Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

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

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Elaine Spick Headteacher Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery Birtley Road Bramley Guildford Surrey GU5 0HX

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

Following my visit to the school on 9 May 2018, 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 November 2014.

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

Since joining the school in January 2015, you have brought about significant changes that have improved the quality of teaching and so raised standards in reading, writing and mathematics. In the national assessments in 2017, pupils’ attainment in these subjects was well above the national average. All groups of pupils achieved well, showing how effectively the school promotes equal opportunities. The large majority of parents and carers who responded to the Parent View survey or who spoke to me were highly impressed with the quality of education your school provides. This is reflected in the comment made by one parent who wrote: ‘This is an excellent school, so lucky to have my child educated there, really strong leadership and an excellent education provided.’

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

You have successfully tackled the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. Pupils make equally good progress in mathematics as they do in other subjects, and the vibrant curriculum provides pupils with exciting learning opportunities that challenge them and develop their thinking skills. Since joining the school, you have improved the learning environment, both inside and outdoors, and you have offered forest school experience across the school. This provides pupils with extensive opportunities to learn outdoors, to develop their social and physical skills while learning about the world around them. You have strengthened links with the local area so that the school plays a key role in community functions. As a small school, you are aware of the need to forge links with other schools to share ideas and to learn from each other. You have formed close working relationships with a number of local schools and this increases the range of resources and expertise that

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

From the pupils’ point of view, this school could not give them a better start. They thoroughly enjoy school. They are very happy and thrive on the learning experiences that staff provide for them. They are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education, both academically and personally. Through the school’s values, including courage, trust, respect, friendship and perseverance, pupils develop into kind and caring individuals. Pupils’ behaviour, both in and out of the classroom, is exemplary. They work and play very happily together and help each other without being asked. They say that school is special because of the friends they make. They trust adults and know that they will help if they have a problem. In class, they are eager to learn and they demonstrate highly positive attitudes to their work. This is partly due to the exciting and engaging curriculum that inspires their imaginations and gives them a sense of purpose. One parent

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

summed this up in her comment: ‘My child is very happy at school and benefits from a wide range of activities in a safe and stimulating environment.’

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

Despite the undoubted improvements you have brought to the school, you are not complacent. You are developing assessment systems to help ensure that pupils make the best possible progress in subjects other than English and mathematics. You know that, although pupils write extensively in English, the occasions when they write and present their work across the broader curriculum could be further strengthened. Although pupils’ attainment in mathematics is high, their books show that there are not always enough times when the most able pupils in key stage 1 are given work that is hard enough for them.

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

Together with your governors, you have created a culture where the safety and well-being of pupils are the highest priorities. You and your staff know the pupils very well and quickly spot the signs that a pupil may need some extra help. You work in close partnership with other professionals to secure the right support when it is needed. You are tenacious in following up concerns.

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

Adults who work with pupils or visit the school are vetted carefully and appropriately. The records maintained by your school business manager are up to date and comprehensive. All staff and governors have been trained well and so know exactly what to do should they have a concern that a pupil may be at risk from harm. Staff and governors know that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of pupils and they are vigilant in doing so. Pupils report that they feel very safe in school. They say that everyone is friendly and that problems are rare. They are confident that adults listen to them and take their concerns seriously. They learn how to stay safe through the school’s values and through the curriculum, where they learn about healthy lifestyles. Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, agree that their children are safe in school and that they are well looked after. There are regular risk assessments,

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Short inspection of Bramley CofE Aided Infant School and Nursery

often involving the pupils themselves, to ensure that they are safe at school. All records relating to pupils’ safety are fit for purpose and very well maintained.

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Inspection findings

 One of the aspects of the school that we agreed to evaluate was the extent to which the school has maintained the high standards set over the past two years. School performance information indicates that current pupils and children in both the foundation stage and key stage 1 are likely to reach similarly high standards to those seen in 2017 by the end of the year.  In the early years, the majority of children are well on track to meet the early learning goals. They are taught very well by a teacher who has a clear understanding of their learning needs. She plans activities that are interesting and engaging, and so children progress well in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils across key stage 1 build on this good start and continue to grow in confidence in developing their skills. By the end of Year 2, they read fluently and confidently, using a range of skills, including phonics. The books they read are

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Inspection findings

very well matched to their ability levels and so all pupils progress well. One of the strengths of the school is the quality of writing that pupils produce. Pupils’ writing is neat and they spell and punctuate their work with increasing accuracy. They have a wide vocabulary that they use well to express their thoughts and ideas. Work in their books shows that their attainment is at least in line with that of previous years.  A good start has been made in providing pupils with opportunities to extend their understanding and reasoning in mathematics and this is leading to pupils making at least good progress. However, there are a very few occasions when teachers do not provide pupils with sufficient challenge, and this slows the progress they make.  One of the other aspects of the school’s work that we focused on was the quality of the curriculum. In particular, we looked at how well it allowed pupils to use

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Inspection findings

their mathematical skills and have opportunities to develop their thinking skills. Work in pupils’ books and on display around the school shows that pupils are offered a rich and broad curriculum that allows them to use both their literacy and mathematical skills when learning other subjects. While there is evidence to show that pupils measure, weigh and count in other subjects, there are not always enough occasions when they write extensively in subjects other than English.  Within other subjects, pupils are provided with work and activities that make them think. For example, in a science lesson, pupils had to think about what plants need to make them grow. This generated a lively debate about what would happen if one of the factors, such as light, was absent. While some pupils agreed that the plant would not grow, others put forward the point of view that growth would take place but that the plant would not be healthy. This activity

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Inspection findings

extended pupils’ understanding while giving them plenty to think about. Work in their books shows that they have made comparisons between the Christian faith and the Islamic faith. Again, there were some good examples of where they had to reflect on the similarities and differences between the two faiths.  The final area of the school’s work that we looked at was the extent to which the quality of teaching promotes pupils’ high standards. In all three classes in the main school, teachers provide a high level of challenge to pupils. Work in pupils’ books shows that they are expected to work hard. In classrooms, teachers’ explanations are clear, and so pupils understand what they are expected to do.  Teachers’ questioning is used very well to gauge pupils’ understanding, so work can be adapted as needed. Teachers are skilled at knowing their pupils well and so provide work that builds on what pupils can already do. This means that all

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Inspection findings

pupils, including those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, make good progress and achieve well. Disadvantaged pupils achieve equally as well as other pupils.

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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

 teachers provide more opportunities for pupils to write for different purposes in subjects other than English and mathematics  the most able pupils, particularly in key stage 1, are provided with a deeper level of challenge in 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 Guildford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this short inspection, I visited classrooms in the early years and key stage 1 with you, to see how well pupils were learning. I met with you and your assistant headteacher, as well as with other leaders in the school. I met with five governors, including the chair of governors, and I held a telephone discussion with an adviser from the diocese. I spoke to pupils in classrooms, as well as on the playground, and I observed their behaviour in classrooms and at breaktime. I looked at work in pupils’ books and I listened to a small group of pupils reading. Among the documents scrutinised were school development plans, pupils’ assessment and tracking information, and information regarding the quality of teaching. I also looked at documentation showing how the school keeps pupils safe. I took into account the views of parents by analysing the 46 responses to the online survey, Parent View, including many comments made by parents through the free-text

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Information about the inspection

service. I also spoke informally to parents at the beginning of the school day.

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