Bacton Primary School

Bacton Primary School Walcott Road, Bacton, Norwich, NR12 0EY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 The headteacher leads the school well. She has improved teaching and developed a strong team of staff who work effectively together. All leaders, including governors, have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for further development.  Teaching is consistently good through the school with all staff demonstrating secure subject knowledge. The headteacher’s monitoring of teaching and learning is effective.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children make a good start to their school life as they enjoy their learning and make strong progress in the early years.  All groups of pupils achieve well, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.  Pupils enjoy school and are safe there. Their behaviour is good, showing they are keen to learn and work hard.  The school ensures provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Pupils are given a secure understanding of positive values to support their lives in modern Britain.  The governing body, well led by the chair, has improved the ways it holds the school to account. Governors effectively support and challenge the school to improve further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in mathematics to achieve the best they can.  The feedback teachers give to pupils about their use of grammar, punctuation and spelling is not helping them to make accelerated progress in their writing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning across all year groups. Some observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.  Pupils’ workbooks were scrutinised by the inspector.  The inspector listened to pupils read and talked to them about their reading.  Discussions took place with the headteacher, members of the governing body, staff, pupils and a representative of the local authority.  A variety of documents were examined, including those relating to safeguarding and the school’s improvement plans.  The inspector considered the views expressed in questionnaires returned by 11 members of staff.  The inspector took account of the 13 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire and also spoke with parents.

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Inspection team

Jeremy Bird, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Bacton Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Children in the early years are taught in one full-time Reception class. Pupils are taught in three classes, each of which includes pupils from more than one year group.  A very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average.  The school runs a daily breakfast club for its own pupils. This was included in the inspection.  There were too few pupils in Year 6 in 2014 to make the usual judgement on whether the government’s floor standards were met.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attainment and accelerate progress in mathematics by ensuring that:  all pupils work on more challenging tasks more quickly in lessons  the most-able pupils are given regular work which requires them to extend their reasoning skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching in order to raise achievement in writing to outstanding by ensuring that:  teachers are more rigorous in checking that pupils are using appropriate grammar, punctuation and accurate spelling in their writing  pupils consistently apply such skills in their subsequent writing.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides strong leadership. She is well supported by her staff team and the governing body. They have successfully created a culture where teachers reflect on their teaching seeking further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders make sure that all pupils have an equal opportunity to do well. Any pupils who fall behind receive support to help them to catch up. The school is very inclusive, with all pupils valued. Parents talk about this as being a strength of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Systems for managing staff performance and addressing weaknesses in teaching are effective and embedded in the work of the school. Staff have good opportunities to receive training to improve their skills. For example a teacher is currently attending a national programme to support children with disabilities and those who have special educational needs to make at least good progress. As a result of this strong leadership pupils are already making better progress in their learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff who share responsibility for leading subjects work effectively to support improvements. They ensure that the range of subjects is well planned and engaging. In the early years children are motivated in their learning about the seaside and how this has changed over time. In Key Stage 2 pupils enjoy learning about Shakespeare, in particular the language used to help convey feelings and emotions. Such work strengthens pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium funding has been used effectively to ensure individual pupils are making good progress in all subjects. All leaders have an accurate understanding of how well this group of pupils is performing. The headteacher regularly reviews how well extra support is helping the pupils and changes the approach if necessary.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has used its primary school sport funding successfully to ensure that pupils learn and take part in a wider range of sports including cricket and hockey. It has also provided them with more opportunities for competitive sport with other schools; a recent example being a netball tournament with Bacton pupils winning the event. Pupils who previously did not enjoy sporting activities are now keen to engage as funding has enabled teaching assistants to support them in the lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils say that discrimination of any kind does not occur in the school because pupils have a clear sense of right and wrong. They appreciate and respect those from different backgrounds and with different beliefs. For example the headteacher has maintained a strong partnership with a school in London which has resulted in pupils from both schools learning about each others’ lives. This means that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and have a good understanding of British values.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s provision for pupils’ welfare and safeguarding is good. All staff ensure a safe and secure learning environment, with pupils saying how they value the staff as they look out for the pupils. As a result of this work statutory safeguarding requirements are met.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided effective support to monitor the school’s performance and to verify its self-assessment since the last inspection. As the school has made effective progress the local authority has not needed to be as involved as it was previously.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They make sure that systems to manage teachers’ performance are in place, and this gives them a good overview of teaching quality. They use this knowledge to only reward good teaching. Governors use data well to understand how well pupils are making progress, being kept well informed by headteacher reports and through spending time in classrooms. They monitor closely pupils’ standards and ask challenging questions of the headteacher where dips occur. Governors ensure that finances are spent effectively to benefit pupils. They know how sport and pupil premium funding is allocated, being aware of how this supports pupils’ progress. Governors ensure that statutory duties are met, including those concerning keeping children safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils and parents hold positive views about the behaviour in the school and these reflect the findings during the inspection.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ behaviour is consistently good in lessons, with pupils showing positive attitudes to learning. This is because they enjoy their time at school and are motivated by the learning activities provided. They get on well with each other and are particularly good at working together in the mixed-age classes, willingly helping each other. Children in the early years are expected to support and challenge each other by sharing their views, for example in their spelling work.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are courteous, friendly and supportive of their classmates. They show consideration and respect for people’s different views. Through their studies and visits, pupils demonstrate an appreciation and a good understanding of different cultures and faiths.

