Thrapston Primary School

Inspection of Thrapston Primary School Market Road, Thrapston, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN14 4JU

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 September 2022

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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 Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 21 and 22 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Thrapston Primary School is a happy school. Pupils feel safe. Staff and pupils are welcoming. Pupils are very well cared for by staff. Typically, one pupil commented: ‘The teachers are really supportive. They listen to us and there is always someone to talk to.’ Pupils value the time they can spend in ‘The Hub’, where they can share any worries that they might have with an adult.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff set high expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour. Pupils behave well in lessons. Pupils understand the rules of being ‘ready, respectful and safe’. They value the rewards they receive, particularly the raffle tickets they get for reading regularly. Pupils say bullying sometimes happens. Most pupils are confident that adults deal with incidents of bullying effectively. Pupils are proud to be ‘bully busters’. They enjoy looking after others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school. Leaders ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the ambitious curriculum with their peers. The pastoral support for all pupils is a strength of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have access to some clubs after school. These include football and taekwondo. Leaders know that more experiences beyond the classroom will enhance pupils’ interests and talents.

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better?

Leaders provide an ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including children in the early years. In most subjects, leaders have identified the knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember. This starts in the early years and builds in a logical way through the school. In these subjects, pupils achieve well. In a small number of subjects, leaders have not yet decided the essential knowledge that pupils will learn clearly enough.

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better?

Teachers have a secure understanding of the subjects they teach. They plan learning that is purposeful and interesting. Teachers assess pupils’ knowledge to identify any gaps in their understanding of their learning. This is helping pupils to know and remember more of the intended learning. Pupils talk about their learning with confidence.

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better?

Staff have raised the profile of books and reading across the school. The well- stocked libraries are full of interesting books to read. Pupils enjoy reading. They understand the importance of learning to read. One pupil told an inspector: ‘Reading helps you learn new words. It also helps with our spelling.’ Staff teach phonics in a systematic way. This helps pupils to practise the sounds that they need to learn at the right time. Most pupils read books that are closely matched to the sounds that they know. As a result, pupils become fluent readers. Pupils who may be at risk of falling behind receive help so that they can catch up quickly. 21 and 22 September 2022

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Children in the early years learn to read as soon as they start in the Reception class. Staff work effectively to develop younger children’s understanding and pronunciation of words while they enjoy rhymes and stories in the Nursery class. There are well- established routines in the early years. Children listen to each other and their teachers. They take turns and share. Children are settled and happy.

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Adults and pupils have supportive relationships. In lessons, pupils behave well and focus on their work. Pupils attend school regularly. Most pupils demonstrate the school’s ‘reach’ values of respect, empathy, ambition, collaboration and honesty.

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Teachers are skilled at identifying pupils who may have SEND. Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers. Appropriate information is shared with staff to support pupils with SEND. Staff know the pupils well. Additional adults ensure that all pupils are included and experience the full curriculum. Teachers adapt the curriculum to make sure pupils know more and remember more.

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Pupils learn about the cultures and beliefs of others. They are respectful of difference and diversity. Pupils understand the British values, including democracy and the rule of law. They know how to keep themselves safe, including when they are using the internet. At present, there are limited opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests outside of the classroom. Parents and pupils want to see after-school opportunities return to the levels on offer before COVID-19. Leaders have not thought carefully enough about how to develop pupils’ cultural experiences. They plan to develop more meaningful opportunities for pupils to experience visits and trips. These will help to prepare pupils for life in the wider world.

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Governors offer support and challenge to leaders and staff in equal measure. They work hand in hand with leaders to support staff’s well-being and workload. Staff feel valued and supported by leaders and the governing body.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide staff with regular, useful training so that they know how to keep pupils safe. Staff know how to report and record concerns effectively. Leaders seek additional support from other agencies when needed.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are aware of potential local safeguarding risks. They have adapted the curriculum to support pupils in knowing how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils know how to report any concerns they may have for their own or others’ safety.

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Safeguarding

Governors provide effective oversight of safeguarding policies and procedures, including the safe recruitment of adults. 21 and 22 September 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, leaders’ curriculum thinking is not as well defined as it is in others. This is because leaders have not identified which knowledge and vocabulary needs to be prioritised so that pupils are ready to learn what comes next in the curriculum. In these subjects, leaders should make clear the essential building blocks of knowledge that all pupils need to know and remember long term in order to achieve the curriculum’s ambitious end points.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, leaders have not provided enough opportunities for pupils to access extra-curricular activities and visits to enrich their cultural experiences. As a result, pupils have few opportunities to develop their own talents and interests or deepen their knowledge of life in modern Britain. Leaders should plan a rich and diverse programme of activities that will encourage pupils to be outward reaching and develop their interests and

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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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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. 21 and 22 September 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.thrapston-primary.northants.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 22 and 23 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of an alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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 has 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.  During the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and a range of staff.  Inspectors met with members of the governing body. The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, spoke with teachers and spoke with pupils about their learning. They 21 and 22 September 2022

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visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. An inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, inspectors reviewed school policies, procedures and records. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors also spoke with staff, governors and pupils about the school’s approach to keeping pupils safe.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. Inspectors met with staff and considered responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Liz Moore Ofsted Inspector 21 and 22 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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