Blakeney Primary School

Blakeney Primary School High Street, Blakeney, GL15 4EB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils make good progress in school from their individual starting points.  Teaching in the Reception class is good and the skills of the children are well developed. They are very well prepared for their next stage of learning in Year 1.  Teaching is good across the school. It is effective in developing pupils’ skills in reading and writing and their understanding in mathematics.  The support offered to disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good and enables them to make similar progress to other pupils.  The teaching of reading is well organised and this enables younger pupils to learn the links between letters and sounds (phonics) quickly.  Older pupils enjoy reading. They read with fluency and expression to bring passages alive.  Pupils’ behaviour is very good. Pupils try hard in lessons and focus well in class. They say they are happy in school and are well looked after.  The headteacher has a clear vision of how the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school is to develop. Other staff, leaders and governors support him in improving the quality of teaching and the achievement of the pupils.  The school prepares pupils for the next stage in their education and life in modern democratic Britain. The school embraces the differences between people and does not tolerate discrimination. The school works hard to ensure all pupils have an equal opportunity to make progress and succeed.  Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness is good.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not always make the necessary corrections to their work that would help accelerate their progress.  Governors are still developing their skills in reviewing the progress pupils make in school and how this compares with other groups of pupils nationally.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed seven lessons and a whole school assembly.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils and senior leaders. The inspector also held a meeting with members of the governing body and met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector listened to pupils from Year 2 and Year 6 read and scrutinised samples of pupils’ workbooks.  A wide range of documents was examined, including the school’s information on pupils’ recent progress. The inspector also looked at planning and documentation about checks on teaching, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding arrangements.  The inspector took into account 22 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspector spoke with a number of parents who were dropping their children off at school.

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Inspection team

David Hogg, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is part of a federation made up of Blakeney Primary School and Pillowell Primary School. The federation is led by an executive headteacher.  The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. The school has three classes. Slytherin class is made up of children from Reception and pupils from Year 1. Pupils from Years 2 and 3 make up Hufflepuff class. The other pupils, from Years 4, 5 and 6, are taught together in Gryffindor class. All pupils attend full time.  Most pupils are from a White British background.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported on the school roll is over a third of those who attend and is much higher than the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is just over one tenth. This is much lower than that found in most schools. This is funding provided to give extra support to those

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Information about this school

pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after. Last year there were no supported pupils in Year 6.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that teachers give time for pupils to act upon the comments in marked work so pupils can improve their work.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:  governors rigorously compare information on how well different groups of pupils are doing against national averages  governors hold the school more closely to account for the achievement of pupils across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is committed to improving teaching so that it is consistently outstanding and raises the achievement of the pupils further. All members of staff are equally committed to this goal and support him very effectively. All staff work as a cohesive team. School leaders have provided targeted training to enhance the teachers’ skills in areas that require further development. For example, daily focused mathematics activities in all year groups have improved pupils’ understanding of mathematics.  As this is a small school, each member of staff has key responsibilities to drive the improvements. The teachers work as an effective middle leadership team. Together, they discuss the achievement of pupils and identify when to provide additional support to accelerate the progress of individuals.  The local authority has provided an appropriate level of support to the school. This support has helped the

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The leadership and management are good

school with its own self-evaluation. It has also provided good training to the governors to develop their skills and their understanding of the roles they have in the school. The authority is providing support to the governors in comparing the school’s results against the national picture. The school has used the local authority advisers to check teachers’ judgements about the quality of pupils’ work.  The headteacher and leading teacher regularly check the effectiveness of the teaching across the school through lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ books. The review of the teachers’ work is used to determine pay rises and opportunities for promotion.  The close review of the spending of the pupil premium or support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has been effective in ensuring that resources and support have accelerated the progress of these groups of pupils.  The learning activities provided by the school are broad and balanced. Activities engage the pupils and

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The leadership and management are good

help them develop their understanding across a range of subject areas. The school looks to widen pupils’ experiences and draws on the expertise from outside school when necessary to develop pupils’ creative and problem-solving skills. For example, in an upper school lesson, professional music teachers provided expertise on drumming and together pupils developed a song using North African rhythms.  The school has worked hard to develop the understanding of the differences between people in the pupils. A programme of assemblies enables the school to celebrate Christian festivals and explore moral messages. Pupils also learn about the beliefs and customs of other cultures within the United Kingdom during faith weeks. The school has links with other schools in Europe and each year the pupils write letters to other children in different countries. In the past, they have written to children in Hungary, the

