Biddick Primary School

Biddick Primary School Kirkham, Biddick Village, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE38 7HQ

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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

 The headteacher, senior and middle leaders share the same high expectations and determination to ensure that every pupil is able to achieve their potential. As a result teaching and pupils’ achievement is improving quickly.  Pupils conduct is typically of a very high order. They are polite, courteous and welcome visitors warmly.  Pupils say that they feel very secure and appreciate the hard work of all staff to keep them safe.  Teaching is good and sometimes better. Teachers plan interesting activities which capture pupils’ imagination so that concentration and attitudes to learning are very good.  Children thrive in the early years where they are well cared for and where they benefit from teaching which excites them and helps them to develop into happy and inquisitive learners.  Pupils’ achievement is good. Pupils make good progress from their different starting points. Standards are rising.  Governors know the school well and are effective in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

supporting leaders’ drive to improve the school. They share the same ambition to make the school as good as it can be.  Opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. They occur through the curriculum and a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers in Key Stage 1 do not always have high enough expectations of what the most able pupils can achieve.  Not all teachers consistently follow the school’s marking and feedback system.  The best practice in the school is not shared systematically among the staff.  Achievement in writing is not as good as it is in reading and mathematics.  Pupils do not learn their spellings thoroughly enough.  There is not a consistent approach to the teaching of handwriting.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning throughout the school. They also observed pupils at work during visits to classrooms. One observation was jointly carried out with the headteacher and one with the deputy headteacher. Inspectors also listened to pupils read in Years 2 and 6. They also looked at their books.  Inspectors considered 32 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View) and 28 questionnaires completed by the staff.  Inspectors held meetings with pupils in Year 6. They also talked informally with pupils at break times and lunchtimes. They talked with the Chair of the governing body and three other governors and had discussions with a representative of the local authority and the school’s educational development partner.  Inspectors also held meetings with leaders within the school including the leader of the early years provision, the acting special educational needs coordinator and leaders at middle management level.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including information relating to pupils’ progress, school improvement planning and the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its own performance. They also considered reports written by the local authority, documents relating to the management of teachers’ performance, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

Peter Evea, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is lower than average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those supported by the pupil premium, is lower than average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or those who are looked after by the local authority.  The majority of pupils are White British and currently no pupils speak English as an additional language.  There have been changes in staffing since the last inspection, particularly within the senior leadership level. The headteacher took up post in September 2014.  Children attend the Nursery class on a part-time basis and the Reception class on a full-time basis.  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 at the end of Year 6.  The school has worked in partnership with a local leader in education from East Herrington Primary Academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching further so that it is outstanding by:  sharing the best practice consistently among all staff  ensuring that there are high expectations of what the most able pupils in Key Stage 1 can achieve  making sure that all teachers consistently follow the school’s system for marking and feedback.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment further, in writing, by:  ensuring that all pupils learn their spellings thoroughly  implementing a consistent approach to teaching handwriting.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is very well led by a newly appointed headteacher, who is ably supported by an equally effective deputy headteacher and by leaders at other levels in the school. After the previous inspection the pace of school improvement slowed but now improvements to teaching and achievement are happening at a much faster pace.  Leaders make thorough checks on the quality of teaching and learning and pupils’ progress. As a result they have clear picture of the school’s strengths and areas where it needs to improve. They create effective plans that have resulted in improvements in all areas of school life. The headteacher and deputy headteacher act swiftly to ensure that weaknesses in teaching are addressed and so ensure that pupils’ achievement continues to improve.  Middle leaders have seized the opportunities to become more involved in driving school improvements. They have a good understanding of the strengths of their areas of responsibility and where they need to

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The leadership and management are good

direct their attention to secure improvements. They share the same determination as the senior leaders to make the school as good as it can be for the benefit of all its pupils.  There are thorough checks on teachers’ performance and there are effective systems in place to make sure that any salary increases and teachers’ targets are clearly linked to pupils’ achievement.  The school is developing an effective system to track individual pupils’ progress within the new National Curriculum.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and is designed to match pupils’ interests. While there is a suitable focus on English and mathematics, it also pays due regard to other subjects including sports, art and music. The school is rightly proud of its sporting successes and there is an active choir, which sang delightfully in an assembly during the inspection. Pupils develop a very good understanding of traditional

