Blisworth Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Blisworth Community Primary School Courteenhall Road, Blisworth, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN7 3DD

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 September 2022

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Outcome

Blisworth Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone at Blisworth Community Primary School goes to great lengths to make this a happy and welcoming place.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff make sure that pupils feel safe in school and are able to talk freely about any worries they have. Pupils behave well. They say that bullying is extremely rare and staff deal with it swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Sport plays a huge part in school life. Pupils have many opportunities to take part in a range of sports and competitions. Pupils are proud of their sporting prowess. They say that the desire to do their best in sport inspires them to try their best in everything.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk enthusiastically about their learning. They especially love art and writing, and strive to produce work of a high standard.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The whole school community agreed the new school values of integrity, curiosity, courage, perseverance, collaboration and community. Older pupils explained how these values encourage them to be caring and responsible citizens of the world. They think about the environment and try to use recycled materials.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents hold the school in high regard. They say that their children are well cared for and achieve well. A common parental view was that they ‘could not wish for a better school’.

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

Leaders have put the love of reading at the heart of their curriculum. They inspire pupils with exciting texts that provide a diverse view of the world. Pupils love hearing their teachers read to them every day. They admire how teachers bring texts to life. Encouraged by the cosy reading lounges, pupils enjoy reading by themselves too. 27 to 28 September 2022

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Children get off to a strong start with learning to read in the early years. The phonics programme sets out the sounds they will learn right from their first few days of school. Staff are well trained to deliver the programme. The books that pupils read are closely matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils receive extra support if they fall behind. However, a small number of older pupils still struggle to remember and use their phonics knowledge to help them read accurately. They do not always practise regularly with appropriately matched books.

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Over the past two years, leaders have revised and rewritten their whole curriculum. The new curriculum is ambitious for pupils and promotes the school’s key values. Knowledgeable subject leaders have identified what pupils should learn in all subjects from the early years to Year 6. As the curriculum is very new, it is more well established in some subjects than others. Teachers plan lessons and activities that help pupils build on what they have learned before. They check pupils’ learning in lessons and address any misunderstandings they may have. Pupils readily acquire new knowledge and make strong connections to what they learned previously. There are a few subjects where leaders have not clearly defined the detail for all topics yet. Teachers have not developed all their teaching sequences to be as effective as they should.

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Leaders quickly and accurately identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They are ambitious for these pupils to learn the full curriculum. They deploy extra staff to support pupils with SEND in most lessons. Sometimes, the curriculum is not adapted well enough to match these pupils’ specific needs. This sometimes hinders their learning.

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The positive relationships between staff and pupils promote a calm and purposeful environment. In lessons, pupils listen carefully and work hard. Staff are particularly nurturing of pupils with social and emotional difficulties. They support these pupils well to engage in learning. Children quickly settle into the routines of the reception class. They play and learn well alongside each other.

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Leaders promote pupils’ personal development well. Pupils access a range of clubs and activities to stretch their talents. Leaders take extra steps to increase opportunities for disadvantaged pupils. Trips are gradually restarting following a pause during the COVID- 19 pandemic. All pupils recently visited the local Courteenhall Estate. Pupils say that the visit helped them appreciate and want to care for their locality. Older pupils enjoyed the responsibility of supporting the younger ones during the visit. Leaders encourage pupils to voice their views and opinions. The pupil ‘curriculum committee’ carries out surveys. They make suggestions of ways to improve their education.

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Staff are proud to be part of this school and value the changes leaders have introduced. They appreciate the way leaders consider their well-being and workload. Teachers at the start of their career say that they are well supported. Governors know the school well. They provide effective challenge and support to leaders. 27 to 28 September 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have stringent systems to ensure that all pupils are safe. They make all the necessary checks on adults in the school. Leaders have improved safeguarding training for staff so they are knowledgeable of the risks pupils might face. Staff are confident to report their concerns. Leaders act promptly and work with the relevant agencies to provide any help needed. Governors make regular and robust checks on the school’s safeguarding procedures.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in different situations. They are confident they know who to turn to if they need help.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not fully defined the component knowledge in some of the more recently reviewed subjects. In these subjects, the sequence of learning is not clear. This means that pupils do not consistently build their knowledge in all subjects. Leaders need to embed the curriculum by further defining the required component knowledge and developing the sequences of learning in some foundation subjects.  Leaders have identified pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND receive support in lessons. However, sometimes teachers do not adapt the curriculum to ensure that all pupils learn well. Leaders should ensure that all pupils’ needs are consistently met so that they can progress well through the curriculum.  Some older pupils have gaps in their phonics knowledge. The books that they have to read do not match the sounds that they know really well. This does not help them to become fluent readers quickly. Leaders must ensure that these few pupils continue to

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

receive regular practice reading carefully matched books.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2017. 27 to 28 September 2022

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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.

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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. 27 to 28 September 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240809 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 and 15 June 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in the leadership of the school. The current headteacher took up her role in September 2020 and is the second headteacher to be appointed since the last inspection.  The role of special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is part of the permanent deputy headteacher’s role. In her absence, the role is currently being carried out by the headteacher and a SENCo employed in another school.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, subject leaders and groups of staff and pupils. The inspector met with three representatives of the governing body and spoke to a representative of the local authority. 27 to 28 September 2022

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 To inspect safeguarding, the inspector spoke with parents and pupils. She scrutinised documents that the school keeps and spoke with leaders and staff.  The inspector took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and the written comments from parents. The inspector also spoke with several parents.  The inspector took account of responses to the staff survey and pupil survey.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. Inspection activities included discussions with curriculum leaders about their curricular thinking, lesson visits and discussions with both teachers and pupils about learning. The inspector also looked at plans for other curriculum subjects.

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Inspection team

Claire Stylianides, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 27 to 28 September 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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