Billesdon Church of England Primary School

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

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Louise Cook Headteacher Billesdon Church of England Primary School Gaulby Road Billesdon Leicester Leicestershire LE7 9AG

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 13 December 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 2013.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Leaders and governors have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in August 2017, you have quickly established an effective leadership team. You are very clear about the strengths of the school and the areas you wish to develop. Under your decisive leadership, the team imparts a strong sense of unity and purpose. There is good capacity to drive continued improvement for the school.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Pupils and parents speak warmly about the school. Pupils with whom I spoke described the school as ‘brilliant’, ‘homely’ and ‘friendly’. They described their learning as ‘fun’. Pupils spoke with pride about their achievements and the opportunities that the school provides for them. For example, pupils praised the school choir for its performance at the Lord Mayor’s concert and enthused about their participation in a design challenge linked to the British Motor Museum.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

In their responses to the Parent View survey, many parents expressed deep satisfaction with the school and with your appointment as headteacher. They say, for example, ‘We are confident the school will go from strength to strength.’

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Leaders have successfully tackled the areas for improvement from the last inspection. In particular, the early years outdoor learning area has been completely transformed. An extensive range of stimulating activities are available, both inside and outside, through which children can explore all of the areas of learning. As a result of these improvements, a large majority of children made good progress and reached a good level of development at the end of the early years in 2017.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Teachers now set clear targets for pupils to improve their work in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers also hold review discussions with each pupil at the end of term, to agree the next steps in their learning. As a result, pupils make good progress and the most able pupils in key stages 1 and 2 typically exceed the attainment expected for their age in reading and writing.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Teachers make the most of opportunities to inspire pupils in their writing. For example, recent visits to the school by the Archbishop of Canterbury and by a well- known film director resulted in some impressively well-written pieces of work.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Standards in mathematics in key stages 1 and 2 dipped in 2017. Cohorts are typically small, but progress in mathematics has been below average in two of the past three years. The current books show that while most pupils are now making good progress, the most able pupils are not consistently given work that challenges their thinking and enables them to achieve at a high level in mathematics.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

You have recently reviewed the school’s plans for spending the additional funding for its very small proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Your revised plan sets out how the money will be spent, based on your analysis of individual pupils’ barriers to learning. You are also taking care to involve parents in this process, through regular review meetings. It is too soon to judge whether the plans will result in improved progress for disadvantaged pupils by the end of the year.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. All of the checks and procedures meet statutory requirements. Child protection training is fully up to date, for staff and governors, and you make sure that the training schedule is well managed.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Staff are very clear about the procedures they must follow for raising child protection concerns about pupils. Your records show that you work effectively with parents and outside agencies in following up any such concerns.

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Short inspection of Billesdon Church of England Primary School

Pupils with whom I spoke confirm that the school is a safe place, as did all of the staff who responded to the online survey. Pupils say that bullying is not a problem, praising the friendly and welcoming family atmosphere they experience. They like the ‘traffic light’ behaviour management system, saying that it is fair. They also know that on the rare occasions when misbehaviour occurs, you will deal with it ‘very calmly’.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders, governors and staff are firmly focused on raising standards in mathematics. In the school improvement plan, you have highlighted mathematics as a key priority. A new scheme of work, investment in staff training and resources, and regular monitoring activities, such as checking the quality of pupils’ work, are in place. The most recent information on pupils’ performance and the work in their books show that pupils in all year groups are making good progress in mathematics.  Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. They are undaunted by any mistakes that they may make in their work, for example in mathematics, viewing these as useful points for learning. Pupils interact well with each other and with the adults who support them effectively in their learning. Pupils apply themselves diligently to the tasks which are set for them.  The teaching of reading is effective. As a result, the large majority of pupils

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Inspection findings

typically reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. They continue to attain well in the reading tests at the end of key stages 1 and 2. An above-average proportion typically attain at greater depth in reading. Pupils read with confidence and pleasure. Those who are less able are making good progress, using their phonic skills accurately to sound out unusual or unfamiliar words.  Governance is strong. Governors have the skills and experience to bring meaningful challenge and support to leaders. They take their duties seriously, hold leaders to account for the school’s performance and are closely involved in the life of the school. They achieve this by means of formal and informal visits and by making sure that they enrol in the appropriate governor training courses.

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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

 the most able pupils are given work that challenges their thinking in mathematics, so that they go on to attain at the high standard of which they are capable  the revised plan for supporting disadvantaged pupils is monitored regularly, in order to check that it is effective in raising standards for those small groups of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics.

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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 Leicester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leicestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection I met with you, senior leaders and members of the governing body. I held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. I visited all four classes with you, including the Reception class indoor and outdoor areas. I spoke with pupils informally during lessons and during a group discussion. I examined pupils’ work in their books and observed their behaviour and conduct around school. I considered 38 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and eight responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey. I considered a wide range of documents, including those relating to safeguarding, minutes of meetings of the governing body, information relating to pupils’ achievement, attendance and behaviour, the school’s self-evaluation summary and its improvement plan.

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