Colston Bassett School Limited

Colston Bassett School Limited School Lane, Colston Bassett, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG12 3FD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher provides excellent leadership and ensures that the school maintains a process of continuous improvement.  The quality of teaching and learning is good across the full age range of the school; consequently, pupils make good progress with their learning.  Staff use assessment information effectively to identify pupils’ starting points and to plan appropriate learning activities.  Pupils’ personal development and behaviour are outstanding. They very much enjoy attending school and make the most of the breadth of experiences available to them.  The school is a cohesive community, in which pupils learn to care for each other and to care about the wider community.  The proprietors work effectively with the headteacher to set high expectations for pupils’ achievement and to evaluate the school’s strengths and areas for improvement.  Arrangements for the safeguarding and welfare of pupils are outstanding. Pupils are very safe

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in school because leaders implement highly effective arrangements to ensure their health and safety.  Pupils gain success in their 11+ examinations and move on successfully to schools of their choice.  Children in the Reception Year make good progress with achieving their early learning goals. Staff provide them with a wide range of activities that enable them to learn effectively.  The proprietors and headteacher have ensured that the school meets all the independent school standards.  Targets set for individual pupils are not always monitored and evaluated to ensure that they are challenging enough to accelerate learning and progress.  Teachers do not have sufficient opportunities to share their practice and reflect on the impact of their teaching on pupils’ learning and progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In line with the school’s policy, ensure that the school’s individual pupils’ targets are: – implemented consistently across all subjects and year groups – reviewed regularly with pupils – sufficiently ambitious to challenge pupils to make better than expected progress, from their different starting points, compared with the national average.  Further improve the quality of teaching and learning by: – providing teachers with regular opportunities to share their good practice and celebrate their successes – implementing systematic arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The proprietors and headteacher have ensured that the school meets all the independent school standards. They communicate a strong desire to see pupils enjoying school and succeeding in both their personal development and academic learning.  The proprietors and the headteacher work very effectively together. They lead by example and have created a culture of success across the school. The staff recognise the commitment of the proprietors and their very thorough knowledge of the school’s work.  There are strong, positive relationships between staff and with pupils. All members of staff who completed an inspection questionnaire enjoy working at the school and believe the school is well led and managed.  Senior leaders have recently introduced revised arrangements for the assessment of pupils’ progress. These are contributing effectively to staff understanding of the extent of progress and to their ability to plan accurately to meet the needs of individual pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher evaluates the curricular provision continuously. She takes appropriate steps to ensure that all pupils experience a rich and rewarding breadth of learning experiences. The majority of pupils regularly take part in, and enjoy, the wide range of clubs and activities provided at the end of the school day.  The school strongly promotes British values, including an emphasis on equality of opportunity and respect for diversity. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed, and benefited from, the recent India week. During the inspection, older pupils demonstrated creative approaches to paired research, while learning about the variety of religions practised in India.  The headteacher maintains regular, informal oversight of the quality of teaching and learning. She uses the school’s limited budget to contribute to carefully chosen training for staff. However, there are limited opportunities for the formal observation of teaching

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

or for staff to share their good practice and successes.  Almost all parents who responded to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire believe their child is happy and safe at the school and making good progress.

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Governance

 The proprietors take responsibility for the governance of the school. They are regularly on site and have a comprehensive understanding of the school’s provision and outcomes. They provide a well-judged balance between support for the headteacher and holding the school to account.  The proprietors work closely with the headteacher to analyse pupils’ progress and to ensure that staff take appropriate action to address any concerns.  The proprietors ensure that the school continuously addresses any changes to the independent school standards, including the appropriate updating of school policies and procedures. They oversee effective arrangements for the recruitment of staff.  The proprietors’ support and expertise make a particularly strong contribution to the implementation and monitoring of safeguarding requirements, including the regular training of staff.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Children state that they feel safe in school and they are confident the staff would support them appropriately with any concerns they may have.  The school publishes its policy for safeguarding on the school’s website. Senior leaders give a high priority to ensuring that arrangements for safeguarding and pupils’ welfare are kept under continuous review. The policy and associated procedures have regard to the latest statutory guidance and staff are trained regularly to recognise different forms of abuse and to implement the latest guidance effectively.  The headteacher and staff have daily contact with parents; this facilitates the immediate exchange of any required information related to an individual pupil or to the wider school community. All pupils and their individual needs are very well known and understood by staff.  The headteacher ensures that the school maintains appropriate contacts with external

