Bartons Primary School, Bognor Regis

Inspection of Bartons Primary School Lethaby Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO21 5EJ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 4–5 December 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and being part of ‘Team Bartons’. The school values of ‘independence, respect, communication, happiness, responsibility and creativity’ are well understood by pupils. They demonstrate these in all areas of school life. This means that pupils are kind to each other and work well together. Pupils work hard in lessons and do not give up if they find their work difficult.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils and encourage them to do their best. Leaders have made sure that pupils are taught well and are learning the skills that they need to be ready for secondary school. Pupils behave well in class. They enjoy their lessons; they find them fun and exciting.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe at school. They say that everyone is welcomed and that they make sure that no one is left out. They told us that bullying is very rare. They know that staff would deal with any problem quickly.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils and challenge them to do their best. They want to make sure that every child knows more and remembers more across all national curriculum subjects. This revised curriculum planning has led to important improvements since the last inspection. Some subjects are further along than others.

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better?

Teachers have good subject knowledge and are keen to develop their teaching even further. They make accurate assessments of children’s understanding of the early steps in English and mathematics. This means that pupils are building on firm foundations of learning. Pupils listen carefully in lessons. They are interested in activities and work together well.

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better?

Recent improvements in teaching phonics (letters and the sounds they make) are already benefiting pupils. Pupils across the school enjoy reading. All children benefit from hearing well-chosen stories and poems. Parents told us that they like the school’s approach to reading and that their children are very keen to read. The importance that leaders have placed on reading since the last inspection is having a positive impact on all areas of pupils’ learning.

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better?

Pupils’ writing is improving. They use interesting vocabulary and phrases from the stories that they have shared. The most able pupils use increasingly sophisticated language and sentences. In mathematics, pupils remember what they have learned and develop their understanding over time. This is because leaders have planned the mathematics curriculum well. Teachers ensure that pupils master core skills before they move onto more difficult topics.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well supported and achieve well in all key stages. Leaders have a very detailed 4–5 December 2019

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knowledge of these pupils and their families. Teachers make sure that lessons are adapted, if necessary, so that pupils with SEND can learn alongside their friends right across the curriculum.

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Pupils talked with interest about the topics that they study. Teachers choose books carefully to engage and excite pupils. For example, Year 6 pupils talked animatedly about a book on survival. In science, pupils build on their knowledge from previous years. For example, we saw them use this to explain that light travels in straight lines. However, in other subjects, such as computing, history and geography, pupils found it harder to recall the important learning from previous work. In these subjects, assessment is in the early stages of development. Leaders know what needs to be done and work is well underway to address this.

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Pupils were keen to talk about the many sports clubs that they attend at school and trips that they have enjoyed. They were enthusiastic about special events such as art days, when each class studies a different type of art.

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In early years, children have a great start to their school life. They learn respect towards everyone, determination and resilience. For example, inspectors saw pupils working together to decorate a shared postbox. Children learned to make compromises and take turns. Others worked together outside successfully to turn a large box into a sleigh. Staff skilfully supported these tasks and ensured that these experiences developed children’s learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in the school. They know which adult they could tell if they were worried about something. Leaders carry out all necessary checks. Staff are well trained to spot and report any concerns that they have about children. Leaders seek help for families when necessary and work well with other agencies to keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

Governors, also, are well trained in safeguarding. They check the school’s systems and record-keeping. They have ensured that there is a strong sense of safeguarding throughout the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum is not as well planned as in others. This means that pupils do not retain the key components of their learning. Leaders need to improve planning in some subjects so that it is consistently strong across the curriculum.  Teachers’ assessment in foundation subjects is not as secure as in other subjects. 4–5 December 2019

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This means that, in these subjects, pupils do not remember as much of their learning. Teachers need to ensure that their assessments in these areas are more effective.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 4–5 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111413 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of Governing Body Charlotte Neaves (Co-chair) and Amanda Oyns (Co-chair) Headteacher Kate Powell

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17–18 October 2017

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Information about this school

 This school was previously inspected on 17 to 18 October 2017 and judged to require improvement.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and subject coordinators. We met with members of the governing body, including the co- chairs and a representative of the local authority.  We did deep dives into these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and computing. We made lesson visits with leaders to classes, checked pupils’ work and spoke to pupils about their learning. We discussed the curriculum in these areas with teachers and leaders.  We spoke to parents at the start of the school day. We took account of 30 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View online questionnaire. We considered 15 responses to the confidential staff questionnaire. 4–5 December 2019

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Inspection team

Linda Appleby, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Goplen Ofsted Inspector 4–5 December 2019

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