Barnby Dun Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Barnby Dun Primary Academy Church Road, Barnby Dun, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN3 1BG

p.1

Outcome

Barnby Dun Primary Academy continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that one or more areas may be declining, as set out below.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have good manners and they are polite to visitors.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils feel happy and safe in school. However, some pupils feel left out at breaktimes. A few pupils can be unkind to others and call them names. This makes some pupils worry about coming to school. Some parents and carers have tried to tell leaders that their child is bullied. These parents do not feel that their concerns are taken seriously. Senior leaders say they will try harder to improve communication with all parents.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

In some subjects, such as physical education (PE), teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. However, this is not the case for all subjects. Leaders have not established an ambitious curriculum for early reading. They do not expect children to leave Reception Year or Year 1 reading as well as they should for their age.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide opportunities to support pupils’ wider development. For example, when COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions allow, leaders arrange visits to London to see musical stage shows. Pupils have visited the ‘pop-up’ Globe Theatre in York to see ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

p.1

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

Leaders’ expectations for pupils who are learning to read in Reception Year and Year 1 are too low. The curriculum for the teaching of early reading is not helping pupils to become fluent and confident readers quickly enough. Some teachers give pupils books to read that do not match the sounds that they know. Too many pupils are not learning to read as well as they should. 7 and 8 July 2021

p.1

2

Leaders’ expectations are equally low across other areas of the early years curriculum, including mathematics. Leaders have not identified the important knowledge children need to learn in Reception Year. This means that children are not prepared well enough for the next stage of their learning when they move on to Year 1.

p.2

2

The mathematics curriculum is well sequenced from Year 1 onwards. Leaders have high expectations of what pupils can achieve in this subject in key stages 1 and 2. Leaders have accurately evaluated the strengths of the mathematics curriculum and which aspects they need to improve further. Teachers prioritise the development of pupils’ verbal reasoning skills. Key stage 2 pupils can confidently explain their thinking and correct their own mistakes. Teachers regularly revisit important knowledge that pupils learned in previous lessons. This helps pupils remember what they need to know in mathematics.

p.2

2

The quality of leaders’ plans across the wider curriculum is variable. In some subjects, for example PE, leaders have identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn in each year group. Pupils are given time to revisit and practise earlier learning. This is not the case for all subjects. Leaders have accurately identified the need to improve curriculum plans in some subjects. Staff within the multi-academy trust are working with subject leaders to help them achieve this. In discussion with the headteacher, inspectors agreed that science and history may usefully serve as a focus for the next inspection.

p.2

2

A few parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not happy with the support that leaders provide for their children. However, many parents and pupils with SEND can see that this has improved recently. Teachers and teaching assistants provide effective support for pupils with SEND. They provide additional tasks and resources to help pupils with SEND achieve in lessons. Wherever possible, pupils with SEND are supported to access the same curriculum as their peers. One parent of a pupil with SEND said, ‘Staff have put strategies and support in place to allow my child to positively flourish and develop socially, emotionally and intellectually.’

p.2

2

Leaders nurture pupils’ wider development. For example, key stage 2 pupils took part in Doncaster’s ‘Make Your Mark’ pupil parliament, voting on the council’s spending priorities. This improved pupils’ understanding of democracy.

p.2

2

Poor behaviour does not generally disrupt learning in lessons. Some pupils say that other pupils quietly torment them in lessons and teachers sometimes do not notice. Several parents say that leaders are dismissive of concerns about behaviour when they raise them. Leaders’ bullying records do not accurately reflect the proportion of incidents of bullying that pupils and parents describe.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.2

Safeguarding

Leaders provide regular safeguarding training for all staff. This training is well understood. Leaders have made suitable adaptations to take account of COVID-19 restrictions, including at breakfast club. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe. Visits from other professionals, including the police, enhance the curriculum. 7 and 8 July 2021

p.2

3

Governors check leaders’ safeguarding arrangements regularly.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not ensured that early reading is well taught. As a result, pupils are not prepared for the next stage in their learning. Leaders should ensure that phonics is taught systematically in Reception Year and Year 1, and that pupils keep up with the phonics programme. Leaders should ensure that books are well matched to the sounds that pupils know to build pupils’ confidence and fluency in reading.  The knowledge that pupils need to learn in some subjects is not clearly identified. This is particularly so in science and history. Teachers do not build on pupils’ knowledge in these subjects. As a result, pupils do not remember these subjects well enough. Leaders need to ensure that the content of all subject plans is well chosen, carefully sequenced and delivered as intended, including within the early years.  Incidents of pupils’ unkindness, bullying or discriminatory behaviour, both direct and indirect,

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

are more frequent than leaders realise. Leaders should identify all incidents of pupils’ poor behaviour accurately and reduce the number of these incidents. Leaders should take bullying concerns raised by pupils and parents seriously and address the concerns that they raise.

p.3

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 or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good 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.

p.3

Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 6 July 2016.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

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

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 7 and 8 July 2021

p.3

4

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school here .

p.4

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. 7 and 8 July 2021

p.4

School details

Inspection number 10195710 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Website http://www.barnbydunprimaryacademy.co. uk Date of previous inspection 6 July 2016 under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 This school joined Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust in 2019.  The chair of the local governing body was appointed in 2019.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school 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.  Inspectors met the headteacher and other senior and middle leaders.  Inspectors met the chief executive of the multi-academy trust and the chair of the local governing body.  Inspectors did deep dives in reading, mathematics, PE and art and design. This involved meeting with curriculum subject leaders, visiting lessons, looking in pupils’ books and talking to pupils and teachers. 7 and 8 July 2021

p.5

6

 Minutes of meetings of the local governing body and other documents were evaluated, including the school’s improvement plans and records of the headteacher’s monthly meetings with the chief executive and the chair of the local governing body.  Inspectors met with senior safeguarding leaders and evaluated written safeguarding records.  Inspectors met with subject leaders and the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator. Other activities included visiting breakfast club, speaking to teachers and pupils, visiting lessons and reviewing pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed the 107 Ofsted Parent View responses and 30 staff responses to our surveys. Inspectors also spoke to parents during the inspection. There were no responses to Ofsted’s survey of pupils’ views.

p.6

Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Alex Thorp Her Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 July 2021

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7