Bredenbury Primary School

Inspection of Bredenbury Primary School Bredenbury, Bromyard, Herefordshire HR7 4TF

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Inadequate 6 and 7 July 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and parents and carers say that a lot has improved at Bredenbury. Pupils now want to come to school. They are making better progress, especially in their reading and mathematics. Leaders have raised expectations of everyone at the school. They are deeply committed to making the school even better. Leaders know that there is still work to do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils relish the chance to look after the school animals, including the guinea pigs and Bredon, the new therapy dog. Adults encourage pupils to take their responsibilities seriously. Pupils learn to cooperate and work together in sharing interests, such as in the gardening and lunchtime activity clubs. Pupils say that if bullying happens, adults deal with it quickly. Pupils have confidence in the staff to keep them safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour has improved significantly. Most pupils are polite and courteous and show respect. The school is calm, and pupils follow routines well. Occasionally, some pupils do not behave as well as they should. They lose focus in their lessons and do not work hard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have improved the quality of education. A more coherent curriculum is in place. It is in the early days of being implemented and the full impact is not yet evident.

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better?

Secure, stable leadership has halted the decline of this school. The executive headteacher and head of school work tirelessly to improve the quality of education. They are ambitious and want pupils to achieve well. Leaders and governors have a clear vision and detailed plans to further improve the school.

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better?

Senior leaders have rightly focused on rapidly improving the teaching of reading, mathematics, science and physical education (PE). Staff now teach these subjects regularly, following coherently sequenced plans. Further work is needed to ensure that plans in other subjects are implemented effectively and teachers know what pupils should learn and the order in which the content is taught.

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better?

Leaders ensure that staff regularly check what pupils know and can do. Many pupils have gaps in their knowledge and struggle to remember what they have previously learned. When staff prompt pupils and help them recall prior learning, pupils make better progress. However, this is not yet consistent across the school. Some staff lack the subject knowledge to deal with misconceptions quickly or to challenge pupils effectively. Leaders know that there is more to do if all pupils are to reach their potential. 6 and 7 July 2021 Teachers now use a consistent approach to teach phonics. Children quickly secure their sounds from the start of Reception. They practise reading using the new phonically decodable books. This helps pupils develop fluency and confidence. Staff use regular assessments and quizzes to check the progress pupils make in their reading. Knowledgeable adults support pupils who need help to catch up. Pupils

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better?

across the school read every day. They like the wide range of books available in school.

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better?

Leaders work closely with external agencies to identify the specific difficulties that some pupils have. They use this information to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need to access the full curriculum. Parents of pupils with SEND speak highly of the progress their children make.

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better?

Pupils are polite and well mannered. Most pupils have positive attitudes to school and want to learn. Children in Reception, for example, talked enthusiastically about what they had learned about hummingbirds. In some lessons, a few pupils do not concentrate as hard as they should. They do not engage fully in the learning taking place and occasionally disturb other pupils. This limits the progress they make.

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better?

Pupils are well cared for and staff have their best interests at heart. Opportunities such as forest school and overnight camp enrich pupils’ experiences outside the classroom. Pupils take responsibility for mini-enterprise projects, such as selling ice creams on a Friday. They learn about healthy relationships. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum is not yet fully developed. Some pupils have limited knowledge of different cultures and British values.

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better?

Governors now take a more strategic role. They are no longer involved in the day-to- day running of the school. They challenge leaders about the effectiveness of the action they take to improve the school. Governors are mindful of the workload of staff, particularly leaders. They work positively with local schools to share and develop staff expertise. Governors are ambitious for the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have put in place improved, robust systems to keep children safe. Staff receive up-to-date training. They know what to do if they are worried about a child. The new electronic record-keeping system is well used by the designated safeguarding lead. Strong links with external agencies ensure that vulnerable children and their families get timely support. Leaders and staff want pupils to thrive. Staff work with pupils to help them understand the risks when working online or using social media. They ensure that pupils understand the risks in the rural environment in which they live. 6 and 7 July 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The executive headteacher and head of school have led significant improvements to the curriculum and teaching in several key subjects. Expectations have been raised. The effectiveness of the curriculum in other subject areas is not as well developed. Leaders should continue to develop the curriculum and further raise expectations, so that all pupils can achieve their full potential.  While there are strengths in teaching, especially in English, including the teaching of reading, mathematics, science and PE, there are inconsistencies across the school. Some staff have underdeveloped subject knowledge, meaning that aspects of the curriculum are not taught as effectively as possible. Leaders should continue to support all staff to further improve their subject knowledge so they can support pupils to learn more and remember more over time.  Behaviour across the school has improved and most pupils behave well. The

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

behaviour of a minority of pupils sometimes disrupts the learning of others. Leaders should continue to work with pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning so that all pupils engage in their work effectively.  Although leaders place a high priority on pupils’ well-being, and work hard to ensure that pupils thrive, not all aspects of the school’s work on personal development are equally strong. PSHE is taught infrequently and the PSHE curriculum does not ensure that all pupils know about different cultures and British values. Leaders should carefully sequence what is taught in PSHE so that over time, pupils acquire an in-depth knowledge of Britain today.

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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 are the school and you are 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. 6 and 7 July 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10184731 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 Catherine Edwards

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 and 17 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there have been significant changes in senior leadership at the school. An executive headteacher was commissioned to oversee the work of the school in January 2020. A local headteacher worked with the executive headteacher to support the school from January 2020 until the first national lockdown in March 2020. A new head of school was appointed in September 2020. Three new governors have been recruited.  The school provides before-school childcare from 8am each day.  Children in early years are taught in a mixed Reception and key stage 1 class. Because of the small number of children in early years, we have not made a separate judgement about early years.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act. 6 and 7 July 2021 In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school, and have taken that into account in their evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, inspectors met with the executive headteacher and head of school. They discussed subject leadership with the head of school and talked with her about provision for pupils with SEND. An inspector met with the teacher for early years. The lead inspector met with two governors, including the chair of the governing body. Videoconference calls were held with a representative from the local authority, and a national leader for education who has been supporting the school.  Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. The following subjects were considered in depth: reading, mathematics, science and PE. Inspectors examined leaders’ plans, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and talked with pupils and staff about the way these subjects are taught. They also looked at curriculum plans and scrutinised pupils’ work in range of other subjects to check how they are planned and taught.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school and spoke with pupils about their understanding of bullying. A formal meeting also took place with a group of pupils.  Inspectors considered a range of documents relating to safeguarding, and spoke with leaders, staff and pupils about safeguarding arrangements. They checked to make sure that all the required pre-employment checks are made on staff before they start work at the school.  Inspectors considered the 19 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 15 free-text comments. The lead inspector spoke with parents at the school gate. We reviewed the eight responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.

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Inspection team

Nicola Harwood, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Potter Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 July 2021 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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