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The leadership and management are good

British values and are well-prepared for life in modern Britain. The school council is an elected body and so pupils develop an early understanding of how democracy works.  The school works successfully to foster good relations, tackle discrimination and to remove any barriers to learning so that all pupils have the same opportunities to do their best.  Leaders spend the pupil premium fund wisely and provide extra support and resources and, as a result, pupils eligible for this funding make at least the same good progress as their classmates and are able to participate in all the activities that the school offers.  The school makes good use of the primary school sport fund. They have ensured that the quality of the teaching of physical education has improved, that pupils are able to take part in a wider range of sports and to compete in sporting competitions. The school’s tennis team is particularly successful.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided appreciated support especially in helping the school to develop an effective partnership with a local leader of education. This has played a significant part in helping leaders improve the quality of teaching and learning.  Governors ensure that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements. They are vigilant in ensuring that the site is safe and secure and that staff are watchful for any signs of extremist or radical views  The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well. Governors bring a range of skills to their roles and where there are any gaps they make sure that they receive appropriate training, for example, in interpreting pupil achievement information. They are ambitious for the school and are determined to help make it the best it can be. They have a realistic view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement,

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The leadership and management are good

particularly with regard to pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching. They oversee the arrangements for the management of teachers’ performance and ensure that only good teaching is rewarded and that any weaknesses are tackled effectively.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ conduct around the school is typically of a high order. They are unfailingly polite and courteous and are proud to be members of their school community. They welcome visitors warmly and comment on how friendly the school is. Pupils typically have good attitudes to learning. They apply themselves well in lessons and are keen to succeed.  On rare occasions a very small number of pupils can lose concentration and become restless. When this happens there is a well-understood system in place to make sure that pupils quickly refocus their attention. This system was developed in partnership with the pupils.  Pupils act very sensibly when not directly supervised by adults. Older pupils take on roles of responsibility, such as prefects and playground buddies, and their conscientious approach to their duties helps ensure the smooth running of the school.  The school’s records show that any incidents of unacceptable behaviour have reduced significantly and

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Behaviour

there have been no exclusions in recent years.  Pupils share the same high expectations for behaviour as the staff and take a dim view of any that does not meet their exacting standards.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say how safe they feel and appreciate all the hard work of the staff in making sure that the school is a safe and secure site where they can concentrate on learning. Parents agree that the school is safe and know that their children are happy at school.  Pupils have a very good understanding of bullying in all its different forms including cyber-bullying. They know what to look out for and are insistent that it is rare. They would know what to do if any occurred and are sure that it would be swiftly sorted out.  Pupils understand many of the risks that they might face and develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet, riding their bicycles and when near busy roads.  Attendance has improved and is now average. This is because the school makes sure that parents and pupils understand the importance of regular attendance and its links to achievement. Pupils are punctual

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Safety

because pupils typically say that they cannot wait to get to school and do not want to miss anything.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good. It is typically strong in early years and in Key Stage 2. Teaching over time in Key Stage 1 has been less consistent and so progress for pupils, especially the most able, in Years 1 and 2 is sometimes slower than that seen for the most able pupils in Key Stage 2.  Teaching has improved as a result of a rigorous focus on improving teachers’ skills. There is now good teaching in most lessons. However, the teaching of handwriting is not consistently good. In addition not all teachers make sure that spellings are learnt thoroughly.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and the school has a new policy for marking and feedback. However, not all teachers throughout the school follow the agreed systems in the same way and so not all pupils are able to learn from their mistakes.  Some teachers have benefited from observing good practice in their partner school. However, although

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The quality of teaching is good

there is some outstanding teaching in the school, it is not shared systematically among all the staff.  Teachers plan lessons which capture pupils’ interests and make them want to learn. In a mixed Year 5 and 6 class, pupils were completely absorbed in using laptops to create the front page of a newspaper and writing an article about pigs flying.  The teaching of reading is good. Pupils build on the good start they make when they join the school and build on these skills as they move through the school. There are frequent opportunities to read in school and pupils are encouraged to read regularly at home. Pupils help to run the well-used school library and talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors. Adults share their love of reading and older pupils regularly support younger pupils in developing their reading skills.  Mathematics is also taught well. From a secure foundation pupils build on their skills each year. They use