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Safeguarding

agencies, including those in the local authority, which are available to support the staff and provide advice about any safeguarding concerns.  The school implements effective procedures for the safe recruitment of staff, the assessment of risk, and the safety of the school premises. The school’s oversight of all aspects of safety is exemplary.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The headteacher has established appropriate arrangements to assess pupils’ starting points on entry to the school. Staff have an excellent understanding of these starting points and learning characteristics of pupils. Teachers use this information well to plan learning tasks and activities that take account of pupils’ current levels of attainment.  In mathematics in Years 3 and 4, for example, pupils tackled ‘word problems’ at different levels of challenge dependent on their starting points. They were successful in translating these into calculations and using mental mathematics to achieve mostly accurate answers.  Throughout the school, staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and active engagement in learning. Each group of pupils works with a number of different teachers and teaching assistants throughout the week. Staff have consistent expectations that enable pupils to benefit from the variety of learning styles they encounter.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Pupils show independence in managing important aspects of their own learning. In humanities in Years 5 and 6, for example, pupils researched the various religions of India. They were justifiably proud of their work as they produced creative electronic presentations based on their independent research.  Staff monitor the work of pupils effectively through regular questioning of the whole class or of individual pupils. Teachers’ explanations are mostly clear and well expressed. As a result, pupils are encouraged continuously to think about how they can improve their work. Pupils mostly develop a strong capacity to learn from their mistakes.  Pupils write creatively with increasing accuracy in their spelling and grammar. Pupils in the junior classes, for example, enjoy writing imaginative stories. They show maturity in their choice of language and styles of expression. They are comfortable reading aloud and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

explaining why and how they have chosen the plots and characters in their writing.  Staff place a strong emphasis on the development of reading, writing and numeracy skills across all subjects. Younger pupils make effective use of phonics as they tackle unfamiliar words. Pupils of all ages are confident using computers for both research and recording their work.  Teachers provide suitable homework which enables pupils to prepare for, or follow up, work completed in school. Pupils in Years 5 and 6, for example, benefited from homework that prepared them for one-to-one interviews with each other in personal and social education.  Pupils enjoy daily opportunities to take part in physical education and games lessons. They work hard and experience good levels of physical and aerobic challenge, together with the development of individual skills, for example in street hockey, football or multi- sports. The extensive after-school programme contributes strongly to their physical fitness

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

and social development.  Staff identify targets for pupils to help them improve their work, within the school’s assessment and marking policy. Pupils are aware of where they need to improve their work. However, these targets are mostly short term and not always sufficiently ambitious, or monitored and reinforced over time, to ensure that all pupils persevere to make excellent progress from their starting points.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. The school provides a very relaxed and supportive environment in which pupils learn to value highly their education and contribute very successfully to a shared community.  Pupils of all ages develop a high degree of self-confidence because of the positive and encouraging feedback they receive from staff. They fully respect and trust the staff and very much enjoy attending school and taking an active part in their learning.  Pupils are very respectful of each other and are extremely keen to support and encourage others. Pupils have no concerns about bullying in the school and are very confident that the staff will help them to deal with any anxieties that they may have.  They fully understand the importance of developing a healthy lifestyle. They explain how the school encourages them to take an active part in managing their diet and physical

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Personal development and welfare

exercise. They greatly value the outstanding opportunities provided for sports and physical activities. They work hard and thoroughly enjoy their daily physical education lessons and after-school sports clubs.  Pupils are very safe, and feel extremely safe in school. They have a very good understanding of risks and threats to their well-being and safety. They can describe and explain, for example, what they have learned about e-safety and how the school teaches them to be safe.  The school prepares pupils extremely well for the transitions between year groups and for the move to secondary education at the end of Year 6. They are highly ambitious to succeed and to make the most of the opportunities provided for them. They develop values which will enable them to become considerate and contributing future citizens.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils quickly develop excellent attitudes to learning. They focus continuously on their work and do not distract others by unacceptable behaviour.  Pupils’ work in classrooms and on the school field is characterised by excellent attention to instructions and a strong desire to succeed. They understand the importance of completing their work to a high standard and ensuring that they maintain their focus and concentration.  Pupils regularly and very harmoniously work together in pairs or small groups. They respect the ideas of others and demonstrate excellent cooperation in reaching decisions. They play well together and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to take turns and to enjoy activities.  They behave very appropriately around the school. Lunchtimes in the school canteen are relaxed and enjoyable occasions. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and considerate of adults

