Bentinck Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of Bentinck Primary and Nursery School Alfreton Road, Hyson Green, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG7 4AA

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 21 and 22 July 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s safeguarding arrangements are not effective. Leaders do not always take the necessary actions in response to concerns about pupils’ welfare. They do not routinely ensure that pupils receive the help and support they may need. Leaders do not maintain effective safeguarding records.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is calm and pupils typically behave well. They value the rewards system and strive to earn the ‘dot points’ and house points. Pupils show respect to each other and adults in school. The relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils know about bullying and say that staff deal with any incidents. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their learning and want to work hard. They are proud of their school. One pupil, typical of many, told an inspector, ‘Our teachers care and help us to learn.’ Leaders want all pupils to succeed. However, their expectations are not high enough in some subjects. Some pupils say that they find their work too easy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of the roles and responsibilities that they hold in school. They make a positive contribution to school life. Pupils enjoy being ‘mini police’ and house captains. They like helping out in the local community.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that pupils have access to a broad curriculum. However, the curriculum is not well planned in some subjects. Leaders have not identified the precise subject knowledge that they want pupils to learn and when.

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better?

Reading is a priority in the school. There is a phonics scheme in place from the early years through to key stage 2. Children in the early years learn the skills to sound out unfamiliar words. Support is in place for pupils who have fallen behind with their reading. There are ‘Bullseye’ vocabulary boards in every classroom to support the consistent use of key vocabulary. However, phonics is not taught consistently well enough. This is because staff have not received the necessary training to support the teaching of early reading and phonics.

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better?

The mathematics curriculum is well planned and builds pupils’ knowledge over time. Pupils can use a range of resources to help them learn. Teachers model the use of mathematical vocabulary well. However, the work teachers set pupils sometimes lacks sufficient challenge. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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better?

Pupils do not always receive sufficient opportunities to recap their prior learning. As a result, pupils can struggle to remember what they are learning over time. Leaders have not ensured that there is a consistent approach to assessment. As a result, on occasions, teachers are not fully aware of how well pupils are learning. 21 and 22 July 2022

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In the early years, children develop their social and emotional skills well. Children are happy and enjoy their learning. They follow simple self-care and hygiene routines independently. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same learning as others in the classroom. However, teachers have not set consistent routines, which means that some children do not behave or learn as well as they could.

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Leaders’ expectations for some pupils, including those with SEND, are not always high enough. Sometimes, they do not identify the needs of pupils with SEND quickly enough to put the necessary support in place.

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Pupils have opportunities to learn how to play a musical instrument. They enjoy performing in front of their peers. Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy and have some awareness of different types of relationships. Older pupils know how to stay safe online. They have an understanding of different faiths. However, some pupils do not fully understand all of the British values. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum is not taught in full to all year groups. This includes the statutory relationships and sex education.

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The school environment is calm and orderly. Most pupils have good attitudes to learning. When teachers set less challenging work, some pupils lose focus.

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Currently, the number of pupils who are regularly absent remains high. Leaders know there is further work to do to address this.

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Leaders do not provide governors with all the right information they need to be able to hold leaders to account. As a result, governors do not hold leaders to account well enough. Many staff are not positive about the way the school is led and managed, particularly in relation to their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders do not fulfil their statutory duties to keep pupils safe. They do not fully understand the risks to which pupils may be exposed. The school’s safeguarding systems and processes are not robust. Leaders do not always take the right actions when concerns are reported to them. This leaves pupils potentially at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding

Staff do not have the relevant safeguarding training to spot the signs a pupil could be at risk, and to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Governors have not made sure that the school’s safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements.

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 Leaders do not ensure that the systems and processes for keeping pupils safe meet statutory requirements. The record-keeping is not fit for purpose. Staff training is not sufficient. Leaders do not understand the seriousness of some incidents related to pupils’ welfare. This places some pupils potentially at risk of harm. Leaders should ensure that safeguarding procedures are secure, and that staff know and understand their responsibilities in identifying, recording and reporting all safeguarding concerns.  Leaders have not ensured that there is an ambitious and sequenced curriculum in all subjects. In the early years and other wider subjects, leaders have yet to identify the key knowledge that they wish pupils to learn and when. As a result, there are inconsistencies in what pupils remember about their learning. Leaders should ensure that it is clear what pupils should learn and when, across all

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subject areas and in the early years, so that all pupils, including those with SEND, successfully build their knowledge and understanding over time.  The approach to assessment is inconsistent. Staff do not regularly assess what pupils know. Teachers are not always clear about what they are trying to achieve through undertaking assessments. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to use assessment effectively.  Not all pupils have a secure knowledge of the fundamental British values. Pupils’ knowledge of relationships and sex education, appropriate to their age, is limited. Leaders should ensure that all pupils have the necessary knowledge and understanding of fundamental British values and relationships and sex education.  Too many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, are regularly absent. These pupils are missing out on their education. Leaders should

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ensure that those pupils who need it receive support to attend regularly.  Governors do not meet their statutory duties, including those related to making sure that pupils are kept safe. They do not receive the information they need to hold leaders fully to account. Governors should ensure that they meet their legal requirements for the safeguarding of pupils and that they receive all necessary information to be able to hold the school leaders fully to account.

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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. 21 and 22 July 2022

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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. 21 and 22 July 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211559 Type of school Primary and nursery

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 October 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The school is a member of the Nottingham Schools Trust.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspectors deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 21 and 22 July 2022

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the coordinator for the provision of pupils with SEND, the early years leader, curriculum subject leaders and teachers from across all year groups.  The lead inspector met with members of the local governing body, the chief executive officers of the Nottingham Schools Trust and the school improvement partner.  Inspectors met with several groups of pupils to talk about their learning across the curriculum.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, art and design, and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Leaders also considered curriculum planning in PSHE.  Inspectors listened to a selection of pupils reading to a familiar adult.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, inspectors read the school’s relevant policies, scrutinised the single central record, checked the school’s procedures for the safe recruitment of staff and met with the safeguarding team. Inspectors also spoke with staff and pupils.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  Inspectors took note of the responses received on Ofsted Parent View and considered the results of the Ofsted staff survey.

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Inspection team

Anita Denman, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Shaun Carter Her Majesty’s Inspector 21 and 22 July 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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