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Behaviour

 Pupils behave well around the school. They move carefully in the small school building and play well with each other in the breakfast club and on the playground.

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Behaviour

 Attendance is improving and is currently in line with the national average. Parents and pupils understand the importance of good attendance, with letters from the headteacher informing parents if their child has low attendance. This has contributed to the improvement.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Parents are confident that their children are safe, valuing the strong relationships between their children and the staff. Such relationships and mutual respect provide good support to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Safety

 Leaders and staff take measures to help ensure that all pupils, including those who need extra help and support, are well cared for and protected. All members of staff have had recent training in child protection and safeguarding. The school has developed efficient systems for checking and recording safety matters ensuring that any concerns are dealt with promptly.

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Safety

 Pupils are clear how the school supports them to stay safe when using the internet. They talk about what they have learned from their computing lessons, showing their understanding by explaining what they would do if they were worried when online.

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Safety

 Discussions with pupils indicate they have a clear understanding of bullying. They correctly identify different types of bullying such as name calling and cyber bullying and state that there is no bullying in school. They welcome the opportunity to talk about bullying in assemblies and lessons, with one pupil adding ‘this helps us to understand’.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning and progress, especially in reading. Teachers and teaching assistants have good subject knowledge and use this to ask questions skilfully which check pupils’ understanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Looking in pupils’ books, it is clear that staff use agreed marking practices effectively to ensure that pupils make good progress. They do this by always giving pupils time to respond to their written comments. Pupils know what to focus on in their learning as teachers provide information on cards which are attached to pupils’ books. For example, when reading aloud, pupils respond well to advice using full stops and commas to gain greater understanding.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are taught well. Teachers develop well- designed plans, which incorporate the views of pupils and parents. This leads to pupils being motivated to engage in their work and make good progress as a result.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents talk about how they value their partnership with the school. They are kept well informed about their child’s progress through termly meetings and daily opportunities to talk with staff. Pupils enjoy homework, especially the choice they receive with the activities. This results in high completion rates, shown in records kept by the teachers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils in Reception and Years 1 and 2 make good gains in their early reading. This is because the teaching of reading, including the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make), is good. Staff check out pupils’ ability to read words and then quickly move them on to more challenging vocabulary. Teaching is good through Key Stage 2 with staff ensuring that reading tasks challenge pupils appropriately.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of writing is effective. Pupils use good guidance to make their writing more imaginative. In all classes checks to make sure that pupils use appropriate grammar and punctuation, as well as accurate spelling, is not rigorous enough. This means that pupils are not clear how to make their writing better and as a result subsequent writing does not show a secure grasp of higher levels of grammar, punctuation and spelling.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Improving the teaching of mathematics is a current priority. Teachers and teaching assistants are aware of the higher demands of the new National Curriculum. Pupils in all year groups are not consistently challenged enough in their mathematics work, spending too much time working on tasks that they are already quite secure in. For the most-able pupils there is insufficient work given which requires them to apply advanced reasoning skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in Reception with skills and understanding that are broadly typical for their age. Last year they made good progress and so the great majority moved into Year 1 having reached a good level of development. This year children are making better progress than in previous years and are on track to attain higher in every area of learning, with writing being the weakest area.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well across the school with pupils currently making consistently good progress in every year group and in every subject. This is a huge improvement on 2014.