Burbage Church of England Infant School

Burbage Church of England Infant School Grove Road, Burbage, Hinckley, LE10 2AE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Pupils make at least good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and many make outstanding progress in reading.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are well above average by the end of Key Stage 1.  Teaching is at least good and some is outstanding. Lessons are lively and interesting and teachers have high expectations of what pupils can do.  Pupils behave well in and around school. When moving to different classrooms, they arrive promptly and settle quickly to their work. They are considerate towards one another and know how to stay safe in different situations.  The school is ably led by the headteacher and her senior leaders. Pupils’ progress is checked regularly to make sure that anyone in danger of falling behind is quickly identified and helped to keep up.  While being very supportive of the school, the governors challenge the headteacher and senior leaders, holding them accountable for

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

continued improvement. They visit regularly to check how well the school is doing.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is particularly good and underpins their positive attitudes to learning and good achievement.  Good use is made of the school grounds for outdoor and active learning which encourages pupils’ physical well-being.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, the work is too hard for some pupils and they lose focus, leaving other, more-able pupils to contribute to the lesson.  While marking in some books gives pupils clear guidance and opportunities to improve, this does not happen in all classes and subjects.  Pupils have the opportunity to develop literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects, but this is done more effectively in some classes than others.  Some subject leaders have not yet had the opportunity to fully develop skills to analyse pupils’ progress in their subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 25 lessons or parts of lessons, four of which were seen together with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, other staff, three groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors, and with a representative of the local authority.  Informal discussions were held with parents and carers.  The inspectors took account of the 86 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), the school’s own parent questionnaires, individual communications from parents and 33 completed staff questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and reviewed a range of documentation including the school’s checks on its performance, its analysis and tracking of pupils’ progress, records of behaviour and safety, school improvement plans, records relating to classroom observations and the management of staff performance, safeguarding arrangements and records of meetings of

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Information about this inspection

the governing body.  They also looked at pupils’ work, listened to pupils read and checked information on pupils’ attendance.

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Inspection team

Susan Hughes, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Malcolm Johnstone Additional Inspector Ann Gill Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, which is additional funding for certain groups such as pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care, is below average.  The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action or at school action plus are below average, as is the proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs.  The headteacher joined the school after the previous inspection and has been in post for just over two years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that more is outstanding by ensuring that:  all work in lessons is well matched to pupils’ abilities, especially for the less-able pupils  all marking in books gives pupils clear guidance as to how they can improve and routinely gives them the opportunity to respond  pupils are consistently given opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by ensuring that all subject leaders are given the opportunity to develop their skills in analysing pupils’ progress so that they can effectively lead improvement in their subject.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children get a good start to school life in the Reception classes. They start with skills that are in line with or above those typical for their age and make good progress. Teachers encourage good learning behaviour right from the start and children settle well to tasks, showing perseverance and concentration.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics during Key Stage 1 and by the end of Year 2, standards are well above average. The results of the most recent national screening check on how well pupils know the sounds that letters represent in words (phonics) in Year 1 were broadly average. However, progress in reading across Key Stage 1 is outstanding for most pupils. During the inspection, pupils in Year 2 were using well-developed phonic skills to read unfamiliar words such as ‘global’, ‘interview’ and ‘confidential’.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium make good progress in English and mathematics. There is no significant difference between their achievement and that of other pupils in school. Each pupil’s needs are carefully assessed and pupil premium funding is used effectively to enable them to be taught in small groups or individually, as necessary, so that they learn well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress and achieve well because support for them is well matched to their specific needs. Additional adults in the classroom are well trained and work closely with class teachers, enabling them to give high quality support.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 While progress for all groups of pupils is at least good, less-able pupils make slightly slower progress than others in some classes. These pupils have been identified and support strategies to help them keep up are helping to close the slight gap in progress between them and other pupils. More-able pupils make good progress because teachers make sure that work is well matched to their abilities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in physical education. Their skills are developed through good use of specialist sports coaches and well-taught lessons. For example during the inspection, children in Reception were using simple apparatus to practise balancing and jumping.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good because lessons are lively and interesting. Teachers encourage active participation and praise good effort which helps pupils to feel positive about their learning. They have plenty of opportunities for practical exploration. For example, during the inspection, Year 2 pupils enthusiastically looked at a range of moving toys to identify which forces were making them move. In Year 1, pupils ‘became’ coins and enjoyed gathering into appropriate groups to make different amounts of money.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, an exciting choice of activities means that the children are engrossed in their learning. They are encouraged to choose one activity at a time and stay and play to develop good concentration and perseverance skills. They choose activities sensibly and share toys and equipment well, both inside and outdoors.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers know their pupils well and understand the next steps they need to take. Teachers ask questions which not only check understanding but also make pupils think deeply about developing their answers. This helps them build on their knowledge and make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In literacy lessons, while all pupils may be recording the same event, teachers remind them of the individual targets which will help each pupil to improve. In mathematics, different groups of pupils have work that is well matched to their ability so that they can make rapid progress from their starting points.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils who receive help from the pupil premium, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are all well supported. They receive a good balance of small-group and whole-class teaching where the tasks are well matched to their specific needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils say they enjoy their homework. It is varied and interesting and always gives them a choice of activities which are linked to their learning in the classroom. The homework books also encourage pupils to read regularly at home and write about the books they have enjoyed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Occasionally, however, these are too high for some less-able pupils, which means that they are not always given the opportunity to practise the basic skills they need and are in danger of developing gaps in knowledge.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Some marking in books gives pupils clear guidance as to how they can improve. However, this is not done consistently across all classes and subjects. Where teaching is outstanding, pupils are given the opportunity to respond to guidance but, again, this is not consistent in all classes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils enjoy the themed topics that they study and there are plenty of practical activities linked to them. Sometimes, however, teachers miss opportunities to use these occasions to fully develop pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in and around school. All adults in school model courteous behaviour and pupils respond well to this, remembering to say ‘please’, thank you’ and ‘sorry’ to each other as appropriate. Parents and pupils agree that behaviour is good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know how to stay safe in different situations. This is because teachers are consistent in their safety guidance such as not to run in the corridor and how to carry equipment in physical education lessons. Pupils talk about how visitors to the school taught them how to stay safe when walking near traffic. Junior Road Safety Officers ensure that pupils abide by the safe scooter code in and around school, and they run competitions to help keep pupils aware of road safety issues.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Although not all pupils are clear about the difference between bullying and occasional unkind acts, they are confident that any incidents are quickly dealt with. Pupils said they could go to an adult in school with any problem and know it would be sorted out. School records show that very little bullying occurs and any that does is swiftly dealt with.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the safe, caring nature of the school. They say their children are very happy in school and this is reflected in their consistently good attendance.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are enthusiastic about their lessons and, throughout the school, they usually show high levels of concentration. There are rarely any disruptions caused by inappropriate behaviour. Occasionally, however, if the tasks are too difficult, some pupils lose their focus and quietly sit back, relying on others to play an active part in the lesson.

