Buckminster Primary School

Buckminster Primary School School Lane, Buckminster, Grantham, NG33 5RZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Due to outstanding leadership by the new headteacher and the governing body, this is a rapidly improving school.  Within less than a year, pupils’ achievement in reading writing and mathematics has improved from inadequate to good.  Children’s achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is outstanding.  The quality of teaching is consistently good across the school and some of it is outstanding.  Teachers match work accurately to pupils’ differing learning needs. All groups, therefore, make progress at the same rapid rate.  The curriculum and additional clubs provide enjoyable activities that cater for a wide range of pupils’ interests.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning, their behaviour and their confidence in being safe are outstanding.  Pupils’ attendance is well above average.  Parents’ partnership with the school has improved significantly over the last year. All would recommend this school to others.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 In a short time, the headteacher, well supported by new senior leaders, has removed weak teaching, raised staff morale and provided very effective training which has quickly established consistently good teaching.  The way in which governors have assured that new approaches are improving pupils’ achievement is exemplary.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not all teaching is sufficiently stimulating to raise pupils’ achievement from good to outstanding.  Provision for pupils requiring additional support is not of the same high quality in every class.  The extension of literacy and numeracy skills is not a systematic part of work in subjects other than English and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and pupils’ achievement in 12 lessons. Five of the observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector held discussions with pupils, heard pupils reading in Year 2 and looked at exercise books in every class.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher, two senior leaders, a representative of the local authority and the Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, who was accompanied by a community governor.  The inspector read management documents relating to school evaluation, pupils’ progress, the performance management of staff, improvement planning, pupils’ behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The inspector took account of 43 responses from parents to the online survey, Parent View. This is a return from three-quarters of the families who have children in the school. Staff were not required to complete questionnaires for this inspection.

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Inspection team

John Rutherford, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than most primary schools nationally.  Five pupils are supported by pupil premium funding, which is a below-average proportion. The pupil premium is extra money provided by the government for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care and those with a parent in the armed forces.  A broadly average percentage of pupils receive support at school action and school action plus levels for their disability or special educational needs.  The previous inspection placed the school in special measures because of serious concerns about the quality of education and pupils’ achievement. A new headteacher took up post in September 2013. He has established a new senior leadership team and led significant changes in staffing.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set a minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

