.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body and other governors and school staff. Key Stage 2 pupils gave the inspector a tour of the school. The inspector also spoke to pupils about their reading and listened to them read. A meeting was held with representatives of the local authority.  The inspector took account of the 25 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), two letters from parents, an anonymous e-mail and spoke to parents and carers at the school gate. He also reviewed 13 questionnaire responses from staff.  A number of documents were looked at, including the school’s own information relating to pupils’

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Information about this inspection

achievement in the school year 2011/12 and since Septermber 2012, the school’s checks on how well it is doing and school development plan, planning and documentation including records relating to behaviour and attendance, policy documents and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Martin Marsh, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than average-sized primary school and most pupils are of White British heritage.  One in nine pupils is eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding which in this school supports pupils known to be eligible for free school meals) which is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportions supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are in line with that found nationally.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has over a third fewer pupils than at the time of the last inspection.  The headteacher was appointed in January 2011, after nearly a year of acting headteachers, following the retirement of the headteacher in post at the last inspection. Since then, there has

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Information about this school

been a teacher on long time sickness, another experienced teacher has resigned and, in January 2013, the school appointed a newly qualified teacher. There have been four different Chairs of the Governing Body. The headteacher is leaving at the end of March and the deputy headteacher will be acting headteacher until an appointment can be made.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be at least good by:  using information about what pupils know and understand to plan lessons which meet the needs of all pupils, particularly the most able  giving pupils clearer explanations of what they are expected to do when working on their own and time limits for when they have to complete a task  devising strategies to ensure that more pupils are actively involved when the teacher or another pupil is talking to the whole class  making sure there are more opportunities for pupils to learn outside in Reception.  Raise attainment in English and mathematics by:  providing training for teachers so they can plan more precisely how to increase pupils’ rates of progress in learning to calculate  giving pupils more opportunities to practise calculation skills and apply them to problems  making sure the same approach is used across the school in helping pupils to read words they

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

find difficult  providing more opportunities for pupils to apply their learning in literacy and mathematics in other subjects.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by:  devising plans for the future that have clear outcomes for pupil achievement and set milestones against which leaders can regularly measure progress  developing all leaders’ understanding of information on pupils’ progress and how it can be used to make decisions about their learning  providing the governing body with the skills to challenge the school more effectively and contribute further to making plans for the future.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children enter the school in Reception with skills that are typical for their age. They attain broadly in line with what is expected nationally at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, but not enough do better than this. Too few pupils who are more able achieve what they are capable of because they are not given enough opportunity to develop and use their calculation skills or read and use challenging texts in other subjects.  Progress in reading is not fast enough because the teaching approaches in place to help pupils acquire an understanding of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) are not applied consistently.  In Reception, the opportunities for pupils to learn outside are limited, which results in children making slower progress than they could from this environment. Children work well with adults and each other. They have very well developed social skills enabling them to learn and play well

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

with each other.  Historically, the progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs has been slow. However, those currently at the school are making much better progress. This is because the measures that have been put in place to quicken their progress are now checked carefully to ensure they are working and teachers are more regularly accountable for how pupils are doing.  Pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding receive good support and tuition to quicken their progress. As a result, they attain more highly than other children in the school in English and mathematics as measured by average point scores.  Progress in writing is good because teachers have had a good programme of training and are planning lessons that ensure pupils’ skills are continually being built upon. Adults also provide good individual feedback and challenge to pupils in lessons and when marking their books.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in some lessons does not build well enough on what pupils already know and understand and, as a result, they do not make as much progress as they could, particularly in mathematics. The more able pupils are not routinely set problems and tasks which will make them really think and use the skills they know. This hinders their progress.  Teachers’ knowledge of the various stages pupils reach as they learn to calculate is not good enough and, as a consequence, pupils spend too much time doing calculations that are either too easy or too difficult. This slows down their progress.  In some lessons, explanations are not clear enough and there is not enough checking of pupils’ understanding. Sometimes, when a pupil is talking to the whole class, not enough is done by the teacher to ensure that what they say benefits everyone. There are also occasions when time limits are not set for when a piece of work is to be completed and so some pupils work too

