Bottisham Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Bottisham Community Primary School Beechwood Avenue, Bottisham, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB25 9BE

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Outcome

Bottisham Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school and feel safe. Pupils and families know that staff have high expectations for behaviour. Bullying rarely happens. Pupils know that they can speak to adults or use their ‘worry boxes’ if they do ever experience issues. Adults resolve these rare issues quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They enjoy talking about the learning they do in class and about their school motto, ‘better learning for better living’. Older pupils take on a range of responsibilities. For instance, some volunteer as school librarians, helping to keep the library organised and reading to younger pupils. Other pupils play an active role in the school council or the eco council. They like being able to organise events, such as the recent book sale to raise money for charity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in Reception and Nursery classes learn in spaces designed to develop their independence. Adults are skilled in promoting children’s language development. They provide rich opportunities for children to explore the world around them, from learning in the woodland area to hatching butterflies. Children are busy, concentrate hard and get on well together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from an ambitious curriculum and typically achieve well, as high expectations are realised. Year 6 pupils are well prepared for secondary school.

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

Leaders have organised and planned the curriculum carefully. As a result, pupils learn knowledge and skills in a logical order, and develop their understanding effectively.

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

Teachers devise sequences of lessons that help pupils to learn effectively and to know more over time. Essential knowledge is recapped frequently. Teachers also continually check whether pupils can recall their previous learning with accuracy and fluency. Pupils 29 and 30 June 2022

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like the way that teachers use questions and discussions to go over what they have learned before. This helps them to remember important ideas and information.

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Teachers and leaders understand the importance of subject vocabulary. However, they are not consistent in ensuring pupils have secured all the key vocabulary they need to use and apply their knowledge well across all subjects. As a result, while pupils usually have a good understanding of key concepts, they are less able to remember, use and apply key vocabulary with precision.

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Pupils learn to read well. Early reading is well planned and sequenced. Pupils keenly take part in the daily phonics sessions. Leaders provide extra sessions, including personalised programmes, for pupils who find reading challenging. Staff identify the specific sounds that pupils are unsure of and provide opportunities for further practice. Staff have been trained to teach the phonics scheme well, and resources are matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge. Pupils enjoy reading, and being read to, at school.

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The early years curriculum provides children with the secure foundations they need for their learning. For example, children gain a strong understanding of number through a range of well-planned activities. This understanding is then reviewed and built on effectively in subsequent year groups. Over time, pupils gain the knowledge they need to solve more-complex mathematical problems. Following the COVID-19 restrictions, leaders identified that pupils had gaps in their understanding of some mathematical concepts. Leaders adapted the curriculum so that these areas were addressed before pupils moved on in their learning.

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Pupils who have SEND are identified quickly and accurately. Leaders and staff communicate well with parents and carers and with a range of external professionals. This helps to ensure that these pupils receive the support they need to learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

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Pupils behave well. They move calmly around the school. In lessons, they listen carefully to teachers. Pupils take pride in producing good-quality written work.

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Leaders ensure that pupils learn about different faiths and different types of families. Pupils understand about the importance of equality and of respecting difference. Older pupils show maturity when discussing the role models they have studied, such as Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing.

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Staff are proud to work at this school. They value the changes leaders have introduced, including new ways to mark pupils’ work. This helps staff develop their skills and reduces their workload. Staff feel well supported by leaders.

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Parents and carers are positive about the work of the school. They appreciate that teachers and leaders communicate clearly with them.

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Governors and trustees know the school well. They make appropriate checks on the quality of education and safeguarding. They provide robust challenge and support to leaders. This has helped the school to continue improving. 29 and 30 June 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have created a culture of safeguarding at the school. Appropriate checks are made on new staff. A rigorous reporting system ensures nothing is missed. Staff receive regular training. They have an up-to-date knowledge of risks that pupils may face. Staff report and record any concerns promptly. Leaders work closely with other agencies to support pupils and their families. Leaders make sure that pupils receive any additional help they may need.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, governors and trustees review arrangements regularly.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught about what they can do to look after their well-being, and how to use the internet safely.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers do not routinely plan opportunities for pupils to practise and deepen their use of key vocabulary across all subjects. As a result, some pupils are not able to remember how to use key words in their correct context or apply them well. Leaders should ensure that teachers enable pupils to secure key vocabulary, so they can apply their knowledge, in the correct context, across the full curriculum.

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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, Bottisham Community Primary School, to be good in February 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. 29 and 30 June 2022

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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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. 29 and 30 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227579 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

 Bottisham Community Primary School is part of the Anglian Learning Trust.  There is a nursery class that children attend, either part-time or full-time, once they have turned three years old.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher and members of the school’s leadership team.  The inspector carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, and science. For each deep dive, the inspector met with the subject leader, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at pupils’ work.  The inspector met with the special educational needs coordinator.  The inspector met with the chair of governors and two members of the governing body.  The inspector met with the director of primary education for the trust. 29 and 30 June 2022

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 The inspector looked at the single central record of pre-employment checks. The inspector spoke to leaders, school staff, governors, and pupils to review the school’s arrangements for safeguarding.  The inspector spoke to parents at the start of the school day. The inspector considered the 76 responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 48 free-text responses. Inspectors also considered the 24 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.

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Inspection team

Nick Rudman, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 June 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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