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The leadership and management are good

 The strong leadership by the headteacher and senior leaders is evident in the good progress, good quality teaching and well above average standards in the school. Pupils’ progress data for reading, writing and mathematics are rigorously analysed and those who are in danger of falling behind quickly identified. Appropriate support programmes are put in place to make sure these pupils keep up.

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The leadership and management are good

 English and mathematics leaders are experienced in analysing the progress of pupils throughout the school. Leaders of other subjects, however, have not yet had the opportunity to fully develop these skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The appraisal system introduced last year contributes to improvements in teaching. Leaders’ judgements about teachers’ performance are based directly on how much progress their pupils make and how well they fulfil their different roles in the school. Individual targets are used by senior leaders and the governing body to measure whether promotion up the pay scale is justified by results. Teachers say that the system is fairly implemented and ensures that they have opportunities to develop and improve their teaching skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The different subjects are well planned to meet the needs of all pupils, including those who are disabled or who have special educational needs and the most able. It provides a range of practical experiences which enthuses pupils and make them keen to learn. The school rigorously promotes equality of opportunity, tackles discrimination and works hard to ensure that all pupils achieve well. Early identification of any pupils not making quite as much progress as the others is swiftly acted upon.

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The leadership and management are good

 Physical education is taught well and many additional clubs provide sporting and creative opportunities to help pupils to lead healthy lifestyles. Good use is made of specialist coaches and the school has robust plans to develop this further over the coming year using the primary school sports funding.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is particularly good. Assemblies cover different faiths, values and beliefs and pupils are routinely given the opportunity to reflect and comment on the messages shared. Pupils understand the ‘Golden Rules’ and how they relate to the school’s values. One older boy commented that he thought one of the youngest children behaved in a certain way because he had not yet learnt the ‘Golden Rules’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has accurately identified the school’s strengths and so provides minimal support. The school works well with other groups of schools to access training and support for staff and pupils.  The governance of the school:  Governors support the school and are rightly proud of its achievements. However, they have a very good understanding of how it can improve further and ask challenging questions of the headteacher and senior leaders to ensure that improvement plans are effectively put in place. By looking at pupil progress data and questioning the headteacher, they appreciate how the appraisal system is helping to improve the quality of teaching so that more teaching is outstanding. The robust structure of the governing body and its committees means that all governors are fully involved in the work of the school and visit regularly to check how well it is doing. Finance is managed well. Governors check that funding, such as the pupil premium and

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The leadership and management are good

primary sports funding, is spent appropriately and is helping pupils. Governors have made sure that national requirements for safeguarding and child protection are fully met.

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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 120121 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 425080

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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 Infant School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 275 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Simon Grindrod Headteacher Karen Allen Date of previous school inspection 16 September 2008 Telephone number 01455 239391 Fax number 01455 618467 Email address office@burbage-inf.leics.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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