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The leadership and management are good

Czech Republic and Ireland. The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. It fosters acceptance of others and celebrates the differences between people. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very effectively supported. The school ensures that all pupils are treated equally, fosters good relations and tackles discrimination.  The school uses the primary physical education and sport premium very effectively. Professional coaches work alongside class teachers to develop their skills. The school is also able to provide additional high quality coaching in team games such as netball and tag rugby, with the result that the school has enjoyed success in the number of tournaments and school sports competitions.  Those parents who met with the inspector were very positive about all aspects of the school. All parents felt the school was a friendly, welcoming place that enabled their children to develop and make good

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The leadership and management are good

progress.  Safeguarding procedures and child protection arrangements are robust and meet the required standards.  The governance of the school:  Governance is effective in most areas. The governors meet with subject leaders and review the reports from external advisers to understand the quality of teaching. They are knowledgeable about the school’s efforts to raise standards further. They have a good understanding of the school’s work to improve the effectiveness of teaching and how the school tackles any underperformance. Governors know how the performance of teachers is managed and how opportunities for salary improvement and chances for promotion are linked to the achievement of pupils. The governing body relies on the school’s analysis of pupils’ progress as it continues to develop the expertise to review this information. The governors do not compare how well groups of pupils are achieving compared with the national

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The leadership and management are good

picture closely enough. Consequently, they do not hold the school sufficiently to account for the progress made by different groups of pupils. They are aware of how the pupil premium helps disadvantaged pupils make good progress. The school budget is carefully managed, together with additional revenue sources such as the primary sport premium. The governors review the safeguarding procedures in school annually to make sure they meet statutory requirements and that the pupils are well looked after and kept safe whilst in school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Their attitudes to learning are very positive. They understand how poor behaviour can spoil their learning and that of others.  Pupils are polite and friendly. They are interested in the visitors to their school. At break time, pupils of different ages play well together, sharing playground toys. Older pupils are happy for the younger ones to join in with ball games and take care not to bump them.  Pupils take pride in their work. Their books are neat and tidy, with neat writing in all subject workbooks.  Pupils enjoy the wide range of activities at lunch time or after school. Pupils sing well together in assemblies and in rehearsals for school events, such as the forthcoming carol service to be held at the local church.  The primary sport premium has enabled the school to maintain circus trapeze equipment. During each year all pupils have the opportunity to learn the skills of the trapeze bar and demonstrate their abilities in

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Behaviour

the end of year assemblies. This is extremely popular with all of the pupils.  Behaviour is not outstanding because, occasionally, if tasks are mundane, pupils become distracted and make slower progress. At times, staff must remind children in the Reception class about running in class.  The school’s attendance is a little above the national average. The school works hard to ensure any absence is kept to a minimum.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are happy in school and feel well looked after.  The pupils have a good understanding of what bullying is and the harm it can do. They say that bullying is unheard of. Pupils do say that pupils fall out but quickly make friends again. Acts of unkindness are rare.  Through effective guidance from the school, the pupils know what information they should and should not share when using social media sites or playing games online. They can explain in detail what potentially could go wrong if they were not sensible online.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is effective and enables pupils to make good progress from their individual starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  Through good teaching of reading, most pupils develop their understanding of phonics quickly, and the majority of pupils reach the expected standards in Year 1. The small number of pupils who do not reach the expected level have gone on to close the gap in attainment in Year 2.  The school has provided support and training to staff to improve the effectiveness of teaching in mathematics. This work has shown some impact already in improving the proportion of pupils achieving higher levels in national assessments at the end of Year 6.  The school continues to challenge pupils to improve their skills in writing. In lessons, pupils are often given clear guidance on which aspect of a piece of work teachers want them to develop. For example, in the Years 5 and 6 class, pupils were shown how to improve a simple poem based on Hillaire Belloc’s tale

