Bratton Primary School

Bratton Primary School Carpenters Lane, Bratton, Wiltshire, BA13 4RL Inspection dates 29–30 November 2012

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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.  The school has sustained year-on-year improvement since the previous inspection.  Steps taken to improve the way pupils’ progress is checked, to make sure that their needs are met, and to develop their learning across the range of subjects have been successful.  Pupils achieve well. By the time they leave the school, pupils show that they can learn confidently with and from each other, and are capable of sustaining good learning into the future.  Pupils make good progress in their lessons as a result of typically good and sometimes outstanding teaching.  Teachers manage the pupils’ behaviour effectively and use teaching assistants well to make sure that disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding, achieve as well as other pupils.  All the adults who work in the school ensure that pupils are well cared for and support the pupils closely during a stimulating range of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learning activities. As a result, pupils feel safe and enjoy their time at school. Consequently, attendance is above average.  The headteacher, senior colleagues and members of the governing body work together effectively as a united team.  Senior leaders and governors share a strong commitment to continuing improvement and take a full part in a comprehensive range of checks, to ensure that planned actions bring about the required improvements to teaching and pupils’ achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ skills in speaking and listening and sharing ideas with other pupils to improve their own learning are not developed well enough through Reception and Years 1 and 2 classes.  Links with parents and carers and with pre- schools are not always used effectively enough to help develop pupils’ communication skills and to promote positive attitudes to learning at school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited 11 lessons and was accompanied by the headteacher during the majority of these observations.  The inspector observed morning playtime and lunch breaks and attended an assembly. The inspector also visited the breakfast club.  Meetings were held with members of the school council and many other pupils were spoken to during lessons and breaktimes. The inspector also met with governors and representatives of the local authority, and spoke informally with a number of parents and carers as they brought their children to school.  The inspector held meetings with school staff, including senior and middle managers.  The inspector consulted 34 parents’ and carers’ responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning and undertaking the inspection, and examined 19 staff questionnaires.  The inspector observed the school’s work, and looked at a number of documents, including the

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Information about this inspection

school’s own data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Alex Baxter, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is below average in size.  Most pupils attending the school are of White British heritage and few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported by school action is broadly average. The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for pupils in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals) is broadly average.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is comprised of one Reception class.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is no alternative provision for pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Move the quality of teaching from good to outstanding and raise pupils’ attainment, especially by the end of Year 2, by:  extending the pupils’ speaking and listening skills and self-confidence in expressing and sharing their ideas with other pupils during lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Work more closely with parents, carers and pre-school providers to develop strategies that will develop and enhance children’s communication and personal skills to enable them to take a full and active part in learning when they start at school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children’s skills on entry vary from year to year, but mostly they are well below those normally expected, especially in communication and language skills, and in personal, social and emotional development.  Children make good progress in the Reception class because they are helped to settle quickly and closely supported for their individual needs.  Pupils’ good progress continues through Years 1 and 2, again because learning is matched well to their differing abilities. However, because of their low starting points and limited self- confidence in learning for themselves, progress is constrained on occasions. This is particularly evident in their speaking and listening skills.  Observations of lessons show that as pupils mature, they apply themselves more confidently to their work and quicken their progress through Years 3 to 6. A scrutiny of pupils’ work in books and of the school’s own checks on their progress also showed that the number of pupils meeting

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The achievement of pupils is good

and exceeding expected rates of progress compares well with the national picture.  For example, in a mathematics lesson in the Years 3 and 4 class pupils eagerly competed well with each other when solving number problems. This speeded up their progress.  By the time they left the school, most pupils who took the recent national tests in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6 met or exceeded expected levels of attainment. This showed that they had achieved well as a result of good teaching.  Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those in receipt of pupil premium funding also achieve well, because of additional adult support helping them to learn in a step-by- step way. Families of pupils supported by the pupil premium often receive additional guidance from a ‘pastoral care manager and parent support adviser’ , and this helps to lift pupils’ confidence when learning with other pupils. This is a good example of how well the school

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The achievement of pupils is good

promotes equality of opportunity for all pupils.  Across the school, pupils make good progress in reading because of a consistently effective emphasis on teaching how letters sound (phonics). Pupils also learn to read well, because they receive daily group or individual reading support at school and are encouraged to read at home every day.  Many pupils speak and listen and use computers very capably by the end of Year 6 so that they are well prepared for their secondary education.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved well since the previous inspection. Pupils’ writing skills are now developed more effectively through topics that link subjects together, as for example, in Years 3 and 4 when they studied a journey through an Indian habitat.  Teachers have also improved the way they check pupils’ progress to make sure that pupils receive help when they need it most.  As a result, teaching is typically good in all parts of the school. On occasion it is outstanding, especially when pupils have to think hard for themselves and to refine their ideas by sharing them with each other. During a lesson in Year 6, for example, pupils relished the task of converting kilograms to grams and litres to millilitres.  Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well and engage them in learning through interesting practical activities and enquiries covering a range of subjects. For example, in a science lesson in

