Bersted Green Primary School, Bognor Regis

Bersted Green Primary School Laburnum Grove, Bognor Regis, PO22 9HT

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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

 Under the purposeful and effective leadership of the new headteacher, well supported by her senior team and the governing body, the school has improved significantly since its previous inspection.  Leaders have ensured that the school has made a smooth transition to its new status as an all- through primary school.  Leaders have acted swiftly and effectively to remedy weaknesses in teaching. As a result, the quality of teaching is now consistently good.  Teachers’ expertise and their high expectations of pupils enable them to make good progress from their starting points. This means that pupils achieve well in reading, writing, mathematics and a range of other subjects.  Disadvantaged pupils, those who speak English as an additional language, as well as disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, are welcomed into the school. Staff support them well, so that they are able to reach their potential.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is usually good. Pupils feel safe and have few concerns about bullying because staff deal well with any rare occurrences.  The curriculum equips pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the next stage of their education.  Pupils from different backgrounds get on extremely well together and learn to appreciate each other’s cultures. This prepares them well for life in modern Britain.  Children in the Reception class make a good start to their formal learning and good progress in their personal and social development.  Governors are well informed about the school and strongly committed to its success. They support leaders well in helping them to improve teaching and raise pupils’ achievement.  Almost all the parents who spoke to the inspectors were positive about all aspects of the school’s work.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The actions taken by school leaders to bring about improvement have not all had enough time to make their full impact on pupils’ achievement and their personal development.  Leaders have not yet ensured that all staff share and develop further outstanding practice in teaching which is already present in the school.  Teachers do not always provide pupils with activities which inspire them to learn in depth and at a rapid pace.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils learning in 11 lessons, seeing all the classes in the school at least once, as well as some smaller groups. One of these observations took place together with the headteacher and one with one of the assistant headteachers. The inspectors also attended an assembly and made several short visits to a number of other lessons and school activities, including the breakfast club. They heard pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors held meetings with groups of pupils and with the Chair and two other members of the governing body, as well as with members of staff and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors held informal discussions with a number of parents. The lead inspector also held met representatives of the on-site nursery and the children’s centre.  Inspectors examined a variety of school documents, including records of pupils’ attainment and progress,

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Information about this inspection

and records of attendance. They looked at safeguarding procedures, the school’s self-evaluation, and the processes for setting targets for teachers and monitoring the performance of staff, as well as a range of other school documents.  Inspectors considered 14 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, as well as the results of the most recent survey of parents’ views carried out by the school. They also took account of 17 questionnaires completed by members of staff.

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Inspection team

Robin Gaff, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is an average-sized primary school.  Children join the early years provision in the Reception class, where all the children attend full-time.  The proportions of pupils who are from minority ethnic backgrounds and of those who speak English as an additional language have increased significantly since the school’s previous inspection and are above average.  The proportion of the school’s pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is well above the national average. This is additional government funding provided for disadvantaged children who are looked after or known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  An above-average proportion of pupils join the school at other than the normal time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school operates a breakfast club for its own pupils.  There is a children’s centre and a nursery on the same site as the school. These are subject to separate inspection arrangements.  Since the previous inspection, the school has changed its name and the age of pupils who attend. The school’s name was previously Laburnum Grove Junior School. It changed its status in September 2014 to that of an all-through primary school.  A major rebuilding programme, including several new classrooms, has recently been completed.  There have been a number of changes in staffing since the school’s previous inspection, some of which have affected the composition of the school’s leadership team. The current headteacher joined the school as executive headteacher in April 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement to outstanding by ensuring that teachers always give pupils activities which enable them to gain a secure and thorough knowledge and understanding of the topics they study.  Ensure that leaders at all levels enable staff to improve their teaching by sharing more widely and further refining examples of the most effective activities that have been developed within the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The determined and resilient leadership provided by the headteacher and her senior colleagues has resulted in significant improvements in all aspects of the school’s work. Together with the effective support provided by the governors, this has enabled the school to meet the challenges resulting from its change of status. Not all the changes introduced by school leaders, several of whom have been appointed relatively recently, have been in place long enough to have their planned effect.  Leaders have succeeded in instilling in the staff their ambitious vision for the school. Teachers are wholeheartedly committed to making their own teaching as good as it can be, so that all groups of pupils can achieve their academic potential. Staff are also strongly focused on ensuring that only good behaviour is acceptable.  School leaders have ensured that good teaching is the norm. They check on the quality of teaching and

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The leadership and management are good

pupils’ work extremely regularly and robustly, quickly identifying any areas for improvement. Senior leaders have been effective in eliminating weak practice and have enabled all staff to benefit from good quality training and support. Newly qualified teachers speak extremely positively about the help and encouragement they have received from all the staff, as well as from the leadership team.  Subject leaders and others who have specific responsibilities say that they feel they have ‘been given the tools to do the job’. They are keen to improve further the areas they manage and have already shown they are capable of doing so. Leaders at all levels have not, however, as yet made sure that teachers can share and develop still further already existing examples of highly effective practice in the school.  The local authority has helped the school to improve by, for example, providing training for staff in specific

