Burnopfield Primary School

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

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Mrs Sarah Taylor Headteacher Burnopfield Primary School Front Street Burnopfield Newcastle-upon-Tyne Tyne and Wear NE16 6PT

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 27 November 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 Burnopfield Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous 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 be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

The sharply focused and inspirational leadership that you, your deputies and governors provide has ensured a happy and vibrant school. As a result, pupils develop a love for learning. They are resilient, while maintaining a positive attitude to overcoming barriers to doing even better. This ensures that pupils, whatever their starting points, make outstanding progress and achieve well. You deliver on what you believe. Teaching and learning have continued to improve, especially in key stage 1, and pupils’ progress has accelerated. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), also make strong progress in their reading, writing and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

In all subjects, this is a school where pupils take pride in their achievements. Pupils are very well prepared for their next steps in education. They strive to achieve their best, work with purpose and have very positive attitudes to their learning. They behave well and say that bullying hardly ever happens. They have absolute confidence that any issues concerning behaviour will be dealt with fairly and swiftly by adults. Pupils are courteous. They listen to each other, respect each other’s ideas and work very well together. They regulate their own behaviour and, if they find behaviour is slipping, they remind others of the expectations in the school. Pupils are determined to apply themselves to their tasks to ensure that they work to the best of their abilities.

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

Parents and carers with whom I spoke, and others who made their views known, were highly enthusiastic and appreciative of the school. They commented positively on how well staff support them and their children. Some parents and carers spoke to me in positive and emotional terms about the support that they had received. This included several parents of children with SEND. This view was shared by the vast majority of parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents.

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

In your quest for perfection, you have built on the school’s strengths and have established a culture of continuous improvement. This is based on a detailed and forensic analysis of information. This analysis identifies numerous aspects for refinement which you pursue relentlessly. You work effectively, supported by governors, to distil these priorities down to the key lines of improvement that will make the biggest difference. In addition, your constant monitoring of the school ensures that you recognise emerging issues quickly. As a consequence, you take immediate and effective action where emerging issues have been identified. Where improvements have been previously identified, you have a strong track record in addressing these. For example, at the previous inspection, you were asked to ensure that pupils could work in more depth in their reading by the end of key stage 1. Effective training, support and challenge have improved learning,

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

and these outcomes are now evident in the improved standards that pupils are achieving.

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and fit for purpose. You ensure that staff have a detailed understanding of how to keep children safe, and risks are identified. Required training is supplemented with regular updates to help keep safeguarding at the front of people’s minds. Detailed record-keeping ensures that nothing is missed. In addition, you, ably supported by your deputy headteacher and key governor, ensure a culture of safeguarding. This informs all aspects of the work of the school and links to local authority priorities. Processes in place to check the suitability and appointment of staff are secure.

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Short inspection of Burnopfield Primary School

Pupils and staff have strong and supportive relationships which allow concerns to be aired and discussed appropriately. Lessons, assemblies and other events inform the personal, social and health education programme, including an emphasis on pupils’ emotional and mental welfare. The curriculum places an emphasis on pupils’ understanding of the importance of positive relationships. Consequently, pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe in a range of situations, including when online and outside of the school. Pupils feel safe and have full trust in the adults who look after them.

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Inspection findings

 By the end of Year 6, pupils’ standards of attainment and progress are consistently well above average in writing and mathematics. Standards in reading are also consistently above, and sometimes well above, average. In other subjects, such as history and geography, pupils also prosper. As a consequence, pupils are very well prepared for their next stages of education. In key stages 1 and 2, pupils often make outstanding progress. This is particularly the case for those who need to catch up and for disadvantaged pupils.  Children enter the early years with a wide range of starting points. A few have skills, knowledge and understanding that are not typical for their age. By the end of Reception Year, the proportion of children reaching the standard expected for their age is at least in line with national averages and is sometimes better. This is because, in early years, adults know the children well and are skilled at providing challenging activities which build on the

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Inspection findings

children’s interests. They are adept at asking questions to help children develop their learning and correct misconceptions. As a result, children make good, and some make outstanding, progress. On occasions, opportunities to develop, model and insist on good and accurate speaking and listening skills are overlooked. School leaders are aware of this and recognise it as a key priority to enhance provision further.  Inspection evidence, including a review of pupils’ work in books, shows that pupils achieve well in key stage 1 and key stage 2 in a range of subjects. Teachers use strong subject knowledge, enthusiasm and humour to help motivate pupils and respond to their individual needs. They ensure that learning is purposeful, engaging and that exciting opportunities are offered, within school and beyond, for pupils to apply their learning. Lessons are characterised by caring and supportive relationships. Teachers provide

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Inspection findings

carefully structured work to support pupils in their learning.  School leaders have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and learning. They ensure that assessments of what pupils can do are accurate. Systems to check the effectiveness of teachers’ work are rigorous. Leaders are astute in their evaluations of learning in lessons. The school’s own information, indicating current pupils’ attainment and progress, shows that pupils make rapid progress from a variety of starting points. In addition, well-targeted interventions are helping those who need to catch up to begin to do so. Your regular checks of expectations of what pupils can achieve are high. These are reflected in the presentation and standard of pupils’ work across a range of subjects.  The curriculum is well considered. You build successfully on a core of basic skills in English and mathematics. You also ensure that in other subjects, such

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Inspection findings

as history and design and technology, pupils extend their thinking and apply their knowledge and facts to answer deeper questions. Learning is flavoured with regular educational visits and events. Consequently, you have developed a vibrant, interesting and engaging curriculum. Pupils are expected to apply themselves to all subjects as equally as they do to English and mathematics topics.  Since the previous inspection, your work to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in key stage 1 has succeeded. Pupils are increasingly working at greater depth, and pupils apply their skills and use their reasoning and logic to greater effect. They read with expression, can use texts well to infer and interpret characters’ motivations and they thoroughly enjoy their books. Interesting, inspiring and often exceptional teaching helps pupils make rapid progress.  The love of reading continues into key stage 2. This is reflected in pupils’

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Inspection findings

eagerness and enthusiasm in discussing their favourite authors and genres. They talk eloquently about the impact that reading and books have on their lives and demonstrate a genuine joy in words and their meaning.  Governors, many from an education background, have the skills and knowledge needed to challenge school leaders. They are successful in shaping the school’s strategic direction, while setting out priorities. They are clear about the school’s strengths and aspects that can be improved further. Governors share in, and help set, the vision and ambition for the school. They are determined to ensure high standards in English and mathematics, while also ensuring that there are opportunities for pupils to shine in a variety of other subjects. In addition, they check that safeguarding is effective and that the additional funding used for disadvantaged pupils is used to best effect. Consequently, everyone is clear about what is working well and what the

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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

 in the early years, you further embed practice to develop, correct and extend communication skills that support children’s speaking and listening.

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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 Durham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I held discussions with governors, you, senior leaders and with the local authority adviser. I observed learning in all classrooms. Joint observations were carried out with you and a deputy headteacher. I listened to some Year 2 and Year 6 pupils read, looked at pupils’ work and held discussions with a group of pupils. I observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, at playtimes and in lessons. I looked at the responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, and talked with a group of parents at the beginning of the school day. I looked at a wide range of documentation, including information about the performance of pupils and the school’s self-evaluation. I also checked information on the curriculum, safeguarding and other key policies. I checked the school website to ensure that it has the information that parents should have access to.

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