Bushfield Road Infant School

Inspection of Bushfield Road Infant School Bushfield Road, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire DN16 1NA

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

This school was last inspected 15 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 1 and 2 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are kind, polite and respectful. They are enthusiastic and positive about their learning. They move around school calmly and there are strong routines in place to support this. Pupils look for opportunities to help each other. Pupils feel safe. They know who to report any worries to and know that concerns will be dealt with by adults in school. Pupils who need extra help with behaviour are supported effectively. Pupils understand what bullying is but they are confident that it does not happen. There is a sense of community within the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years do not get a good start to their education. The curriculum that children learn is not clear or ambitious enough so that they are as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders care about the pupils and families linked to the school. They want to give pupils the best. However, the curriculum is not carefully enough considered or constructed to give pupils the chance to build their knowledge and understanding over time. Leaders do not have a clear picture of the overall quality of the curriculum and its impact on pupils. Reading is prioritised but the focus on ensuring that the lowest attaining readers are supported to catch up with their peers is not sharp enough.

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better?

Pupils are taught to read from the beginning of Reception. The school follows its own phonics curriculum. Staff have received training to teach the programme. The books that pupils read match the sounds they are taught. However, the lowest attaining pupils do not receive the targeted and timely support they need to become fluent readers. Pupils enjoy regular story time and are exposed to a wide range of different stories.

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better?

The knowledge leaders want pupils to learn in wider curriculum subjects, such as history, is not clear. Learning is sometimes based on the activities pupils should complete rather than a consideration of how planned activities support pupils to acquire more knowledge.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified and supported. Leaders, including leaders of SEND, do not have a clear oversight of their areas of responsibility and how well these are being delivered. There are inconsistencies in teaching across the school that leaders are unaware of. These inconsistencies have a direct effect on the experiences of pupils in their learning.

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better?

Leaders build positive relationships with parents of children in the early years. Children enjoy coming to school. They feel happy and safe. Some recent improvements to the early years provision in nursery are making a difference. For example, there has been a focus on supporting staff to use more ambitious vocabulary with children. However, the early years curriculum and the vocabulary 1 and 2 November 2022

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leaders want staff to use with children is not clearly defined or understood by staff across the early years. The interactions between staff and children in classrooms vary in quality. Leaders have identified that developing high-quality vocabulary and supporting pupils with their speech and language is a priority. This priority is not reflected within the environment and provision that pupils experience. Pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of their education.

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Pupils develop a clear sense of right and wrong. They understand how to keep themselves safe online and how to keep mentally and physical healthy. They know that it is OK to be different. Leaders use external agencies to support the school’s work on important issues such as safe touch, consent, privacy, and different types of families. Leaders have not consulted with parents on the content of the school’s relationships and sex education (RSE) policy.

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Governors hold leaders to account for the spending of additional funding, such as the sport premium and pupil premium. They receive information from school leaders about the impact and quality of the curriculum. However, this information does not identify the areas of the school’s performance that governors should focus on. The systems for allowing leaders to check on how well their subjects are being taught are not well developed. Teachers do not have enough detail about what pupils need to be learning and when. Governors are beginning to challenge leaders on the quality of education pupils receive. The depth and precision of this challenge are limited because of the lack of detailed information governors receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There are clear systems in place for identifying families and pupils requiring support. Leaders ensure that staff receive training to understand the local safeguarding risks. Staff understand the systems for reporting safeguarding concerns. Leaders use external agencies when pupils and families need more support. Leaders show tenacity if they feel a family needs more support from external agencies but is not receiving it. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe online. Governors understand how they contribute to a culture of safeguarding within school.

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Safeguarding

Leaders build strong relationships with families. This contributes to a culture of safeguarding in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The lowest attaining readers are not supported as well as they could be. Leaders have not developed appropriate systems to assess or determine in detail the specific gaps pupils have in their phonics knowledge. As a result, the children who need the most support with reading do not receive the precise support they need. 1 and 2 November 2022

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 The systems and processes for leaders, including leaders of SEND, to monitor and evaluate the impact of their work are not well defined or established. As a result, leaders at all levels do not have enough detail or information about the impact of their work on children’s learning to bring about improvements for pupils. Leaders should ensure that middle leaders have systems, processes and time to oversee and monitor their areas of responsibility and use this information to inform school improvement.  In wider curriculum subjects such as history, the important knowledge and vocabulary leaders wish for pupils to learn is not clearly defined. As a result, there are inconsistencies across classes as to how the curriculum is interpreted and taught. Leaders should ensure that the knowledge and vocabulary pupils need in each subject is clear so that teachers can use this to inform their planning and provide pupils with the opportunities to build their knowledge over time.

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 Leaders have not consulted with parents and carers on the school’s RSE policy. As a result, parents are not well informed on the content of this element of the curriculum. Parents have not had the opportunity to feed back to leaders. Leaders should ensure that they consult with parents urgently about the school’s RSE policy and take note of their comments and feedback when refining and adapting the policy prior to implementation.  The early years curriculum and the adult interactions when supporting children do not help children as well as they could. As a result, children are not sufficiently prepared for the next stage of their education. Leaders should ensure that the early years curriculum and the interactions staff have with children are well considered so that children are ready for the next stage of their education based on their starting points.

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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. 1 and 2 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10199374 Type of school Infant

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 22 and 23 February 2007

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Information about this school

 The school does not 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.  The lead inspector spoke to senior leaders, including the chair of the governing body, and other members of the governing body.  The lead inspector met with the safeguarding team and spoke to pupils and staff about the safeguarding practices in the school.  A member of the inspection team met with the special educational needs coordinator to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND. 1 and 2 November 2022

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 The inspection team carried out deep dives in mathematics, early reading, history and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspection team discussed the curriculum with the subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of work.  The inspection team evaluated responses from parents to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View.  The lead inspector spoke to representatives from the local authority.

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Inspection team

Liam Colclough, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ruth Beckett Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 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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