Barby Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Barby Church of England Primary School Daventry Road, Barby, Rugby, Warwickshire CV23 8TR

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Outcome

Barby Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Barby Church of England Primary School are proud that everyone at the school is friendly and welcoming.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents say that the caring and encouraging staff make their children feel safe and happy. They appreciate how the school has been more settled following several changes in leadership. New leaders strive to make the school the heart of the community. Leaders involve the school community in church services and in developing the school allotment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is calm and purposeful. They get on well with each other, including at playtimes. Pupils follow high expectations and respond positively to guidance from staff. Rare worries about bullying are quickly dealt with.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders encourage pupils to be confident. They provide opportunities for pupils to discuss school life. Leaders seek pupils’ views about how the school can improve. For example, the school council contribute to discussions about how pupils should care for one another and the environment. Pupils say that they like to help the Reception-age children as ‘buddies’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to do well. They have been developing a curriculum to match these ambitions. However, plans for a few subjects need a little refinement to achieve leaders’ goals.

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

Leaders are determined that all pupils will read well. They have introduced a new phonics scheme to help pupils get off to a great start with reading. After just a few weeks, the Reception-age children know many sounds. Leaders provide engaging books that match these sounds. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics to sound out unfamiliar words, spell and write sentences. Well-trained staff regularly check how successfully pupils learn new 15 November 2022

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sounds. They support pupils who have fallen behind to catch up and become fluent readers.

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Staff and pupils have a love of reading and enjoy the daily story time. Leaders carefully select ambitious stories, which excite pupils and introduce them to increasingly complex vocabulary. Teachers help pupils to understand new words and use them in their speech and writing. Older pupils read regularly. The ‘word-millionaire tree’ motivates them well.

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With the support of the trust, leaders have recently re-designed their curriculum. The new curriculum is broad and challenging and engages pupils. It is well established in some subjects and taught effectively. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and provide clear explanations. They select appropriate activities and model what they expect of pupils. They check pupils’ learning in lessons and address misunderstandings. Pupils are able to recall important knowledge and link this with new learning. However, the plans in a few parts of the curriculum do not make clear the key things pupils need to learn. As a result, teachers present pupils with too much information. This makes it hard for pupils to remember important knowledge.

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Leaders regularly check pupils’ progress through the curriculum. This helps them identify which pupils need extra support. However, teachers do not always use assessment sufficiently well enough. Sometimes, assessments cover content that pupils have not yet been taught. Teachers do not always check if pupils have remembered the essential knowledge they need for new topics.

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Leaders provide effective training. This helps teachers to know how best to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff have a range of strategies they can draw on to tailor teaching for these pupils.

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Pupils’ personal development is a priority for leaders. Pupils learn about safe and healthy lifestyles. Pupils enjoy the increasing number of enrichment activities. They attend sports clubs or ‘Bikeability’ lessons, for example. Children in the Reception Year recently walked in the local area to collect apples for making apple pancakes. Pupils say that they enjoy musical instrument lessons, the ‘Young Voices’ choir and exciting trips. Year 5 pupils recently enjoyed mathematics puzzles and cracking codes on a trust enrichment day at Wicksteed Park.

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Pupils know and respect the school’s values. They talk about ways they demonstrate these, such as showing respect for others. Pupils learn about the importance of valuing difference. Pupils say that coming from a different culture or religion should not affect how they treat people. When talking about their history work, pupils can explain how attitudes to women have changed over time.

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Leaders take account of workload pressures on staff and support their well-being. Staff appreciate the many opportunities for professional development. Leaders make sure staff have time to digest this training and reflect on the way they work.

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The trust has provided extensive support for the school. This has enabled the new headteacher to make successful improvements in a short space of time. 15 November 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is a priority for everyone. Leaders make sure that staff receive regular training, so that they can spot signs of potential harm. Everyone takes their responsibility to notice, and report concerns seriously. Leaders follow up concerns swiftly. The curriculum includes different risks that pupils might come across. Pupils learn how to stay safe online, for example, and know who to talk to if they feel worried about anything. Pupils say that they feel safe and that they can talk to staff. Leaders conduct appropriate employment checks. They work closely with the trust to manage safe recruitment.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum does not identify with precision the key knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teachers are not always sure what the key knowledge is that pupils should learn. Leaders should refine the curriculum plans in these subjects to make clear the key knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember. In some subjects, teachers do not check well enough what pupils have remembered. This hinders pupils’ learning and can further gaps in their knowledge. Leaders need to develop a consistent, purposeful approach to assessment and ensure that the use of assessment does not place unnecessary burdens on staff or pupils

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Barby Church of England Primary School, to be good in December 2011. 15 November 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. 15 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240798 Type of school Primary

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Information about this school

 Barby Church of England Primary School converted to become an academy school in July 2014. When its predecessor school, Barby Church of England Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  When it converted to an academy, the school joined the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust.  The new headteacher joined the school in September 2021.  The religious character of the school was inspected in March 2017 and judged to be good. A further Section 48 inspection is due but these inspections have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 15 November 2022

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 The inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, subject leaders and groups of staff and pupils. The inspectors met with two representatives of the governing body and three representatives of the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspectors spoke with parents and pupils. They scrutinised documents that the school keeps and spoke with leaders and staff.  The inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and the written comments from parents. The inspectors also spoke with several parents.  The inspectors took account of responses to the staff survey and pupil survey.  The inspectors 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

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learning. The inspectors also looked at plans for other curriculum subjects.

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Inspection team

Claire Stylianides, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Stuart Edmonds Ofsted Inspector 15 November 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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