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The quality of teaching is good

Year 5, pupils discussed why salt dissolved more quickly in warm water than in cold water, and did so enthusiastically.  Teachers and skilled assistants value pupils and their responses, and set work that is closely matched to pupils’ differing needs. For example, disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those aided by the pupil premium receive good quality additional adult support and benefit from learning tasks that have been planned on an individual basis to develop their basic literacy and numeracy skills.  Teachers mark pupils’ work well to help pupils make good progress. They use rewards to encourage pupils to get better and give clear guidance on the next steps that pupils need to take to improve.  On occasions, in Reception and Years 1 and 2 classes, expectations of pupils are not high enough with regard to the development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills and levels of self-

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The quality of teaching is good

confidence. As a result, some pupils do not respond well enough to adults or apply themselves as well as they should to their activities. This means that their pace of learning is reduced. Teachers are now putting this right, for example, by enabling those pupils, who typically lack confidence in their ability to learn, to carry out more practical activities to help them be successful.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 As at the time of the previous inspection, pupils behave well in all parts of the school. Parents and carers, staff, pupils and governors all agree that most pupils behave well and that pupils with behavioural and emotional needs benefit from the effective support they receive from caring adults.  Pupils are polite and courteous to staff and visitors. Pupils get on well with each other in lessons and in the playground where they show a good awareness of each other and how to keep safe.  Pupils say that they enjoy being at school and this is seen in their above average attendance. They say that they like the way they are rewarded with badges and certificates when they do things well.  Pupils are also knowledgeable about different forms of bullying, for example, racial abuse. They say that bullying, including name calling, does not happen very often and if it does happen then teachers deal with it very quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say, ‘We feel safe because adults care about us,’ as during the breakfast club where pupils make a happy, secure start to the school day.  Pupils enjoy good relationships with one another and with their teachers, and say that teachers are easy to talk to and are interested in what they have to say.  Pupils are mostly interested in the views of others and, especially in Years 4 to 6, show very positive attitudes to learning and share ideas very willingly with their friends to improve their work.  At times, in Reception and Years 1 and 2, some pupils are hesitant in expressing their views or contributing fully in whole-class discussions and this restricts their progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides good leadership. He receives good support from senior staff and governors. They share a strong vision for the future. This is seen in the effective team approach to checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning, identifying key priorities for development and implementing well-thought-out plans to bring about further improvement.  As a result, improved and now consistently good teaching and learning indicate a secure capacity to bring about further improvements in the future.  Leaders and managers work well together to secure high-quality care from all staff, which helps pupils to feel safe and enjoy school.  Senior staff strongly promote the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through a wide variety of stimulating experiences, including in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where children learn across a good range of practical activity.  All staff carefully support pupils’ individual needs equally to eliminate discrimination and ensure

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The leadership and management are good

that all pupils achieve well.  The school promotes effective links with parents and carers, which support families whose circumstances make them vulnerable and sustain pupils’ above-average attendance. However, steps taken to work more closely with pre-school providers and parents and carers to raise the self-confidence and communication skills of some pupils have not been in place long enough to have an impact.  The local authority fulfils an effective role in helping the school to identify and tackle areas for improvement. Timely additional adult support for pupils in Year 3, for example, is helping them to quicken their progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  A strong core of experienced governors ensures that all members of the governing body undertake training, such as recent sessions on analysing achievement data and on safeguarding pupils’ welfare. Governors ensure that statutory requirements are securely in place and keep pupils safe, including checks on staff and child-protection procedures. They make frequent visits to the school to observe lessons and talk to teachers and pupils about their learning. Governors complete detailed evaluations of what they have seen and share these with other governors and staff, through discussions, an annual development plan and a curriculum review document. This well-established system ensures that governors know about the quality of teaching and how to examine data on pupils’ progress. Governors question the headteacher effectively about the checks on teaching and learning completed by senior staff,

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The leadership and management are good

and how these are used to inform staff appraisal, training and performance management to bring about improvement. By holding the school to account in this way, governors are able to manage finances efficiently. This includes ensuring that additional funds for pupils with special educational needs and those in receipt of the pupil premium are used effectively to help these pupils achieve as well as others and to assist families in improving pupils’ attitudes to school.

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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 126178 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 406344

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 144 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Pollock Headteacher David Brown Date of previous school inspection 4–5 November 2010 Telephone number 01380 830511 Fax number N/A Email address admin@bratton.wilts.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

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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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