Bitterne Manor Primary and Nursery School

Bitterne Manor Primary School Quayside Road, Bitterne Manor, Southampton SO18 1DP

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is an outstanding school

 The school motto is ‘Learning to be the best we can’ and this accurately describes daily life at Bitterne Manor. Leaders are ambitious for every pupil and are clear that good is not good enough.  Leaders place great importance on developing pupils’ personal and social development. Pupils are confident to learn and eager to succeed.  Teachers are highly knowledgeable and skilled. Not a minute is wasted in lessons. Learning is engaging and challenging.  The curriculum is exceptional. Subject leaders make learning come alive. Teachers have high expectations. The quality of writing in all subjects is as impressive as it is in English lessons.  All groups of pupils make strong and sustained progress from their starting points. These include those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and the most able.  Disadvantaged pupils do at least as well as their

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This is an outstanding school

peers across the school. Standards are high.  Behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary. Pupils’ determination to focus on the task in hand is striking.  Other adults in the school make an invaluable contribution to the high-quality education pupils receive.  Children in the Reception Year have an outstanding start. The quality of teaching and the carefully planned curriculum enable all children to make exceptional progress.  Pupils show great pride in their school. Older pupils thrive on the extra responsibilities they are given.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They value the progress their children make and recognise the many strengths of the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Continue to work closely with the linked pre-school to share expectations of children’s learning and to strengthen knowledge of children’s progress over time.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher are exemplary leaders. They have a drive to provide every child with the best education possible. The values which underpin the work of the school are clear in the words and actions of the whole school community.  Leaders have exceptionally high expectations of staff, pupils and parents and this is recognised and welcomed. Relationships between adults and pupils are respectful, trusting and warm and this creates a highly positive learning culture in the school.  Leaders know the learning needs of each individual pupil. This enables leaders and teachers to track progress very carefully. The performance management of staff is rigorous, and focused on the progress and outcomes of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language, disadvantaged pupils and the most able.  The curriculum is broad, balanced and rich with exciting and engaging learning opportunities. Leaders

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

have worked closely with class teachers to create themes and topics that are meaningful to pupils, often linked to a product at the end. For example, Year 6 pupils were keen to share the designs of their ‘spy gadgets’, work that was linked to their English text.  The written work in pupils’ topic books is of the same high standard as it is in their English work. The outstanding outcomes in English and mathematics are achieved because of the quality of the work in other subjects. Pupils have access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities that they value.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a school priority and a strength. The cultural heritage of pupils and families is valued. The curriculum uses visits and visitors to encourage all pupils to reflect on different beliefs and cultures. Lessons also give pupils a wide range of opportunities to reflect, for example exploring the concept of a ‘guilty conscience’ through English work or considering the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

importance of ‘submissions’ in Islam. Parents who spoke to inspectors value the sense of community and harmony that the school creates. The absence of any derogatory or racist language is testament to this.  Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. The fundamental British values of democracy and the rule of law, tolerance, free speech and mutual respect are taught very well. A well-planned curriculum ensures that clear links are made between subjects, for example the work on ancient Greece is strongly linked to lessons on democracy. Pupils are actively involved in many aspects of school life. The special roles and responsibilities are learned through canvassing, promotional materials and carefully crafted speeches. The school borrows ballot boxes from the local council to enhance the importance for pupils as they elect their peers.  Leaders ensure the pupil premium is used well to promote the progress of disadvantaged pupils. (The

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils entitled to free school meals and for children who are looked after.) Disadvantaged pupils across the school achieve at least as well as, and often better than, their peers.  Leaders make effective use of additional government funding for sports. Specialist teachers work with pupils to develop their skills and confidence in a wide range of sporting activities. Pupils are very positive about sport and relish the tournaments they enter. Some have joined clubs outside school as a direct result of enjoying the wide range of activities in and after school.  The governance of the school – Governors are both proud of the education that the school provides and ambitious for the future. They have a strong understanding of pupils’ progress, any gaps between groups of pupils in the school and what leaders are doing about this. Governors use their time in school to get first-hand evidence of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

leaders’ work. They are clear about the purpose of their visits and understand their strategic role. The recruitment of new governors has been focused on bringing additional knowledge and skills to enhance their work even further. – Governors monitor carefully the use of additional funding. The pupil premium and sports grant are having a positive impact on outcomes and governors know this. Governors have a clear oversight of the effectiveness of the management of teachers’ performance.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders ensure that all staff, including those who join the school during the year, receive clear and up-to-date safeguarding training. Systems for recording concerns and tracking them are detailed and effective. Leaders show determination when working with other agencies to ensure that pupils are safe. School leaders are tenacious in following up concerns and do not rest until they feel that the information they hold is being acted upon. Parents and pupils are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

universally positive about the school’s work to keep all safe and well.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