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The leadership and management are good

aspects of teaching, including in mathematics. Recognising that the school no longer depends on its assistance in order to improve further, it has reduced the level of support it previously offered.  Leaders have made good use of the extra funding provided by the government to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. They have done this in a variety of ways, including by providing small-group and individual support for pupils, but also by introducing measures which have improved pupils’ attendance and their well-being.  Leaders have also used the additional sport premium money well to extend the range of activities, such as athletics, available to pupils and to enhance teachers’ skills in delivering them. This has resulted in increased and successful participation by pupils in, for example, inter-school competitions.  School leaders have quickly developed a curriculum which meets the needs of all the age groups for which

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The leadership and management are good

the school now caters. They have ensured that all government requirements are fulfilled and that there is a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills across a range of subjects. Special events, such as the visit of two ‘highwaymen’ in full costume, and out-of-school activities further inspire pupils to develop a love of learning and a sense of curiosity.  The breakfast club enables pupils to start the school day in a safe, positive and stimulating environment.  The school successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They do this by encouraging them to learn about and to celebrate different cultures, including those represented in the school. This ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. There is no evidence of any form of discrimination.  The school develops pupils’ understanding and acceptance of the fundamental British values of democracy

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The leadership and management are good

and tolerance. It does this by, for example, fostering informed and well-balanced discussion about events such as the recent general election.  The school’s success in ensuring that disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well shows the school’s successful commitment to promoting equality of opportunity.  Most parents, especially those who spoke to the inspectors, are supportive of the school and are pleased with the way it teaches and looks after their children.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors share school leaders’ ambitions for the school and have improved their ability to support the school and to hold its leaders to account. They know how well pupils are achieving compared with those in other schools nationally. Governors are very much aware of the quality of teaching and of what school leaders have done to improve it, including by tackling weak teaching. This is because they regularly visit lessons and carefully examine reports provided by the headteacher and other leaders. Governors also know that any pay awards for teachers are strictly related to their success in raising pupils’ achievement. Their effective supervision of the school’s finances has enabled it to provide good facilities, including new buildings, for its expanding population. Governors understand how extra funding is used to improve pupils’ achievement and their well-being. They regularly review the school’s

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The leadership and management are good

arrangements for safeguarding pupils. They make sure that these arrangements are effective and meet government requirements, for example by ensuring that staff’s and their own training is up to date.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils behave well in the classroom. They are keen to learn, and respond willingly and promptly to teachers’ requests and instructions. This results in little time being wasted in lessons, and contributes well to pupils’ good progress.  Pupils take care to present their work well and are proud of their own and others’ achievements. Many of them were eager to show the inspectors their work and to tell them about their school.  Staff provide good models of behaviour for pupils. As a result, pupils show courtesy and consideration towards each other and towards adults.  Pupils report that behaviour has improved in recent years. School leaders are rightly proud of the school’s success in getting to the bottom of what has caused a few pupils to behave badly, and have considerably reduced the frequency with which this occurs.  Both in the playground and in the classroom, pupils from different backgrounds relate very well to one

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Behaviour

another. They work cooperatively and play harmoniously together.  When, occasionally, pupils’ attention in lessons wanders, this is usually because teachers have not given them sufficiently stimulating activities.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and almost all parents agree that this is so.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They play safely when, for example, they use the outdoor equipment. Older pupils look out for younger pupils and help to keep them safe.  Pupils have a good awareness of different kinds of bullying, such as cyber bullying and prejudice-based misuse of language, but have few concerns about it. This is because they know who to turn to if they are worried, and they say that staff deal with any incidences quickly and effectively. A small number of parents do not agree that the school deals well with bullying, but inspectors found no evidence to confirm that their concerns are well founded.  Pupils attend regularly. Staff have succeeded in improving the attendance of the small number of pupils whose absences have caused concern.

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Safety

 School leaders make sure that the site is secure and that arrangements for safeguarding pupils are robust.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved significantly since the school’s previous inspection and is now consistently good.  Teachers’ secure knowledge and understanding of different subjects enable them to explain tasks clearly and accurately to pupils. Teachers make sure that pupils know what they are going to learn.  Teachers and other adults establish good working relationships with pupils and have high expectations of them, whatever their abilities.  Teachers set pupils demanding targets and provide them with activities which are well suited to their different abilities, including for the most able pupils. Teachers work closely with teaching assistants to ensure that pupils with additional needs and those who are at an early stage of learning English make good progress.  Teachers of younger pupils make sure that pupils gain a good grasp of phonics (the links between letters and sounds). This helps pupils to develop a good ability both to read accurately and to write correctly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils benefit from good quality teaching in mathematics. This enables them to develop a thorough grasp of basic concepts and processes which they can apply securely in investigating and solving problems.  Teachers make sure that pupils know how well they are doing, as well as what they need to do to improve their work. Teachers do this by giving pupils regular, detailed feedback on their written work and make sure that pupils understand and act upon their comments.  Teaching is not yet outstanding. This is because teachers are not yet consistently enabling pupils to make rapid and sustained progress by giving them tasks which fully engage them and inspire them to learn quickly and in sufficient depth.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils from different backgrounds, as well as those who join the school at other than the normal time, make good progress from their different starting points and achieve well. This ensures that they are well prepared for secondary education.  Year 6 pupils’ performance in national tests in 2014 showed that standards in English and mathematics were broadly average. Pupils’ attainment had risen compared with that seen in the previous two years, and at a slightly faster rate than found nationally. These results demonstrated that the pupils had made good progress since joining the school. Reliable information provided by the school about pupils’ performance indicates that this rising trend in pupils’ achievement is being accelerated. This is also confirmed by the quality of the work which current pupils are producing.  Pupils’ ability to understand and apply mathematical principles and techniques is well developed. Pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