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The quality of teaching is good

of Matilda. The pupils’ final pieces showed humour and imagination.  Even though all classes have pupils of different ages, work is not too easy or too difficult, but still provides the right level of challenge for the various groups of pupils.  Pupils’ work is generally well marked. Teachers spend time providing clear guidance to the pupils on what they need to do to improve their work. However, the feedback is often ignored and the pupils do not make the necessary corrections frequently enough. The teacher then, in turn, does not check pupils have made the improvements. Consequently, errors persist and pupils do not develop some of their basic skills quickly enough.  In class, teaching assistants take an active role in the lessons. In the Reception and Year 1 mixed year class, the teaching assistant led a whole class activity signing as the children chorused back the story of the Three Little Pigs. Individual pupils with very specific needs are supported very effectively by teaching

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The quality of teaching is good

assistants to help them learn and integrate with other pupils in their class.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2014, the attainment of most pupils at the end of Year 6 was broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. The school’s own data show that the progress for pupils between Year 2 and Year 6 from their individual starting points was good across the school.  The proportions of pupils attaining above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 were also above national averages in 2014.  Pupils enjoy reading. By the time they are in Year 6 they read with a good level of fluency and understanding. Pupils read books from a wide range of different authors.  The school uses the pupil premium very effectively. Across the school the gaps in the literacy skills and mathematical understanding of disadvantaged pupils compared with others are closing due to well- targeted support. In 2014, the school did not have any disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 so it is not possible

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The achievement of pupils is good

to compare the school against national figures. The numbers of disadvantaged pupils in other year groups is also small. Therefore, it is not possible to make comparisons of their progress and attainment against the national picture with any degree of certainty.  The progress made by disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good from their individual starting points. The school pays very close attention to the analysis of the pupils’ needs. It carefully targets support to address the issues that pupils have. As a result the support is very effective. The school is committed to removing any barriers to learning and ensuring that all pupils have an equal opportunity to achieve as highly as they can.  The most able pupils make good progress and attain highly. Teachers provide activities that extend their understanding and accelerate their learning. Pupils are given the opportunities to achieve at the highest

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The early years provision is good

 Children join the school with a range of skills and abilities, many of which are below what might be typical for their age. Through good teaching they quickly close any gaps in attainment. They achieve well and by the end of their Reception year over three quarters reach a good level of development. They are well prepared for their next step into Year 1.  Teachers plan interesting activities and link these around a central theme. Currently the mixed Reception and Year 1 class is working on traditional tales. Children in the early years group had developed their story-telling skills with actions to reinforce their learning of the Three Little Pigs. A teaching assistant then moved a small group of children on to draw out a storyboard of the key events. She developed a discussion through good questioning about the events in the story which promoted children’s communication skills. Other children acted out the story, taking turns to wear masks of the key characters,

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The early years provision is good

and were able to develop and use their imaginations to good effect. A third group went outside and built a little wall using house bricks, ‘mortaring’ them together with sand applied using real bricklaying tools.  The most able children are able to work with pupils of similar ability in other year groups. This provides greater challenge and moves their learning on more quickly, for example in mathematics, challenging them and extending their learning.  Adults work closely together, monitoring the progress of the children. They take careful notes and photographs of the activities that interest the children. This information is used to check the progress the children make and to plan the next steps in the children's learning.  Behaviour is good. The children listen carefully to the adults in the class and follow instructions well. They can be a little too enthusiastic when moving between the cloakroom and the outdoor areas, and

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The early years provision is good

sometimes need reminders about rushing. The children share resources well and take turns in activities. They are keen to share what they have learned with others.  The school has developed good links with parents and shares the children's learning regularly with them through learning books and discussions with the teacher.  The early years is well led and managed. All of the staff with responsibility for leading learning in the early years understand the needs of the children very well. The adults work together to plan learning activities and this enables them to be coordinated and well organised.  Staff care for the children very well. Safeguarding procedures linked to the early years provision are reviewed by the governors diligently.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 115502 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 449124

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 82 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andy Moore Headteacher Brett Stevenson (Executive headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 9–10 November 2010 Telephone number 01598 510270 Fax number 01598 510380 Email address admin@blakeney.gloucs.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 and 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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