St Budeaux Foundation CofE (Aided) Junior School

St Budeaux Foundation CofE (Aided) Junior School Priestly Avenue, Higher Saint Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon PL5 2DW

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Leaders have developed a strong teaching team which is reflective about its practice and how it can improve. As a result, teaching is now good across the school.  Governors are well informed and provide effective challenge and support.  Standards have significantly improved during this year. Pupils now make good progress. This includes in both English and mathematics.  The curriculum is carefully designed to enthuse pupils and create a love of learning. This has encouraged pupils to have very positive attitudes to their work. Attendance is above average.  The gap between the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally and within school is closing.  Teachers plan a range of activities for pupils to apply their English and mathematical skills in other subjects. Pupils enjoy the challenges they are set.  All adults have high expectations of how pupils should behave. This is reflected in pupils’ polite

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This is a good school

and cooperative behaviour. Bullying is very rare.  Pupils are very well cared for. There are many opportunities for the development of social skills, independence and pupil self-confidence.  The school’s values, which underpin the curriculum, teach pupils lifelong learning skills and promote strong social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Standards are not yet high enough for all pupils in some English and mathematics lessons.  Despite improvements during the last 12 months, the monitoring of school development planning is not sufficiently rigorous.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of all teaching to outstanding so that achievement becomes outstanding, particularly for the most-able pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 by: building on the existing strategies to help these pupils talk about, plan and organise their work providing additional opportunities for high-attaining pupils to develop mastery of their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the effectiveness of leadership by: setting clearer targets for the improvement of school performance within precise timescales, and accounting more rigorously for leaders’ success in achieving those targets developing opportunities for subject leaders to regularly use evidence from their monitoring of teaching and learning to check the effectiveness of professional development and plan further work to improve pupil progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The school leadership team has worked tirelessly since the previous inspection to develop a culture where all staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and the standards they can reach. This has been achieved as a result of a carefully planned curriculum, which is underpinned by strong Christian values and the teaching of English and mathematics skills.  The leadership team regularly works with teachers to review the work of the school. Following these activities, the staff reflect on the outcomes and work together to find resolutions and improve their teaching. This has brought about improvements in teaching across the school, for example through the increased use of visual images to teach mathematics.  The headteacher and governors use the information gathered from monitoring the school’s work to compile plans for how the school can improve further. These plans use assessment information about

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

pupils to identify where improvements can be made but need further clarity on how everybody will know whether actions have been successful.  Staff understand what improvements the school needs to make and how their training is linked to this. They have had opportunities to work with other schools to share practice and attend courses to develop their skills in leading subjects. The school has concentrated on the leadership of English and mathematics; the leadership of subjects is at an early stage of development and leaders need carefully planned time to fully develop their roles.  The leadership team is rigorous in its tracking of how pupils are progressing. The team knows every pupil extremely well and meets with teachers regularly to discuss the progress pupils make.  The pupil premium funding is used effectively. This year, the gap is closing between disadvantaged pupils and their peers within school. These pupils are now making much better progress than previously.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Through the ‘filter group’, they also receive strong support for their social and emotional needs.  The physical education (PE) and sport premium is used effectively. This funding has primarily been used to train teachers in aspects of PE in which they were less confident.  The curriculum has been carefully designed to enthuse pupils and consolidate prior learning. Pupils have the opportunity to learn to sail, and play different instruments. Pupils apply their basic skills to support their learning across other subjects such as when pupils in Year 5 were baking muffins, using their understanding of mathematics to measure ingredients accurately.  Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. The daily collective worship, religious education teaching and Christian values ensure that pupils are taught to respect and be tolerant of other faiths and cultures.  The school’s work with parents is good. Parents say that staff are approachable and that they feel that

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

their views are considered. They appreciate the regular coffee afternoons when they can come into school.  The local authority has made frequent visits since the previous inspection and has provided effective support for the headteacher and teachers. The recent support for the leadership of special educational needs has already had a positive impact.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school Governors bring a valuable range of skills. They know their school and the pupils well because they visit regularly and are fully informed through updates on achievement, progress information and reports from senior leaders. Consequently, they ask pertinent questions, challenge leaders and hold them to account, for example about what is being done to raise the attainment of lower ability pupils. Governors use a range of information and reports from pupil progress meetings to compare the school’s performance with that of other schools locally and nationally. They check the use of pupil premium funding and know that this is effective because the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates is narrowing. They makes sure that salary rewards are only given to staff when their pupils learn well, and that staff performance management leads to further professional development to improve both teaching and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

management skills. Governors ensure that sports funding is used effectively to increase pupil participation and the quality of PE teaching.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Safeguarding training is up to date. Parents support the view that pupils are safe and well looked after.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching is typically good across the school. However, there is not yet enough outstanding teaching to enable all pupils, especially the most able, to make the sustained progress they are capable of.  Teachers create a very positive climate for learning through openness and effective questioning. This has resulted in pupils taking more responsibility for their learning and progress. The pupils whom inspectors spoke to say that most of their work is hard enough.  Very good relationships exist between adults and pupils, enabling high-quality discussions to occur about learning. Pupils are very respectful of adults and each other. Pupils give attention quickly when asked and listen carefully. During an English lesson in Year 5, the teacher praised several pupils in particular for generating high-quality embedded clauses, and this achievement was further celebrated by their classmates’ positive comments.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The teaching of mathematics has improved and pupil outcomes are now strong. The school’s latest assessment information shows that nearly all groups of pupils are making good progress. The school’s leadership team has visited several settings to identify the most effective teaching methods to embed core mathematical skills. Consequently, the school has adopted a new visual approach to the teaching of mathematics. Inspectors observed pupils across the school confidently using this new approach to solve a range of number problems.  The teaching of reading has improved so that the large majority of pupils are now achieving the level they should. Pupils enjoy reading often and are usually able to use their phonics skills to decode unfamiliar words. Some of the most-able pupils do not progress as much as other pupils, as the expectations of what they can achieve are not always high enough. The school’s leadership has

