Felbridge Primary School

Inspection of Felbridge Primary School Crawley Down Road, Felbridge, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 2NT

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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 Good 2 and 3 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel happy and safe at this caring, friendly school. There are warm relationships between pupils. They work and play in harmony. Fallings out between pupils are rare. Any hint of behaviour that could become bullying is quickly identified and resolved by staff. The school is a calm orderly environment with a palpable focus on learning well. Pupils are immersed in a culture of high expectations of both work and behaviour. They strive to meet these in all they do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A strong connection with the local community weaves through school life. History week, for example, involves the local history society, and a community running club includes parents and children. Opportunities for pupils to get involved in a range of clubs and sports are plentiful. Pupils talk about how this inspires them to adopt healthy lifestyles and to continue with sports outside of school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are very positive about the school. They value the nurturing atmosphere and the direction provided by leaders. One parent summed up the views of many by saying, ‘Children are happy at the school; they love learning and feel completely safe and free to express themselves.’

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better?

Leaders have taken effective action to strengthen provision since the previous inspection. As a result, pupils benefit from a good quality of education and an ambitious curriculum. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs quickly identified and appropriately supported so that they access the whole curriculum. The headteacher and his leadership team have the confidence of governors, staff and parents. Positivity abounds as the school goes from strength to strength.

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better?

The curriculum has been structured well. Starting in early years, pupils can build their knowledge in a logical order as they move through the school. In some subjects, such as mathematics, the revised curriculum has been in place for a longer period of time. In these subjects, the positive impact of the clearly sequenced learning can be seen in pupils’ work, including for pupils with SEND. In the more recently developed subjects, leaders have not yet been able to fully evaluate whether the curriculum is helping pupils to know and remember more.

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better?

Staff benefit from a carefully structured programme of professional development that has helped them develop the subject knowledge and pedagogical understanding they need to implement the curriculum effectively. They have joined a range of training initiatives and visited other schools to explore what works well. Staff are enthusiastic about these opportunities and appreciative of the careful eye leaders keep on their workload. Staff morale is high. 2 and 3 November 2022

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Reading is rightly at the centre of the curriculum. As soon as they start school in Reception, children are taught phonics daily. They approach this with enthusiasm and learn to read quickly and well. Careful and regular assessment helps to identify any gaps in knowledge or anyone who is falling behind. Additional support helps to close these gaps swiftly and effectively.

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Pupils are enthusiastic about reading. The regular ‘reading raffle’, in which pupils can win a carefully selected book, is motivating and exciting for pupils. They value visits to the well-stocked library, or opportunities to be a reading buddy for the youngest children.

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Overall, pupils behave well in class. Right from the start, children in Reception Year are engaged with their learning and ask questions to help clarify their understanding. Pupils throughout the school follow instructions quickly and carefully. They are keen to do well and work industriously. Any pupils who occasionally lose concentration are quickly and kindly redirected by staff.

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The curriculum successfully helps pupils to learn about themselves and the world. Pupils are curious and inclusive. They demonstrate positive attitudes towards each other, and say that ‘everyone is welcome’. Trips and visits, which are getting back on track after the pandemic, are being chosen to help pupils further understand the diverse nature of modern Britain. Pupils benefit from a programme of personal development which considers everyone. For example, all pupils have the chance to represent the school during key stage 2 as part of a sports team.

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Governance is effective. Governors have high ambition for the school and its pupils. They ensure that the information they receive from leaders is accurate, and they use this to provide both support and challenge. Where needed, they have secured the training to ensure that all governors know the strengths and areas for development to further strengthen the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff are well trained to identify safeguarding concerns. Regular updates and discussion help keep safeguarding at the forefront of everyone’s thinking. If anyone reports a concern, leaders respond promptly and appropriately. This helps ensure that the right support is provided to help keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

The taught curriculum helps pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn to cross the nearby busy road safely and have lessons on staying safe online. Pupils are confident that they are safe in school. Any worries they have are quickly addressed by staff. 2 and 3 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not checked how well pupils are learning in subjects which have more recently been developed. This means they are not yet clear on how effective the changes have been in helping pupils to know more and remember more over time. Senior leaders should ensure that subject leaders continue to get the support they need to evaluate and refine the curriculum as it embeds across the school.

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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. 2 and 3 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241022 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 22 and 23 October 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in January 2021. Prior to this, the school was led by an interim headteacher following the departure of the previous headteacher.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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 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, the lead inspector met regularly with school leaders. The lead inspector met with representatives from the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the 2 and 3 November 2022

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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. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read.  Records associated with safeguarding were reviewed, including the single central record and appointment procedures. Inspectors spoke to staff about safeguarding and spoke to pupils about the support they have in understanding how to keep safe.  The inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s parent, pupil and staff surveys.  The inspectors met with groups of staff to discuss their views about the school, including workload and well-being. The inspectors met with several groups of pupils, as well as speaking to pupils during lessons, at playtime and around the school.

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Inspection team

Deborah Gordon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Catherine Hylands Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 November 2022

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