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has taken effective action to address issues raised at the previous inspection. Writing standards have improved with pupils writing more imaginative pieces. As a result of greater enjoyment of writing, pupils’ attitudes have improved.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to their classmates. There were too few disadvantaged pupils in last year’s Year 6 to compare their results with those of their classmates or similar pupils nationally without the risk of identifying individuals.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good and sometimes outstanding progress. This is due to recent improvements in how the school plans to support this group and the subsequent high quality intervention they receive. Such rates of progress are enabling this group to catch up with their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Over their time in the school pupils make good progress in reading. Pupils enjoy their reading and quickly become fluent by applying their phonic understanding. The great majority achieve the required standard in the Year 1 national phonics screening check. Current reading standards in Key Stages 1 and 2 are higher than previously.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress in all year groups, this year, in writing, while good, is not as strong as in reading. Last year progress in writing was better than in reading. Scrutiny of pupils’ writing in books indicates that some pupils do not consistently use correct grammar, punctuation and accurate spelling. This slows writing progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In all year groups pupils make good progress in mathematics as a result of being able to successfully use their secure strategies in different tasks, such as problems involving fractions. Pupils of all abilities do not make accelerated progress as they are not always challenged enough in their mathematics lessons. This limits the progress they make. For the most-able pupils this lack of challenge means they have less time to develop their reasoning skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils do well in reading and writing, showing their ability in their reading and in their writing work. In mathematics this group are not making such strong progress, as they do not consistently show secure understanding of how to use harder skills in the new curriculum.

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The early years provision is good

 The early years section of the school is well led and managed. Staff quickly assess children when they arrive in Reception. The progress of each child is closely monitored, with plans and targets adapted to reflect each child’s learning. As a result, children of all abilities make good progress through the Reception Year.

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The early years provision is good

 Children attain well in all areas of learning. This means they are well prepared for the Year 1 curriculum. A good example can be seen in their secure knowledge of phonics, with children using this knowledge to read fluently. In 2014, almost all the children achieved the expected standard in reading and writing. However, this year, progress in writing is not as strong as in reading. Children do not consistently write using skills developed in reading.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching is good with all adults demonstrating secure subject knowledge. Adults question children thoughtfully, probing their understanding and developing their vocabulary. Activities are well planned as they build on children’s previous learning and their interests, with staff listening to parents’ views and adapting activities as a result. This underpins their good achievement. The indoor environment supports children’s learning more effectively than the outdoors as it is better designed with clearly identified areas for the children to work in.

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The early years provision is good

 In 2014, all the children achieved the expected standard or better in managing their feelings and behaviour. Behaviour is good. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported well in the early years. Children express opinions and choices freely, and are encouraged to do so. Staff are skilled in developing the children’s interests and, as a result of their enjoyment and positive attitudes to learning, children behave well. Staff are good at keeping children safe and they ensure that children know how to stay safe in 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 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 120781 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 462064

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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 64 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Annie Edwards Headteacher Sandra Humphreys Date of previous school inspection 9 May 2013 Telephone number 01692 650240 Fax number 01692 650240 Email address office@bacton.norfolk.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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