Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School Buckland Newton, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7BY

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Outcome

Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Buckland Newton is a caring and happy school. Warm and supportive relationships with adults help pupils to feel safe. Pupils respond positively to adults’ high expectations. Their enjoyment of learning shines through. Pupils are polite and confident. They strive to live out the school’s Christian values by being trustworthy and kind.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in class and around the school. Staff model positive relationships and expect pupils to work hard in class. Pupils know the importance of respect and good manners. They said that everyone cares for each other and bullying hardly ever happens. Pupils trust staff to deal with their concerns. They said that they can talk to staff or post a note in the ‘worry box’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure that pupils have a rich range of experiences beyond the classroom. This supports their personal development and social skills well. Leaders encourage pupils to make positive changes in school and the wider community. For example, elected school councillors decide which charities to support each year.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Almost all parents who expressed their views are pleased with the school. One parent, reflecting the views of many, said: ‘My son loves coming to school. He is learning in a happy, family atmosphere.’

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

Leaders expect high achievement from all pupils. They have improved the curriculum. Leaders have appropriate plans for further improvements. Most subject plans set out clearly what pupils should learn. Some subjects, however, are not well planned. For example, history plans are not clear about the essential content pupils should know and remember over time. Teachers do not always check that pupils remember important knowledge before they move on to new learning. Pupils have gaps in their historical 9 November 2021

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knowledge. They find it hard to recall what they have learned, such as how the Roman and Viking invasions changed Britain.

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Pupils achieve well in mathematics. Learning is well organised. Pupils regularly revisit and review their learning. Teachers have good subject knowledge. They make regular checks to find out if pupils need extra help or practice. Pupils use mathematical language accurately. Children in the early years learn to recognise and use numbers in practical ways. This prepares them well for later learning.

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Early reading is a priority. In the Nursery, children develop early reading skills by listening out for sounds and learning rhymes. Children in the Reception class learn phonics well. However, some pupils in key stage 1 who have fallen behind with their reading are not catching up rapidly. The approaches that adults use to teach these pupils to remember and blend sounds are inconsistent. This makes it hard for some pupils to become fluent readers.

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Pupils learn to love books. Children in the Nursery listen to and join in with a wide range of stories. They treasure story times; for example, they tell stories to their favourite toys. Older pupils learn the vocabulary they need to understand challenging texts in their guided reading lessons. Teachers encourage pupils to try new books and authors, and read to their classes regularly. The school library is an inviting and well-stocked area. Teachers use interesting books to bring curriculum topics to life.

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Leaders make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the whole curriculum. Staff adapt learning to help these pupils to keep up with their peers. Leaders work with a range of specialists to make sure that pupils get the additional support they need.

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Pupils’ personal development is at the heart of the school’s work. Pupils learn to respect differences, for example by learning about different faiths and beliefs. They know how to stay healthy and safe, both physically and mentally. They enjoy running the ‘daily mile’ and taking part in yoga sessions. There are many clubs to choose from, such as a drama club and choir. School trips have helped to broaden pupils’ horizons. Some activities have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils are looking forward to restarting their usual range of experiences. Leaders have planned new opportunities, like an ‘eco- day’ and ukulele lessons.

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Clear routines and shared expectations make classrooms calm and purposeful places. Pupils are highly motivated to learn. Adults support pupils who need extra help with their behaviour. As a result, disruption to lessons is rare.

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Staff are proud to work at the school and appreciate how leaders consider their well-being and workload. Governors and trust leaders understand the school’s performance. They support and challenge senior leaders well. 9 November 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Keeping pupils safe is a high priority at Buckland Newton School. Leaders have good knowledge of the children and their families. Staff receive regular, up-to-date training. They are acutely aware of possible risks to pupils. Concerns are carefully recorded and routinely discussed. Leaders take swift action when needed. They work effectively with external agencies to help pupils and their families. Leaders make sure that staff who work with pupils are suitably checked.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They learn about healthy relationships and the importance of keeping safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, leaders’ plans lack detail about the important content that pupils should learn over time. This means that teachers cannot check whether pupils have secure knowledge of the essential concepts in those subjects. As a result, pupils do not build their subject knowledge well enough in these subjects. Leaders should make sure that learning is coherently planned and sequenced in all subjects.  There is variation in how well some younger pupils learn to read. Staff do not always use the most effective strategies to support pupils who need to catch up. This hampers their progress. Leaders should take prompt action to make sure that all staff have the subject knowledge and skills to teach phonics well.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Buckland Newton Church of England School, to be good in February 2017. 9 November 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 9 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200937 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.bucklandnewton.dorset.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is designated as having a religious character and received its section 48 inspection in July 2017, when this aspect of the school’s work was graded good.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, the SEND coordinator, subject leaders, a group of staff, representatives of the governing body and the deputy chief executive officer of the Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust. An inspector spoke with parents at the start of the day.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 9 November 2021

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 Inspectors reviewed curriculum plans and spoke to leaders and pupils about learning in geography.  Inspectors spoke to staff and the designated safeguarding lead about arrangements for keeping pupils safe. The lead inspector reviewed safeguarding documentation.  The lead inspector analysed 20 responses to Ofsted Parent View, the online parents’ survey, and 18 written comments. The lead inspector also considered 12 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Claire Mirams, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Greenwood Ofsted Inspector 9 November 2021

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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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