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

recognised this and is currently introducing reading software which will provide opportunities for developing higher order reading skills.  The teaching of writing is effective and is supporting pupils’ improved use of punctuation and better sentence construction. Pupils in most classes could rehearse, learn and innovate shared texts. Consequently, most groups of pupils are making good progress in writing.  Teachers’ feedback usually follows the school’s marking policy by providing specific guidance to pupils on how to improve a piece of work and suggestions are usually followed up. However, pupils’ books show that this is not yet consistent across the school.  Teaching assistants are well deployed and provide effective support, in particular for less-able pupils. This was particularly noticeable in Year 6 booster sessions for mathematics. These staff are beginning to develop more detailed questioning, which will allow them to further challenge pupils to deepen their

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  All pupils benefit from good-quality care. Pupils and families who may be vulnerable receive extra support in class or through the school’s strong links with external agencies, so these pupils can participate fully and progress as well as their classmates.  The school is a calm, harmonious place where pupils grow and become increasingly mature and reliable. They enjoy roles of responsibility as play leaders and when helping younger pupils read.  Pupils know that they are responsible for their actions and are well aware of the difference between right and wrong. Rewards, such as ‘achievers awards’ for helping or behaving well at lunchtimes, promote good manners and consideration for others.  Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in most different situations and the school has evidence of the positive impact of its recent project on e-safety.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils value their education. Attendance is above average, few pupils are persistently absent and this has been the case over time. Any absences are quickly followed up to ensure that all pupils attend regularly and on time.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  School records, previous reports and inspection findings show this is typical over time, and parents and pupils agree. There is no record of any discrimination, and exclusion is only used in the most extreme circumstances. All pupils understand how behaviour is managed, and say the school systems are fair.  Good behaviour and supportive relationships result in learning proceeding smoothly in lessons and outside class. Most pupils show positive attitudes to their learning so they work hard and progress well. In a small number of cases, pupils needed to be refocused on work by their teachers.  Pupils feel safe in school. They say bullying is not an issue, but a very small number of parents told inspectors they disagreed or were unsure. Pupils understand bullying takes different forms, such as cyber-bullying, and know they must always tell an adult about any sort of bullying. They are confident

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Behaviour

that staff listen to and act on any concerns they have. There is no racism. Pupils have a good understanding of types of extremism and how to keep themselves safe from it. Records of behaviour incidents are kept and show the impact of the school’s actions.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Standards have improved significantly during this academic year. Pupils now make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and are beginning to apply their skills in other subjects across the curriculum, especially technology and science.  Throughout the school, standards have recently improved in all subjects and attainment is now above the national average in Years 4 to 6. Pupils in Year 3 who entered the school with low attainment are making rapid progress towards their challenging targets.  The gap is closing between disadvantaged and other pupils. Disadvantaged pupils make good and often better than expected progress across the school.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress from their different starting points. They have benefited from the recently implemented improvements in the management of special educational needs and they are very well supported by teachers who deliver the intervention programmes

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Outcomes for pupils are good

very well.  Lower attainers make good progress. They are taught well and are becoming more independent as a result of the availability of resources and equipment to support their learning.  In Year 6, the most-able pupils make good progress. These pupils enjoy their learning; they were able to show the inspector the many complex problems they had been set. They explained that they enjoy being challenged, and an older pupil described how she ‘loves maths’. There are some gaps in the reading knowledge of the most-able pupils in other year groups. The school leadership is aware of this and has plans to improve provision for this group.  Progress is slower in some lessons where there are missed opportunities to help pupils to learn from their mistakes.  The school ensures that all pupils are treated equally and that social skills are developed. Pupils listen attentively to teachers and other staff and are successfully prepared for the next stage of their education.

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School details

Unique reference number 113483 Local authority Plymouth Inspection number 10002427 Type of school Junior School category Foundation Age range of pupils 7 — 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 178 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rachel Cain Headteacher Robin Jones Telephone number 01752 365217 Website www.stbfs.co.uk Email address st.budeaux.ce.junior.school@plymouth.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 28 — 29 November 2013

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Information about this school

 This junior school is broadly average in size.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium funding is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, and those looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and pupils who have special educational needs is above the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupil’s attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 18 lessons and were accompanied by the headteacher during several of these observations.  The inspectors observed morning playtime and lunchbreaks and also attended an assembly.  Meetings were held with pupils and many other pupils were spoken to during lessons and breaktimes. The lead inspector met with governors and had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors held meetings with school staff, including senior leaders.  The inspectors took account of four staff questionnaires.  The inspectors also took account of 18 parents’ responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, in planning and undertaking the inspection. Both inspectors also spoke informally with a number of parents.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupil progress, school improvement planning, leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching,

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Information about this inspection

local authority checks on provision and pupils’ progress, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Stuart Busby, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Rachel Miller Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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