 Teachers have exceptionally high expectations of all pupils in all subjects. No time is wasted in lessons because teachers are clear about what is being learned and explain this to pupils. Pupils know what they are doing and why they are doing it.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is exemplary. Writing and mathematics are taught extremely well and are used very effectively to support pupils’ learning in other subjects across the curriculum, such as history, geography and science.  Teachers have a very clear understanding of what pupils know and can do. Learning is moved on very effectively through teachers’ questioning. All adults are skilled at spotting misconceptions and helping pupils to progress. No group of pupils is left behind. Pupils’ responses to teachers’ feedback accelerate learning in all subjects.  The most able pupils are challenged across the curriculum. Pupils in Year 2 told inspectors that learning

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

meant they had to ‘think hard’. Pupils have access to a wide range of resources that help them to rise to the challenges that are set.  Teaching assistants provide high-quality support to all pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Working relationships between adults are exemplary. Everybody knows what is expected and learning is at the heart of all the school’s work.  Phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is taught very well. Teachers look closely at the progress pupils are making and put extra support in place quickly if pupils fall behind. Reading skills are taught exceptionally well throughout the school.  Parents who spoke to inspectors value the homework challenges that are set. The school shares learning and progress in a wide range of ways that parents appreciate, such as the online blog and the ‘book looks’.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils have a clear determination to succeed. The school’s values are not simply on display, they are evident in how pupils approach learning. Pupils across all classes are motivated to achieve, resilient in their approach to challenge and show great pride in themselves and their school.  Leaders and teachers think very carefully about the next stage in pupils’ education and prepare them very well. The warm and trusting relationships in classrooms enable pupils to talk with honesty about how they feel. During this inspection, Year 6 pupils were reflecting on and sharing their concerns about moving schools. Pupils were all highly respectful of the views of their classmates, whether they agreed or not. Adults were sensitive about when to explore a theme further and when to give an individual pupil the right not to expand on their thoughts publicly.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils have a clear understanding about what it means to be safe and healthy. The school has been successful in promoting a range of healthy choices, such as cycling or scootering to school. Pupils have a good understanding about bullying but are also clear that it does not happen in their school. Pupils have secure knowledge about how to stay safe online.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils’ ability to manage their own behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary. Groups of pupils from a range of classes work independently for sustained periods in the shared spaces outside classrooms. Pupils are hungry to learn and keen to succeed.  Pupils have worked with leaders to create a range of ways to recognise and promote positive behaviour. The ‘praise board’ gives older pupils the opportunity to seek out peers who are modelling the school’s values and to celebrate them publicly. Pupils have also designed a system for rewarding each other for behaving kindly towards each other at lunchtime. ‘Kind Kevin’ the teddy bear is the prize that older pupils bestow on the kindest class each week.  Lunchtimes and breaktimes are calm. Adults supervise pupils well and also play games with them. This contributes positively to the sense of calm that permeates every aspect of school life. House captains are

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Behaviour

recognised and valued in the school. Younger pupils know who the house captains are and often find them in the playground, just to be near these older pupils who they hold in such high regard. Older pupils show exemplary care towards younger children.  Pupils attend school regularly. No groups of pupils have low attendance. The school has high expectations of parents to demonstrate reasons for absence. Attendance is above average and improving because pupils and parents value the education they receive. Leaders work closely with other professionals to support individual vulnerable families where attendance is not as good as it needs to be.

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

 A very high proportion of current Year 1 pupils are on track to reach the expected levels in the phonics screening check. At the end of the foundation stage in 2015, girls were doing significantly better than boys. This year, boys have made outstanding progress from those lower starting points and the gap has significantly reduced. Pupils who did not achieve a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year are making strong progress in Year 1, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language benefit from highly effective teaching. Progress is rapid and gaps close quickly between them and their peers. For example, by the time pupils who were new to English in the Reception Year take their phonics check, they do as well as their peers.  No groups of children get left behind and gaps close. For example, current Year 2 disadvantaged pupils