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

slowly.  The most able are left to work on their own too much and, because the activities and questions they are set are not planned well enough, they make slower progress. This contrasts with the middle and lower ability pupils who benefit from the individual feedback given by adults to help them to improve their work in lessons.  Relationships between adults and pupils are good. Pupils help each other and do not give up when faced with a problem especially when it is challenging. In a Year 6 class, all pupils were making good progress in a writing lesson because, in pairs, they were being challenged to construct increasingly complex sentences using connective clauses in different contexts. The most able were being asked to place the clause in different parts of the sentence. As a result of the well matched and challenging work, progress was good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy coming to school and are polite, well mannered and courteous. They understand the school rules, which they helped to develop, and abide by them both inside and outside the classroom. All the parents and carers spoken to during the inspection or who responded on Parent View said their children were happy in school and were safe. The pupils said the same.  Pupils are proud of their school and were keen to show the inspector their work and tell him about things that they did, for example the anti-bullying week in which they learnt about ‘words that hurt’ and about the different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying.  The school celebrates the diversity within the wider United Kingdom community so the pupils understand about other cultures and faiths not represented in the school. This shows that the school is successful in promoting equality of opportunity and fairness, fostering good relations

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

and tackling discrimination.  There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to take on responsibilities, such as through being part of the school council or being an ‘eco-warrior’. Some parents and carers described the school as a ‘family’ and a ‘community’. This is because the pupils are well cared for and they respond by showing similar care to each other.  There is a small number of pupils who find aspects of school difficult, but the very strong care and support systems manage this very well. As a result, they are able to be part of lessons and take a full part in the life of the school.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good, but there are times when teaching is less strong, that they do not listen as hard as they could and work slowly when not closely supervised.  Attendance is average and pupils typically arrive for school on time.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school is still feeling the effects of the turbulence in both leadership and staffing since the last inspection which has had a negative effect on the achievement of pupils. Historically, poor management of the school’s budget and lack of decisive action to tackle poor teaching and falling standards have resulted in parents and carers taking their children out of the school.  Some parents and carers expressed concerns about the leadership of the headteacher. However, the inspector found that actions she had taken in the last two years have been totally appropriate to the situation the school was in. The pace of change needed to be faster, but governors and staff have, in the past, not been as supportive as they could have been. This is not the case now. All the staff who responded to the staff questionnaire or were spoken to during the inspection were positive about the school’s leadership as were governors interviewed

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The leadership and management requires improvement

during the inspection.  There is still a lack of understanding among some leaders, especially governors, as to how information on the performance of pupils can be used to inform decisions to improve learning and make plans for the future. The school has put systems and checking procedures in place that identify and tackle underperformance, both of teachers and pupils. As a result, pupils are currently making faster progress and teaching is improving.  Although, the school’s self-evaluation correctly identifies where the school needs to improve, the plans for the future are too broad and not closely enough linked to pupils’ achievement. They also do not include milestones by which leaders can check on progress.  The school’s curriculum satisfactorily promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and meets statutory requirements. The curriculum is enhanced by visits, such as to

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The leadership and management requires improvement

a synagogue, and special weeks planned around themes such as Money Week’where pupils have opportunities to become financial entrepreneurs.  The local authority has supported the headteacher well through some difficult times. This, together with the help it has given her in developing her senior leadership team, means the school is in a good position to move the school forward when the deputy headteacher takes over the acting headship in April.  The governance of the school:  The governors are not challenging the school enough because they do not have the necessary skills to do so. They are now fully supportive of the senior leadership team, which has not always been the case in the past. They understand that the school is in a better position than it was two years ago and that difficult decisions still need to be made if the number of pupils continues to fall. As yet, they have little say in the school’s strategic direction with regard to

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The leadership and management requires improvement

raising pupil achievement because their understanding of the school’s information on pupils’ performance is weak. They have an accurate view that the school requires improvement but believe that the quality of teaching is better than it currently is. They have had some training from the local authority. The governing body understands the purpose of the pupil premium and how it has impacted on the eligible pupils in the school. The governors have also ensured that there is a close link between the checks on teachers’ performance and teachers’ pay. The governing body gives good support to the school in meeting safeguarding responsibilities, particularly regarding the safety of pupils and the appointment of staff.

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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 116275 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 403291 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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 93 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Farr Headteacher Kate Lane Date of previous school inspection 8 May 2008 Telephone number 01725 512286 Fax number 01725 512286 Email address adminoffice@breamore.hants.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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