In order to raise pupils’ achievement from good to outstanding, the school should take the following action:  Increase the amount of outstanding teaching in all subjects by providing more lessons that are as imaginatively planned, interesting and stimulating as the best in the school.  Systematically provide for the extension of literacy and numeracy skills in a wider range of subjects than just English and mathematics.  Increase consistency in the provision of highly effective additional support for those pupils who need it. Ensure that all of these pupils receive support from the teacher as well as the teaching assistant and that they also have time to work without constant help and guidance from adults.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most pupils make progress at a better than expected rate in reading writing and mathematics. This is a significant improvement compared to one year ago.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The national published data in 2013 shows that standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 were broadly average. This was not high enough given the above-average starting points of many pupils. As a result of their improved progress, a much higher proportion of pupils are working at levels above the average for their age and getting much closer to the standards they should attain.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils supported by pupil premium funding are improving their progress at the same rate as other pupils and they are not behind in the standards they attain. This is because the headteacher and governing body have spent the additional funding very effectively to raise their achievement. For example they have provided the pupils with tablet computers, which has helped them enormously to improve their writing and mathematical skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 More-able pupils achieve well and attain very high standards. This is because all teachers systematically provide additional challenge for them in lessons. In addition, they have extra sessions with specialist teachers. For example, one group has been working successfully on mathematical problems at secondary school level.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The majority of pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs are making good progress. None are falling behind. This is because they have received much better support since a new senior leader was recently given responsibility for this area of work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage achieve very well because activities to teach language, mathematical and social skills are imaginatively planned and stimulating. For example, the children’s talking and writing skills were extended considerably when getting ready for the ‘tiger who came for tea’.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In other classes, there are times when pupils extend their literacy and numeracy skills in a range of subjects, for example when they practised writing subordinate clauses in an interesting project about Greek history. However, this type of work is not systematically planned in every class, therefore achievement overall is good rather than outstanding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well in a range of sports because the government’s primary school sports funding is used well to buy specialist coaching and to enable pupils to take part in inter-school competitions.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All of the parents who responded to Parent View say that their children make good progress, which is in line with the inspection evidence.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers consistently plan work at a good level of challenge for all groups of pupils. They skilfully assess pupils’ progress continuously and alter the pitch of work for particular groups, where necessary. In a mathematics lesson, for example, the teacher judged correctly that some pupils had not grasped key facts about time, therefore she prepared interesting practical activities which helped them to consolidate their understanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In addition to this effective planning some teachers also use imaginative activities and a stimulating teaching style which significantly increase pupils’ motivation. This makes their teaching outstanding rather than good and, as some of their pupils said, ‘We love this school because learning is always fun.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking is consistently good because it gives pupils clear guidance and additional challenges. Teachers provide specific opportunities for pupils to respond and this helps them to improve their achievement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ progress is accelerated in some classes when teachers link work to interesting real-life situations. For example, some pupils extended their mathematical skills when marketing produce from the school farm.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a minority of classes, teachers and teaching assistants work in very effective partnership to help less-able pupils and those with special educational needs make progress at an outstanding rate. This is because they arrange for these pupils to be taught by the teacher as well as the teaching assistant and to have time without an adult to develop the ability to work on their own. Where such carefully planned arrangements are not used, the progress of pupils who need additional support is good rather than outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All parents who responded to Parent View say that their children are well taught. One parent represented many when she wrote to the school, ‘I feel that every effort is being made to develop teaching. My children always come home happy, having had a great day. What more could a parent want?’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. The views of staff and the response of all parents to Parent View indicate that this is generally the case. There are no serious incidents in the school’s behaviour and racism logs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils behave well because there is so much to keep them focused on learning in the school. Good teaching is backed up by a very clear code emphasising ‘respect, resourcefulness, reflection, responsibility’. Pupils have considered how these qualities apply to their lives, which has extended their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Pupils say that they feel completely safe from any form of bullying. They have a very detailed knowledge of how to use computers and mobile phones safely because this is given priority in the curriculum and in guidance to parents. Pupils say that if they have any worries, a member of staff will always help them.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils in every class have very positive attitudes to work. They concentrate and most try to answer any questions. They do not give up on challenging tasks, for example more-able pupils can spend over an hour of their own time tackling complicated mathematical problems.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils enhance their learning by working together. A group told the inspector that what they like best about the school is the ‘atmosphere of working together, so that they never feel on their own’.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher, governing body and local authority have worked well together to quickly remove the weaknesses in teaching and leadership that were found during the previous inspection.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Teaching is improving quickly because the headteacher’s clear and precise guidance to each member of staff enables them to use new methods equally effectively in every class. He ensures that staff do not have to tackle too many different things at once. As some reported, ‘It is great that we are not always dipping in and out of different initiatives.’

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority adapts its support to the school’s own improvement plans because it has full confidence in the leadership of the headteacher and governing body. As a result, their work is highly valued and it makes a significant contribution to the school’s recovery, for example by helping the new special educational needs leader to rapidly improve provision.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and governing body manage staff performance very effectively. Teachers who have recently been promoted to senior leadership positions are well equipped to demonstrate the most effective practice to their colleagues and they are already bringing about significant improvement in the teaching of letters and sounds and provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. This work has considerably improved the equal opportunity of all pupils to achieve well in the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum provides a wide range of very rich experiences. The many pupils who work in the well-stocked school farm learn much about looking after animals and growing food. Many pupils attend school clubs and benefit from a wide range of activities including curling, dance, art, and board games. Recent work on the Chinese New Year, Divali and Islam has extended pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, especially because they consider how the values of other cultures are important to their own lives.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 During difficult times last year the governing body’s clear and honest communication helped to maintain parents’ confidence in the school. The new headteacher has built on this. For example, the home-school books give excellent guidance on how parents can support their children’s learning. He also provides clear reports on their children’s achievement and whether it is as good as it should be. As a result, almost all parents who responded to Parent View say they value the information they receive. All parents say the school is led and managed well.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has a well-planned schedule for gathering information about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. Its members are helped in this by clear, accurate information from the headteacher. This enables them to play a full part in the evaluation of the school’s performance and to contribute to its rapid rate of improvement. They ensure that weak teaching does not blight the education of pupils for any longer than necessary and their appointments to teaching and leadership positions have all had a significantly positive impact on pupils’ achievement.

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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 119910 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 423932

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 90 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Trevor Hollingworth Headteacher Jon Brown Date of previous school inspection 16 April 2014 Telephone number 01476 860315 Fax number 01476 860315 Email address jbrown1@buckminster.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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