Ringsfield Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Ringsfield Church of England Primary School School Road, Ringsfield, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 8NZ

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Ringsfield is a friendly place where pupils make good progress. Pupils are happy, polite and respectful. They have plenty of opportunities to have their voices heard, and to take on responsibilities. Pupils enjoy the range of clubs, trips and experiences on offer. This includes, in key stage 2, a chance for all to learn how to play an instrument.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are warm relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils say that the adults in the school help to keep them safe. Behaviour in class, around the school and during playtimes is positive. Bullying is rare, and if it occurs adults resolve it. Pupils know that they can share a problem with an adult and that the adult will help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn interesting and useful knowledge in their lessons. For example, in geography, they are taught about diverse cultures from around the world. Pupils can confidently talk about what they have learned, and they also enjoy being read to every day. Teachers choose books that help pupils to understand the wider world. They also help pupils to learn new vocabulary that can be used in science, history and mathematics, for example.

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

Since the previous inspection, leaders and teachers have worked hard to improve the curriculum offer. This includes putting in place a new curriculum for early reading.

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

Leaders are ambitious about what they want pupils to achieve. This is reflected in the way the curriculum identifies and sequences knowledge and vocabulary from Nursery through to Year 6. For example, in mathematics, pupils in Nursery learn counting songs which helps prepare them to learn how to count and calculate in Reception Year and beyond.

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

The well-sequenced early reading curriculum builds on pupils’ ability to hear individual sounds in words. Children in the nursery learn about the sounds in words from the start, so that they are ready to learn phonics in Reception. As pupils grow older, teachers provide plenty of opportunities for them to practise their phonics knowledge. Pupils also 16 November 2021

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take part in reading challenges as they develop their reading confidence. Adults carefully choose the stories they read to pupils. Pupils enjoy these stories and become enthused about reading. The new reading curriculum is helping pupils to become confident, fluent readers.

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As pupils progress through the school, they continue to learn interesting knowledge. Within the multi-academy trust, subject leaders and teachers work closely together to improve the curriculum. This includes identifying ways to make subject knowledge more memorable, such as visits to important historical places.

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Assessment is not fully developed. In mathematics and early reading assessment is accurate and helpful. It gives leaders and teachers a clear understanding of pupils’ knowledge and understanding. It helps teachers to identify pupils who need support to catch up. In other subjects, assessment identifies the topics that have been taught and broadly remembered, but does not give accurate information about the specific knowledge that pupils can remember. Teachers do not have the same level of precision in determining what pupils have, and have not, learned well.

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Pupils behave well. In class, pupils concentrate and follow instructions. They work nicely together and support one another. Leaders have established routines that help pupils to settle. When pupils struggle to concentrate or behave, staff give them extra help.

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Leaders are proud of the school’s approach to pupils’ broader development. They want pupils to be prepared for the wider world and to understand the differences between people and cultures. Pupils learn about British values in assemblies and lessons. They also develop a sense of responsibility through taking part in the various school councils on offer, such as the ‘eco-council’.

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Leaders and teachers work together to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are included and able to access the wider curriculum. This includes the provision of extra help with phonics and teaching key vocabulary ahead of some lessons.

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Staff have a clear overview of the needs of children in the early years. They have positive relationships with the children and celebrate their successes. Children settle in quickly, learning the routines which make the early years a calm and happy place. Children make good progress and become familiar with nursery rhymes and stories. Teachers’ careful choices of books help pupils in Nursery and Reception to learn about the world around them. This prepares them well for geography and history lessons in Year 1, for example.

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Leaders, including governors, prioritise staff well-being and reducing workload. Staff feel supported. They are given opportunities to develop their own subject expertise and to collaborate with one another. 16 November 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is a priority. Leaders and staff know the children, their families and the community well. Staff take part in regular safeguarding training. They work closely with each other, with parents and with external agencies to safeguard pupils at the school.

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Safeguarding

Leaders act promptly to provide help to those who need it. The school’s systems for identifying, documenting and monitoring support for pupils are detailed and orderly.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught how to keep safe, including when online. They are also taught what to do and who to go to if they had a concern or a worry.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment does not provide detailed enough information about the knowledge that pupils have learned. As a result, it is not possible to fully identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge in the curriculum beyond early reading and mathematics. Leaders need to review their systems of assessment in the wider curriculum so that teachers have a better understanding of what pupils know and can do.

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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, Ringsfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, to be good school in June 2015.

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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. 16 November 2021

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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. 16 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200463 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Ringsfield Church of England Primary school is a smaller than average school. Most pupils are of White British heritage.  This was the first inspection since the predecessor school, Ringsfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, was inspected in June 2015 and was found to be good.  The school reopened as an academy on 1 July 2017. It is part of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust  Since the previous inspection, the nursery has been expanded to include provision for two-year-olds in the afternoons. The nursery now caters for two- to four-year-olds. Provision for two-year-olds is in the afternoon only.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school is in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Its last section 48 inspection was in June 2016 and the school was graded outstanding. 16 November 2021

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  During this inspection, the lead inspector met with the headteacher, a representative of the trust and members of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. Inspectors met with subject leaders, visited lessons, and spoke with teachers and pupils. They also scrutinised curriculum plans and looked at pupils’ books.  The lead inspector discussed the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, including the school’s single central record of recruitment and vetting checks.  The lead inspector looked at responses to Ofsted’s surveys. This included 23 parent responses to Ofsted Parent View, including 18 free-text responses. Thirty-three pupils

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Information about this inspection

and 13 staff responded to Ofsted’s surveys of their views.

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Inspection team

Hannah Stoten, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joanna Pedlow Ofsted Inspector 16 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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