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

had a significantly lower good level of development when they started Year 1. However, rapid progress in key stage 1 ensures that no significant gaps remain. High proportions of pupils are working at or above levels expected for their age at the end of key stage 1, across a range of subjects.  The most able pupils make strong and sustained progress through each year group and across each subject. In 2015, the proportions of pupils reaching the higher levels at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 were significantly above the national average. The level of challenge for most-able pupils in lessons, as shown by work in their books, is clearly high in every subject.  In 2015, all pupils made expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics, and higher proportions than seen nationally made more than expected progress. Standards at the end of Year 6 have been high and improving steadily for three years and disadvantaged pupils do at least as well as their peers. Current

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Outcomes for pupils are outstanding

pupils have reached the same high standards and are therefore very well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Expectations and standards are high across the school and across the curriculum. The most able pupils are stretched, no groups get left behind and disadvantaged pupils do as well as or better than their peers. The quality of work in topic books is striking and progress is demonstrably clear.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 Children in the Reception Year get a great start to life in the school. They settle extremely well because the transition from pre-school is managed well. Classrooms are a hive of purposeful activity and children are taught the key skills they need to succeed. The opportunities to write are extensive and exciting and every child sees themselves as a writer. Children are proud of their work and are always looking to show an adult, read what they have written or stick it straight up on the door for all to see. The quality of children’s handwriting, including the formation of letters, is incredibly high.  The early years foundation stage is led exceptionally well. Leaders are reflective about what is working well and what can be even better. For example, girls’ reading and writing was significantly better than boys’ at the end of the Reception Year in 2015. As a result, leaders and staff made a range of changes to

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Early years provision is outstanding

the curriculum to prioritise boys’ early reading and writing, and this is helping them to catch up with the girls.  The vast majority of children enter the school with knowledge and skills that are below, and in some cases significantly below, those typical for their age. Children make strong and sustained progress through the early years. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is consistently above the proportion seen nationally and current children are on track to do better than last year.  Disadvantaged children make the same levels of progress as their peers and achieve well. The additional funding the school receives to support these children is used effectively. Leaders and staff use the information they have about children’s progress to make sure that no group or individual is not achieving.  The most able children, who arrive with knowledge and skills typical for their age, excel in the Reception

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Early years provision is outstanding

Year. They receive high-quality teaching and by the time they leave are working securely beyond age- related expectations.  The children who require additional support to catch up from their low starting points thrive. The progress in their learning over time is clear and they are now working at levels that are much closer to that of their peers.  Children’s personal, social and emotional development is exemplary. Groups of children often work in the area outside of the classroom, alongside groups of Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. It is not clear which pupils are the youngest in the school because they have a maturity and focus on learning that is beyond their years.  Partnerships with parents are effective. Parents who spoke to inspectors recognised how well the school has accommodated the additional Reception class and how effective communication is between the school and parents. Parents whose children speak English as an additional language are very well

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Early years provision is outstanding

supported. Staff ensure that all parents are able to play an active part in their children’s learning at home.  Staff work closely with other groups of schools, including a teaching school alliance, to moderate assessments and share examples of things that are working in their schools. Partnerships are strong. The early years leader is beginning to work more closely with the link pre-school on the same site to build greater consistency of expectations.  All children are ready to be successful in Year 1 because of the outstanding start they receive.

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School details

Unique reference number 116089 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 10000677 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 240 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Su Brakewell Headteacher Suzy Hayward Telephone number 02380 227596 Website www.bitternemanor.co.uk Email address admin@bitternemanor.net Date of previous inspection 2–3 November 2011

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Information about this school

 Bitterne Manor is an average-sized primary school. The school has expanded by 30 pupils this year. The additional Reception class will move into Year 1 and Reception will return to 30 pupils in autumn 2016. The ‘bulge’ class will move through the school.  The pre-school on the school site is not managed by the school and was not part of this inspection.  A quarter of pupils are entitled to the pupil premium and this is broadly the national average.  Almost a quarter of pupils speak English as an additional language and this is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities supported by the school is above the national average.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning throughout the school, including some jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors looked at pupils’ work during lessons, and at displays and work in books showing progress over time.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. A meeting was held with a representative of the local authority and with governors.  Parents’ views were considered through the 24 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and in conversations with parents at the beginning of the school day. The views of staff were considered through the 22 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and through meetings.  Inspectors observed breaktime and lunchtime.  Inspectors considered a wide range of documents, including leaders’ evaluations of the school’s effectiveness, improvement plans, records of local authority and governors’ monitoring, and leaders’

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Information about this inspection

analysis of the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records, case studies and the central record of recruitment checks on staff.

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Inspection team

Mark Cole, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Becky Greenhalgh Ofsted Inspector Lynn Martin 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

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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