Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Rachel Payne Headteacher Breadsall CofE VC Primary School Moor Road Breadsall Derby Derbyshire DE21 5LA

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 2 February 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in February 2012.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You, your colleagues, and the governing body lead and manage the school well. The ethos of the school is strong. It has a significant influence on the pupils, successfully encouraging positive attitudes to life, to learning and towards other people. The school, justifiably, enjoys a very high level of confidence among the parents with whom I spoke and who responded during the inspection to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

You have an honest and accurate view of the school, based on systematic and broadly based monitoring of its work. The monitoring leads in turn to well-conceived actions that are implemented carefully and which lead to demonstrable improvements in the provision for the pupils.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

You have worked thoroughly, purposefully and to good effect to deal with the areas for improvement that were identified at the last inspection. The aspects of the curriculum that you have introduced to enable the pupils to get a better sense of global diversity have worked well.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The school’s work to promote equalities is often subtle, but effective. The pupils develop as well-rounded individuals with a clear moral code, balanced and considered opinions, and a good sense of curiosity about the world. You and the governing body have not been especially rigorous, however, in evaluating the impact of this aspect of the school’s work, which means that leaders do not have a particularly precise view of whether further improvements are needed.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The quality of the pupils’ writing has improved since the last inspection. The differences between the pupils’ outcomes in this subject and those in others are less apparent now than they were. This is because you have put in place a consistent and coherent approach to teaching writing. The remaining differences between the subjects are not wide, although the progress in writing made by less-able boys is less than that of other pupils, particularly when those boys fail to act upon the guidance given by the teachers.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The school’s provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is led and managed well. The coordinator monitors the provision systematically, which leads to well-judged actions that bring about improvements for the pupils. The co-ordinator has ensured that the school has responded quickly to the changing nature of the pupils’ needs, so that the staff are trained in how best to meet those needs. As a result, this group of pupils makes good progress.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that appropriately detailed records are kept. Your records show that the school’s systems for reporting and recording any concerns raised by the staff are operated conscientiously. The staff are provided with regular and reasonably frequent training in a range of appropriate things and with other information more frequently, which ensures that they are up to date with the latest government guidance and aware of possible types of concern.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The school has an effective and broad-based approach to keeping the pupils safe. Possible risks are identified and appropriate measures are taken to manage them.

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Short inspection of Breadsall CofE VC Primary School

The pupils told me, convincingly, that they feel safe at the school. Every one of the parents with whom I spoke and who responded to the online questionnaire at the time of the inspection confirmed that their children feel safe and that they are looked after well. This is an aspect of the school’s work that parents value very highly.

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Inspection findings

 The school’s ‘golden rules’ have a notably positive impact on the pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and the choices that they make. The pupils know and understand the rules and can talk about ways in which the rules have influenced what they think and what they do.  Teachers introduce the idea of diversity through a well-planned range of topics, activities and experiences. The pupils are very comfortable with the idea of people being different. They are genuinely interested in and even fascinated by social diversity. For example, in the early years I saw children working with exotic fruits, which they were able to name accurately, and dressing up in items of clothing representing different cultures. The pupils in key stage 1 are able to work with puppets that reflect ethnic diversity. In key stage 2, the school has purchased good-quality textbooks about equality and diversity. Bilingual pupils are included well in the school. For example, Polish speakers are able to use

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Inspection findings

dictionaries in that language in classrooms.  The outcomes for children in the early years have risen steadily year on year and are increasingly above average, including in writing.  The pupils’ writing skills are built up systematically and progressively, with a strong emphasis on enabling the pupils to write well at length, which the pupils do with increasing confidence and skill. The examples that I saw of Year 6 pupils’ writing about Tutankhamun were particularly impressive. Less-able writers are given effective additional support that focuses on the very particular skills and knowledge that they need, based upon precise assessments by the teachers.  The school makes well-considered adaptations to meet the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The adaptations lead to improvements in those pupils’ learning and their participation in the life of the school.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 leaders evaluate incisively and stringently the impact of the school’s work to promote equalities  less-able boys act consistently on the guidance from their teachers about how to improve their writing, so that their progress is as rapid as other pupils’.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Derby, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Derbyshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with: the headteacher; the designated leader for safeguarding; and the special educational needs coordinator. I met with representatives of the governing body. I held a discussion by telephone with a representative of the local authority. I made a series of visits to lessons, some jointly with the headteacher. I listened to pupils reading. I discussed the work of the school with the pupils formally, when meeting with them, and informally during breaks and in lessons. I looked at examples of the pupils’ work during lessons and at a sample of their workbooks. I looked at the views of parents expressed using Parent View and spoke with others at the start of the school day. I looked at the results of inspection surveys of the pupils and the staff. I scrutinised a range of documents, including safeguarding records, a range of policy documents, and the school’s information about the progress of the pupils. I looked into the effectiveness

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Information about the inspection

with which the school fulfils its duty to promote equalities; the extent to which the school has a coherent and consistent approach to teaching writing, particularly for less-able boys; the effectiveness of the school’s provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities; and the effectiveness of the school’s work to safeguard pupils.

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