Bamford Primary School

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

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Mrs Kate Gemmell Headteacher Bamford Primary School Fidlers Well Bamford Hope Valley Derbyshire S33 0AR

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 29 March 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 October 2012.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have clear plans for the school’s improvement that are determined by accurate evaluation of the strengths and areas of development for the school. You share your plans with staff and governors and the leadership team are working well together to raise pupils’ attainment.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

Your vision for school improvement inspires and motivates staff and governors. Your leaders said they felt ‘empowered’ to lead and you support them well to help them to do their job. You are improving Bamford Primary School by making clear your expectations that all pupils will achieve success. You understand that all pupils are different and have different needs and you are committed to ensuring that individual pupils are well supported. Teachers address weaknesses in pupils’ learning quickly, so that pupils can make good progress.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

The school is a happy and friendly place. Pupils enjoy coming to school and spoke with enthusiasm about their learning. Classrooms are positive learning environments where pupils work well together. Pupils’ behaviour in school is good. They are polite and show respect for adults and each other. The pupils that I met told me they felt safe in school and well cared for. They were confident that their teachers would help them if they had a problem. They understand about being a good citizen and spoke to me about making good choices, following rules and being kind. Leaders have dealt successfully with the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. In 2015, pupils’ achievement in writing was below that of pupils nationally. Last year, the government introduced new national measures for judging pupils’ achievement, which were more challenging than previous years. Despite this, pupils’ achievement in writing was in line with pupils nationally. This is because you

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

and your staff have raised standards in writing, especially for girls. Your work to link writing to boys’ interests to engage them has also been successful. You ensure that pupils read texts with greater challenge, to improve their vocabulary, and you are working hard to promote a love and enjoyment of reading. You are working to develop these strategies further, including by raising teachers’ expectations, to ensure that more pupils reach the highest standards for their age.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

You and your staff check how well pupils are learning very effectively. You carefully track the progress of individual pupils and the progress different groups of pupils are making, including disadvantaged pupils, the most able and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

You have worked hard and effectively to provide better communication to parents. This is valued greatly by parents. Parents who spoke with me during the inspection felt listened to and all agreed that communication to parents is a strength. The vast majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that they were kept well informed about their child’s progress. The school website is up to date and informative. It meets the requirements of what schools must publish for parents and visitors.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

The governing body are very committed to the school and are helping you to drive forward the improvements you are making. Governors ask important questions about pupils’ achievement and the progress of the school’s plans to raise standards. They do this effectively because you provide them with accurate information. They also make regular visits to the school to find out for themselves what is happening in practice.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

You have developed the curriculum well and teachers have had effective training, linked to your school priorities, to ensure that standards remain good and are improving. You recognise that there are still certain aspects of your school’s provision that you wish to improve. You have correctly identified, through the wide and regular monitoring you undertake, that teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to apply their mathematical skills to solve problems that are more complex. In addition, teachers do not give pupils sufficient tasks to develop their reasoning skills in mathematics. You have taken steps to address this and some of this has been done with useful support from a consultant from the local authority. You have also worked effectively in collaboration with a local cluster of schools to support improvements in the leadership of mathematics. Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

Staff and governors are well trained to help them identify risk to pupils and ensure that they know what to do. You and your staff place a high priority on ensuring that pupils are safe and their welfare is protected. Your staff understand their responsibility to report to you immediately any concerns that they have about a pupil’s safety. You serve as the designated safeguarding lead in the school and you keep detailed records and have put good systems in place to safeguard pupils. You are not afraid to escalate your concerns if you do not believe agencies are responding with sufficient urgency.

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Short inspection of Bamford Primary School

Pupils said they felt safe and spoke confidently about how they could help to keep themselves safe. They told me how to stay safe online and they knew not to give their personal details to anyone that they did not know. They told me that bullying is rare and that adults are very quick to deal with any bullying, should it occur.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders’ self-evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for development is accurate and, consequently, actions for improvements are appropriate and focus on raising the attainment of pupils across the school.  You have a clear vision for developing the curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils and address your identified areas for improvement. The work that you have already done motivates pupils to want to learn. Staff are on board with your plans and share your vision for success.  Governors have provided effective support and challenge. They have a good understanding of the direction the school is moving in and are committed to school improvement.  Teachers work with other schools and the local authority to check that their assessments of pupils’ work are accurate. Teachers and leaders have a good understanding of how well each pupil is doing and put in timely and bespoke intervention when a pupil, or group of pupils, is falling behind.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils’ progress in mathematics was below the national average in 2016 and this has been a consistent pattern over time. You have identified this and have put plans in place to raise standards in mathematics and improve outcomes for pupils. There is still some work to do but, because of your plans, pupils’ mathematical ability is improving and they are making good progress.  You have used the pupil premium funding effectively to provide extra help for pupils in mathematics. You monitor the impact of the additional support provided well. This means that you are able to recognise quickly which pupils are benefiting from the support and which pupils are not. Where intervention does not have the expected impact, you change plans to ensure that pupils do not waste learning time.  Boys have enjoyed following topics that are linked to their interests and, as a result, they have been more motivated to write at length. This has affected their

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Inspection findings

progress in, and enjoyment of, writing positively. You have taken care not to stereotype boys’ interests and pupils have been involved in choosing topics that enthuse and engage them. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 have enjoyed learning about Bear Grylls and outdoor adventure.  You have ensured that pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values. They have a good understanding of democracy. In addition, the curriculum successfully develops pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. The pupils I met with were knowledgeable and interested in learning about those from different cultures, faiths and religions. The curriculum is broad and pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they:

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Next steps for the school

 raise teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do, so that more pupils reach the highest standards for their age, particularly in writing and mathematics  provide pupils with more frequent opportunities to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, 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 met with you, other school leaders and members of your governing body. I also spoke with your local authority link adviser. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and considered the 37 responses from parents on Parent View. We visited classrooms together and we looked at a range of pupils’ work in writing and mathematics. I spoke to pupils informally in lessons and in a meeting.

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Information about the inspection

In addition, I considered evidence from a range of documentation, including the school’s safeguarding records and the single central register of staff. I examined the school’s website to check that it met requirements on the publication of specified information.

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