Boroughbridge Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Boroughbridge Primary School York Road, Boroughbridge, York, North Yorkshire YO51 9EB

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Outcome

Boroughbridge Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Boroughbridge Primary School is a friendly and welcoming place. Pupils feel safe, happy and enjoy their learning. Relationships are a strength of the school. As one pupil put it, ‘We have kind teachers, kind children and lovely school cooks!’ Pupils work hard to meet their teachers’ high expectations and do well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons, as they move around school and outside at breaktimes. Bullying is rare. Pupils are confident that it would be dealt with quickly by staff if it did happen. Leaders have high ambitions for every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Parents and carers are highly positive about the staff and the support that their children receive. One parent spoke for many when they said that the school is ‘a fantastic introduction to education and the joy that learning can bring’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a range of trips, clubs and experiences. They talk enthusiastically about being able to present evidence in a real courtroom and learning about crimes of the past in history. Pupils get involved in local community events. They are very proud of the shields that they designed and poems that they wrote for the recent ‘Battle of Boroughbridge’ event.

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

Leaders have brought about many positive changes to the school in a short space of time. They are developing a broad and ambitious curriculum. Subject leaders deliver training to improve the expertise of all teachers. Leaders have ensured that curriculum plans start in the early years foundation stage. In many subjects, leaders have carefully identified the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils need to have and build up over time.

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

In a few foundation subjects, the specific knowledge and skills that pupils should learn have not been fully identified. Leaders have this work underway. 17 and 18 May 2022

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In lessons, teachers help pupils make connections to prior learning and recap on important key knowledge. Staff are skilful at explaining new learning. They give pupils plenty of opportunities to practise and apply their understanding. Pupils achieve well as a result, including those with SEND. Pupils can talk about they have learned. They explain their understanding using accurate, subject-specific vocabulary. Pupils know why some knowledge is very important, such as understanding chronology in history, and rapid recall of number facts in mathematics.

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Teacher consistently check what pupils know and remember in lessons. However, assessment over time in some subjects does not allow teachers to consistently and precisely identify where there may be gaps in pupils’ understanding.

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Leaders know how important it is for all pupils to read well. Children start to learn to read as soon as they enter the Reception Year. Staff are skilful in the ways that they support pupils to build phonic knowledge. Pupils have plenty of opportunities to practise and become more fluent readers. Pupils achieve well as a result of this well-delivered programme. Pupils with gaps in their phonic knowledge are quickly identified. They get the additional help that they need. As a result of well-targeted support, pupils catch up quickly, including those with SEND.

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Pupils enjoy listening to the stories that teachers share with them every day. Pupils are enthusiastic about the whole-school shared book projects. They are proud to share the work that these books inspired them to do. Older pupils explain that picture books can ‘spark your imagination and let you be the author’. Staff encourage pupils to develop a love of reading. Many pupils have this passion. However, some older children are not as motivated to choose to read for pleasure.

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Leaders think carefully about the wider experiences and opportunities children have. Projects with local businesses, authors and pen pal buddies enrich pupils’ personal development. Pupils enjoy extra-curricular clubs. The school council gives them a voice to feed back their ideas.

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Behaviour around school is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite to one another, staff and visitors. Pupils display positive and attentive attitudes. Learning continues uninterrupted. At social times, pupils play harmoniously with enthusiasm and imagination.

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Staff are well supported by school leaders and governors. Staff value this. They know that they can ask for help, particularly with workload. Staff appreciate the care and consideration given to their well-being. There is a positive culture of teamwork between leaders, staff and governors.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Leaders act in the best interests of the pupils to keep them safe. Staff know pupils and their families well. Pupils are taught how to keep safe, including staying safe online. Pupils know what to do if they 17 and 18 May 2022

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have a concern. All adults take part in safeguarding training. They know how to spot pupils who may be vulnerable or at risk. Concerns are recorded appropriately and followed up by leaders.

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Governors monitor safeguarding effectively and ensure that appropriate checks are made on new staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of foundation subjects, leaders have not fully identified the subject knowledge they want pupils to learn over time. It is clear from leaders’ actions that they are well underway with this work, but there is still more to do. Leaders should complete the process of identifying and sequencing the knowledge that pupils need to learn in each year group. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, assessment systems are still in varying stages of development. Assessments in some foundation subjects are not consistently sharply focused. In these subjects, leaders do not have an accurate picture as to how effectively pupils are learning the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that assessments in all foundation subjects provide a clear picture of what pupils know and any gaps in their understanding.

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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 school to be good in March 2017.

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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. 17 and 18 May 2022

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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. 17 and 18 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211522 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.boroughbridge-pri.n-yorks.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 February and 1 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has recently had a change of senior leadership. There is an interim headteacher and assistant headteacher in post currently.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other school leaders, staff, pupils, governors and a representative from the North Yorkshire council.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum 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.  The inspector listened to pupils and children from Reception, Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a familiar adult.  Th e inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding documentation, including records 17 and 18 May 2022

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of safeguarding checks carried out on staff working at the school. She considered how well the designated safeguarding lead acts on concerns about pupils’ safety and welfare. The inspector spoke to pupils, staff and governors about safeguarding practices.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the responses to the surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Asa Britton, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector 17 and 18 May 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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