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The quality of teaching is good

their skills in other subjects, for example when investigating rivers, and understand that mathematics is a set of skills which can be used to solve genuine problems.  Teachers know their pupils well and what will interest them and make them want to learn. They make sure that pupils are able to do the work that is set for them. However, some teachers, especially in Key Stage 1 do not plan work that is hard enough for the most able pupils because they do not have a clear understanding of just how much these pupils could achieve.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Evidence gathered during the inspection shows quite clearly that pupils in all year groups make typically good progress from their starting points.  In 2014 there appeared to be a dip in attainment at the end of Key Stage 2. However, this group of pupils actually made very good progress from untypically low starting points. Inspection evidence shows that attainment in Key Stage 2 is improving more rapidly than in Key Stage 1 and that the current Year 6 is reaching higher standards than in the past.  Standards in reading are above average. Pupils develop good reading habits and are encouraged to read regularly and develop a real enjoyment of reading. They are able to use their developing phonic knowledge (the sounds that letters make) to tackle new or unfamiliar words and typically read with increasing fluency and understanding as they move through the school.  Pupils make good progress in mathematics. They develop a secure foundation early in their school life and

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The achievement of pupils is good

build on this over time. As well as developing a good level of knowledge and understanding, they regularly use their developing mathematical skills, not only in numeracy lessons but in other subjects too. As a result they view mathematics as a set of useful skills for life.  Pupils write regularly and at increasing length. They have a variety of interesting subjects to write about and can adjust their style to suit different audiences and purposes. However, their writing suffers from weak spelling and sometimes lacks fluency because their handwriting is not well-developed.  Although the most able pupils make generally good progress in Key Stage 2, it is not as swift in Key Stage 1 because there is not a clear enough understanding of what these pupils could and should achieve.  The school uses pupil premium funding effectively to promote equality of opportunity. In 2014, pupils who were eligible to receive support made good progress from their starting points and the proportion who

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The achievement of pupils is good

made more than was expected of them was high compared to national averages, especially in reading and mathematics. Over time, the gaps in attainment between eligible pupils and other pupils nationally and in the school are narrowing. In 2014, eligible pupils’ attainment was approximately three terms behind other pupils nationally in mathematics, half a term behind in reading and three terms behind in writing. Compared to other pupils in the school they were three and a half terms behind in mathematics, and two terms behind in writing. Their performance in reading was the same.  Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities make good progress from their different staring points. This is because they are well supported by experienced and skilled staff who know their needs well.

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The early years provision is good

 The early years benefits from good leadership and management from a determined leader who has forged a close-knit team. Together they have brought about improvements to the early years environment and have ensured that teaching is consistently good.  Children join the Nursery class with the skills and knowledge that are typical for their age. They make good progress and the rate of progress is increasing each year. The proportion of pupils who are ready for learning in Year 1 has overtaken the national picture.  Teachers and other adults plan activities that make children want to learn more. During the inspection, children really enjoyed exploring the characteristics of fruit they were unfamiliar with such as mangoes and avocado pears, and many enthusiastically tasted them.  There are effective arrangements to welcome the children joining the early years and so children settle in quickly and are able to get off to a quick start. Safety is a high priority for all and staff are vigilant at all

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The early years provision is good

times whether children are learning inside or outside. There are effective arrangements to keep children safe at the start and the end of the school day and parents comment that their children are safe while in the early years.  Children’s behaviour is of a high order. They play well together and develop very good social skills which help them to learn well and make good progress. Adults are skilled at helping pupils who have individual needs, and the positive atmosphere they create means that children develop into happy and inquisitive learners.

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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 108816 Local authority Sunderland Inspection number 461693

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 310 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Viv Low Headteacher Wendy Fowler Date of previous school inspection 18 October 2010 Telephone number 0191 2193675 Fax number Not applicable Email address biddick.primary@schools.sunderland.gov.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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