Bunwell Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Bunwell Primary School The Turnpike, Bunwell, Norwich, Norfolk NR16 1SN

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Outcome

Bunwell Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that standards may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They said that the school is a friendly place with lots of interesting things going on, like the ‘Bunwell bake-off’. Pupils know that there is someone to talk to if they are upset or worried. Pupils behave well in classes and at playtimes. They like the range of activities at lunchtimes such as board games as well as sports. Pupils understand what bullying is. They are confident that it is rare and dealt with by adults at Bunwell School.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers and other staff work together and support each other. They know each pupil well because of the small numbers in the school. They make sure that pupils’ social and emotional needs are taken care of.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All staff want the best for each child but their expectations of some pupils, including the more-able pupils, are not ambitious enough. Pupils enjoy learning in lots of different subjects, such as Spanish and art. Younger pupils especially like their forest school days.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff think about what pupils will be interested in when planning lessons. However, the curriculum is not well thought through, as described below.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders know the importance of learning to read to access the broader curriculum. They have bought new books that match the sounds pupils learn in the early years and key stage 1. In most classes, teachers give reading high priority. Children in the Reception Year learn their sounds from the start and build on these as they get older. Leaders have introduced comprehension schemes for older pupils. Pupils who have fallen behind in their reading in key stage 1 have small-group support and individual reading. However, teachers do not help pupils across key stage 2 to reinforce and build on their early reading skills. This weakness in reading holds back pupils’ ability to write fluently. 29 October 2019

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Staff choose stories to read to pupils in key stage 2 linked to their topics. Staff have not worked together to plan the books they will use. They do not make sure that pupils have enjoyed a broad diet of high-quality fiction and non-fiction books by the time they leave the school. Some staff lack expertise in teaching reading.

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Pupils enjoy mathematics. Pupils regularly complete a good range of different mathematics tasks. Leaders have adopted a mathematics curriculum which emphasises developing pupils’ reasoning skills. This is not adapted well enough for the individual needs of pupils in the school, including the more-able pupils. Teachers do not spend enough time making sure that pupils learn and can recall basic number facts such as times tables. This limits pupils’ ability to solve problems.

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Subjects other than English and mathematics are taught using a topic-based approach. Leaders have made sure that pupils are taught the full range of subjects that they should. They make sure that pupils learn about the wider world. For example, pupils learned about fair trade in ‘Fairtrade fortnight’. They build in trips to bring topics alive and enhance pupils’ experiences. However, leaders have not organised the curriculum so that it builds on what pupils have learned already. This means that pupils only remember odd facts from topics which they cannot use in future learning.

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Children in the early years get off to a good start. They quickly learn school routines and learn how to listen to each other and take turns. They enjoy their activities, such as making letters in sand and enjoying favourite books together.

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Leaders and all staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils know the school rules and follow them. Pupils who have specific behavioural needs are given the help they need. Learning is rarely disturbed by poor behaviour.

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Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive patchy support. Leaders do not check sufficiently that all teachers give pupils with SEND the support that they need in each class.

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Leaders and governors are considerate of staff workload. They recognise the particular challenges faced by staff in a small school. The academy trust is working with leaders to improve subject leadership so that it is effective but manageable for staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Keeping pupils safe has high priority. Adults know that keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. Leaders adopted an electronic system to record concerns so that information is recorded and acted upon swiftly. Staff work with other agencies where necessary. All staff training is kept up to date. Staff take account of current concerns such as ‘county lines’ when considering pupil safety. Checks on staff are carried out and recorded as they should be. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They know what information should and should not be shared online. 29 October 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching of reading varies because some staff have more knowledge of children’s literature and how to teach reading than others. Leaders need to provide training and guidance for staff so there is a shared understanding of how the teaching of reading should develop as pupils move through the school. Staff need to identify texts they will use to ensure that pupils by the end of Year 6 have been introduced to a broad range of high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts.  The mathematics curriculum needs to be further refined so that pupils develop greater fluency in recalling basic number facts and to ensure that pupils do not develop gaps in their mathematical understanding as they move through the school.  The school’s curriculum plans for foundation subjects lack specificity, clarity and coherence. Leaders and staff have not thought about subject-specific content, what should be taught and when, or how learning in each subject will be built upon as pupils

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

move through the school. Subject leaders need to check the quality of the curriculum and how effectively it is delivered.  Support for pupils with SEND is not planned sufficiently so that well-tailored support is provided in all classes as well as through interventions. Leaders need to be more thorough in checking that teachers know what support they should provide and that this is effectively implemented in classes.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Bunwell Primary School to be good on 5–6 July 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 29 October 2019

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 29 October 2019

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School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school became part of the Cooperative Education trust In November 2016. Trustees are responsible for governance. The school also has a local governing body.  The predecessor school was judged good in 2012.  The school is much smaller than most primary schools nationally. It has four classes, three of which are mixed-age classes.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, the academy trust deputy headteacher and four members of the multi-academy trust. Inspectors spoke with some teaching assistants and some class teachers. Inspectors spoke with a range of pupils about the school.  Inspectors scrutinised pupil records and files relating to safeguarding, looked at records of staff recruitment and looked at records of training relating to safeguarding. Inspectors scrutinised a range of other school documents, including the school’s self- evaluation and school improvement plan.  Inspectors considered the school’s work in reading, mathematics and history in detail. They visited lessons and spoke with teachers and pupils from the lessons they visited 29 October 2019

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and looked at pupils’ work. The lead inspector read with pupils from Years 1 and 2. Inspectors spoke to some pupils in the playground at lunchtime.  Inspectors took account of 19 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, 10 responses to Ofsted’s survey for staff and 18 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Maria Curry, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gulshan Kayembe Ofsted Inspector 29 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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