gain a good grounding in, for example, their learning of times tables, which they can use successfully for multiplication and division.  By the time they leave the school, pupils can read accurately and confidently. Pupils were keen to tell inspectors about the books they had read, and how the school had helped them to increase their enjoyment of, and their skills in, reading. Pupils also learn to use correct spelling and punctuation, and to write interestingly and accurately in different styles and for different purposes, such as reports, letters and diary entries.  Pupils’ written work in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 shows how effective the school has been in improving pupils’ handwriting, which was one of the weaknesses identified by the previous inspection. Pupils are now learning to form letters correctly and understand the importance of good presentation.  Pupils gain a good knowledge and understanding of a variety of different subjects, including history,

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The achievement of pupils is good

geography and science, and develop a range of skills. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 displayed their good communication skills and secure grasp of how plants disperse their seeds, as they presented what they had learned about this topic to Year 3 pupils.  The most able pupils in the school make good progress and are helped to achieve their potential. They are challenged effectively by staff to reach high standards in mathematics and to communicate very well in speaking and in writing.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well because staff plan activities for them which are well suited to their abilities. Pupils who speak English as an additional language, including those who are at an early stage of learning English, also make good progress. Both these groups of pupils benefit from skilled teaching assistants who enable them to participate fully in classroom activities and to

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The achievement of pupils is good

overcome any barriers to progress which they may face.  The school’s good use of additional funding ensures that disadvantaged pupils throughout the school make good progress and achieve well. Their progress compares favourably with that of other pupils in the school and other pupils nationally.  In the 2014 national tests at the end of Key Stage 2, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in mathematics, reading and writing was at the same level as that of other pupils in the school. Their attainment was almost a year behind that of other pupils nationally. In 2013, however, the equivalent group’s attainment had also been in line with other pupils in the school but had been over a year behind that of other pupils nationally. This shows that the school has succeeded in narrowing gaps between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils nationally. The school’s records show that any remaining

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The achievement of pupils is good

gaps are closing and that disadvantaged pupils are achieving as well as their classmates.  A large majority of the parents who responded to the Parent View survey and of those who completed the school’s own questionnaire agreed that their children make good progress.

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The early years provision is good

 Children join the Reception class with levels of knowledge and skills which, in many cases, are below those that are typical for their age. They settle in quickly and make good progress in their learning and development. As a result, they are well prepared to start Year 1.  Early years leaders have created a calm, purposeful and attractive environment in which children can flourish. Children behave well because adults expect them to do so and make sure they understand the importance of good behaviour.  Children’s willingness to cooperate with adults and with one another demonstrates their good social development, as they take turns and to share equipment. Children learn to keep themselves safe when, for example, they use scissors to cut out shapes in order to make patterns.  Children, including disadvantaged and disabled children and those who have special educational needs, make good progress in learning to recognise and reproduce letters. They develop their reading and writing

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The early years provision is good

skills well and most can read and write simple sentences. Adults help children to develop their ability to count, and to compare and measure shapes.  Teaching is good. Staff have a very good understanding of children’s needs, including of those who are at an early stage of learning English. Adults work closely together and with parents and outside professionals, including from the on-site nursery and children’s centre, so they know children’s abilities before they begin school.  Staff find out from parents what their children most enjoy doing. This enables teachers to plan activities which children find interesting and enable them to achieve well. On a few occasions, pupils become distracted and make slower progress because the tasks they have been given are not stimulating enough to engage their enthusiasm.  The leadership and management of the early years provision are good. Leaders closely analyse the

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The early years provision is good

detailed records they keep of children’s progress. This enables them to identify quickly and to remedy any gaps in children’s knowledge and understanding.  Parents who spoke to the inspectors spoke very highly of the way in which staff had made both themselves and their children welcome. Parents praised the approachability of staff as well as their willingness to keep parents well informed about their children’s progress, and to address any concerns they might have.

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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 125873 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 462359

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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 248 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gez Watson Executive headteacher Katie Jarvis Date of previous school inspection 22–23 May 2013 Telephone number 01243 822885 Fax number 01243 841586 Email address office@bgps.w-sussex.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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