Barnby and North Cove Community Primary School

Inspection of Barnby and North Cove Community Primary School Beccles Road, Barnby, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 7QB

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 8 and 9 February 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Barnby and North Cove Community Primary School learn an ambitious curriculum. Pupils attend a small school, but they learn big ideas about their place in the wider world. Pupils enjoy reading because they are taught to be proficient readers. They speak keenly about the books their teachers read to them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The pupil parliament is valued by staff and pupils alike. Pupils use the suggestion box to share ideas. They say that this means they can effect change in their school. The trust’s online learning platform allows pupils to demonstrate traits that encourage success both in school and at home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They know the rules and routines set out by staff. They play happily together at breaktime and lunchtime. They like the wide range of play equipment. Pupils say that there are rarely problems with behaviour and bullying at their school. They feel confident that staff will sort these out when they occur. Because of this, pupils say that they feel happy and safe.

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better?

The school’s approach to early reading is well thought out. Owing to helpful support from the trust, including regular training and support, staff teach reading effectively. Leaders have made suitable adaptations to their adopted phonics curriculum. These help the children in early years to start reading successfully. Staff ensure that pupils receive books they can read unaided. This helps to build pupils’ confidence and fluency with reading.

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better?

Leaders’ evaluation of their curriculum is astute. They have set out clearly what knowledge pupils will learn in curriculum plans from Nursery to Year 6. Most teachers use these plans to good effect. The school’s values and themes are woven seamlessly into learning across the curriculum. For example, pupils in Years 3 and 4 learn about multicultural Roman Britain. This links directly to leaders’ ambition for pupils to develop a broad knowledge of identity and diversity.

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better?

There are systems for assessment in all subjects. Teachers often use these effectively to identify what pupils know and where pupils need more support. Occasionally, teachers do not assess pupils’ understanding as well as leaders would intend. They do not necessarily notice, or put right, pupils’ misconceptions. This means that some pupils’ knowledge of subject matter is not as strong as it could be.

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better?

Staff liaise with the trust’s inclusion team to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately. Staff use their observations and assessments, along with information shared by parents and carers and external agencies, to put in place suitable support. There is a timely approach to how staff review this support. Because of this, pupils with SEND achieve well. 8 and 9 February 2022

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Leaders train staff to support pupils’ behaviour confidently. This ensures an environment in which pupils concentrate to learn and play together kindly. Staff put in place sensible plans that help to improve pupils’ behaviour when it falls short of leaders’ expectations.

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Prior to the pandemic, the trust organised inter-school sports competitions. Pupils discussed these excitedly. These, along with other events, will be returning soon. Meanwhile, leaders have maintained a wide range of other extra-curricular activities, such as clubs to learn Spanish, coding or times tables.

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Leaders have worked sensitively with parents on attendance. They made adjustments to address some parents’ anxiety around returning their children to school during the pandemic. However, leaders’ system for managing pupils’ attendance is not ensuring that pupils attend school regularly. Even in the context of the pandemic, attendance at the school is too low.

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Many parents are complimentary about staff. They reflect on how staff support their children to do their best and feel safe in school. Some parents report less favourably on how the school communicates with them. These parents say that they want to know more about school systems, the curriculum and how their child is progressing with their education. Leaders have plans to address this. At this stage, these plans have not been put into effect.

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Trustees monitor the school closely. They praise leaders for the many aspects that work well, and challenge leaders to address the few aspects that need development. Leaders ensure that staff members’ workload and well-being are considered well. Staff respect leaders at the school, saying they feel valued. This ensures that pupils learn in a positive, supportive environment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The trust oversees the necessary checks on staff and visitors. Trust leaders organise detailed training for school leaders, who share it with staff. This ensures that staff feel confident to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding

Staff know how to use the online system to report any concerns efficiently. Leaders follow up staff concerns well. They liaise with external agencies to manage helpful support for vulnerable families. Leaders respond to pupils’ needs in a timely way. For example, leaders held assemblies in response to their pupil survey to teach pupils about how staff keep them safe. As a consequence, pupils feel comfortable sharing their worries with staff. 8 and 9 February 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, teachers do not use leaders’ assessment systems in the way leaders would intend. Some pupils’ misunderstandings are not addressed effectively. These pupils then continue to lack some understanding of what was taught. Leaders must ensure that systems for assessment are clear and understood by teachers to ensure that pupils remember more over time.  Pupils’ attendance, particularly pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, is not as good as it should be. This affects some pupils’ ability to learn well. Leaders must make sure that the system for managing attendance ensures that pupils attend school regularly.  Some parents are unhappy with the systems for communication between the school and parents. This weakens the partnership between home and school. Leaders should work with parents to ensure that they receive clear and timely information that allows them to work well together for the benefit of pupils.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 8 and 9 February 2022

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School details

Website www.barnbynorthcoveprimaryschool.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Barnby and North Cove Community Primary School is part of the Borders Partnership, with Glebeland Community Primary School. Both schools are part of the Consortium Multi-Academy Trust.  The school runs its own before- and after-school club.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held meetings with leaders, including the headteacher, assistant headteacher, chair of the trust, chief executive officer, director of primary education and the lead SEND coordinator. 8 and 9 February 2022

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and art.  Where possible, for each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and teaching assistants, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  The lead inspector reviewed a range of school documentation and policies, including records of meetings and reports from external advisers.  To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector spoke to the designated safeguarding lead and a deputy designated safeguarding lead. The lead inspector met with the office manager to scrutinise the single central record of recruitment and vetting

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checks. Inspectors also spoke with teachers, support staff and pupils.  Inspectors spent time observing and speaking to pupils, including at the pupil parliament.  Inspectors gathered parents’ views by reviewing the 34 responses and 29 free- text comments submitted to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. The lead inspector also considered other correspondence sent by parents.  Inspectors gathered staff members’ views by speaking to several of them. Inspectors took account of the four responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Daniel Short, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrew Hemmings Senior Her Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 February 2022

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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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