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Behaviour

and other pupils.  Pupils’ overall attendance is high and there are no cases of persistent absence.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils enter Year 1 with overall social skills and readiness to learn in line with national expectations. They make consistently good progress in their personal development and their learning as they progress through the school.  Pupils’ progress in reading, writing, speaking, listening and numeracy is good. Overall, they develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in line with, or in excess of, the national average.  By the end of Year 6, most pupils demonstrate maturity in their speaking and listening skills. They listen well to their teachers and to each other, and are able to develop reasoned arguments to support their ideas.  Pupils of all ages enjoy reading. The majority read fluently, at or above the standards expected for their age. Older pupils demonstrate the ability to extract ideas from text and to organise their own ideas in coherently written prose.  The most able pupils make good progress across all subjects of the curriculum. They

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Outcomes for pupils Good

receive feedback, both orally and in writing, and know how they can improve their work. They make strong progress towards their 11+ examinations where they demonstrate success and achieve places at the secondary schools of their choice.  Staff provide appropriate support for pupils to overcome any barriers to learning and to make good progress from their starting points.  Pupils’ good progress is evident across a number of subjects in addition to English and mathematics, including humanities, science, art and design, French and physical education.  Pupils’ individual targets for progress in their learning are not always sufficiently ambitious, or systematically reviewed, to ensure that they make consistently outstanding progress.

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Early years provision Good

 The school’s provision for children in the early years meets regulatory requirements, including the welfare requirements. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective and staff give excellent attention to children’s welfare.  Staff provide an appropriate emphasis on the development of children’s skills in reading, writing and numeracy. They balance this well with attention to meeting the full range of early learning goals.  Children make an effective start to the development of their reading skills. They learn to use phonics, understanding how to express the sounds that letters make and to join these into words. During the inspection, they demonstrated good skills in writing simple words and identifying missing letters in these words.  The curriculum is stimulating and appropriately challenging. Children are interested in the learning activities provided for them and are keen to learn. They enjoy exploring the

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Early years provision Good

resources and activities provided in the outside environment. Staff make effective use of the school grounds to encourage children to experiment and discover for themselves.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistent with the good provision across the school. Children enjoy an effective start to their educational journey within the school.  Staff have developed strong relationships with the children’s parents, which enable a daily exchange of information. Staff keep parents well informed about their children’s development and progress.  Children’s behaviour is excellent. They respect the staff and show good support for each other. They listen well and take an active part in conversations with staff and with each other. Children are very safe and they learn to understand risk and careful management of their behaviour.  Overall, children’s progress is at least in line with national expectations for age, and often

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Early years provision Good

exceeds these in individual aspects of learning and development.  The staff prepare children well for the transition to key stage 1. They have many opportunities to work and learn alongside these pupils in Years 1 and 2 and are well supported to develop strong relationships.  The headteacher and early years coordinator ensure that teaching and learning arrangements are kept under continuous review and adapted to meet the needs of individual children. The school provides effective opportunities for staff training and the updating of their skills.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Email address colstonbassettschool@live.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 January 2012

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Information about this school

 Colston Bassett School is an independent selective co-educational day school in rural Nottinghamshire. The school premises occupy a former village primary school with its own extensive grounds.  The school opened in 2007 and is registered to provide full-time education for up to 72 pupils aged four to 11 years. There are currently 34 pupils on the school roll. Pupils live in the village or the rural community nearby.  The school is organised into four classes, Reception Year, Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6. The school provides a curriculum broadly based on the requirements of the early years and the national curriculum.  There are no pupils currently with an education, health and care plan.  The school’s motto is ‘Vitae Discimus’ or ‘We learn for life’, with an ethos based on Christian principles.  The school’s previous inspection was in January 2012.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning in nine lessons across the full age range of the school. He scrutinised examples of pupils’ work in a variety of subjects, including English and mathematics. He also attended two whole-school assemblies.  The inspector held discussions with the proprietors, the headteacher, the coordinator of the early years provision, and a number of teaching and support staff. He also considered responses to an inspection questionnaire submitted by 16 members of staff.  The inspector talked with a number of parents at the school’s open morning on the first full day of the inspection. He also took account of 18 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire. He held a meeting with current and former members of the school council. He discussed informally with a number of other pupils and listened to some of them read.  The inspectors scrutinised a number of school policies, procedures and records in order to

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Information about this inspection

check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

David Young, lead inspector 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

Parent View 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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Inspection team

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