Reepham Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Reepham Church of England Primary School High Street, Reepham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN3 4DP

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected 14 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 Good

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. 6 and 7 December 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Reepham Church of England Primary School is a happy school. Pupils do very well, right from the start. Pupils love attending the school and enjoy learning. Pupils say they feel safe at this school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure the school’s core values (respect, forgiveness, love, responsibility, cooperation and friendship) are at the heart of everything that pupils do. All staff embed these values into pupils’ experiences. This means pupils develop as kind, respectful and self-confident learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Occurrences of unkindness are very rare. Pupils are confident that teachers will sort out bullying quickly if it happens. Pupils learn every week how to be responsible and safe from the school’s puppet, ‘Safety Mouse’. This leads to a harmonious and caring school community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff know pupils very well. They treat every pupil as an individual in this school. Leaders have high expectations of all pupils. They make sure all pupils achieve well. Pupils work hard and they want to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are very happy with what the school offers their children. Typical comments from many parents refer to the school as a family. One parent said, ‘Being a family is not just a motto to Reepham, they live and breathe it.’

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better?

Leaders have considered carefully what they want pupils to learn and when. For example, in mathematics, leaders have identified precisely, from the early years onwards, all the important knowledge pupils need to know. Pupils like learning mathematics. They learn new knowledge in a logical order, starting in the early years. There are opportunities for pupils to revisit and deepen their previous learning across different mathematical themes.

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better?

In a few subjects, leaders have not ensured that the curriculum precisely identifies all of the important knowledge pupils need to know. As a result, pupils’ knowledge and skills are not building as securely as they might in these subjects .

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This ensures that all pupils who may need extra support receive it.

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better?

The early years provision provides an exceptional experience for children. Leaders have planned the curriculum to provide rich experiences for pupils. Staff have a precise understanding of what children know and what they need to learn next. Children are eager to join in with purposeful play that staff expertly plan for them. 6 and 7 December 2022

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Leaders prioritise reading. They are determined that all pupils will read well. Leaders have ensured that all staff are well trained and that they are experts in early reading. Pupils learn to read in an organised way as soon as they join the school. Staff match the books pupils read carefully with the sounds they are learning. Pupils use their phonics knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words. Pupils enjoy reading and listening to stories read aloud by their teachers.

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Leaders and teachers provide pupils with an excellent set of rich experiences to promote their personal development. For example, pupils take part in the ‘Reepham Rangers’ badge scheme, where pupils complete specific challenges based on resilience, social action, teamwork, arts and the world around them. Pupils widely take up the offer of extra-curricular activities, and appreciate these. Pupils have a strong understanding of the fundamental British values. They enjoy learning about people who are similar or different to them through the life of ‘Henrietta’, the blue monster puppet.

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Pupils are polite, and show positive attitudes to their learning. They cooperate well and are respectful of each other. For example, children in the early years worked well together in their coffee shop role play. Pupils frequently celebrate the fact that ‘everyone is awesome’ in their school community.

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Leaders ensure that pupils’ pastoral needs are well met. For example, pupils can book a ‘time to talk’ slot using the class worry monster or they can ask a pupil who is a ‘well-being warrior’.

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Leaders and governors have created an inclusive school. They engage effectively with parents and the local community. Governors understand their role and ensure that resources are well managed. However, they do not always hold leaders to account as rigorously as they could. As a result, not all aspects of the school’s curriculum are of the highest quality. Leaders and governors are considerate of staff’s workload and well-being. Staff value this. Parents who shared a view with inspectors are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained. They are aware of national and local issues that might cause pupils potential harm. Staff know what signs to look out for. Leaders have an approach of ‘it could happen here’. They respond to any concerns immediately and liaise well with all external agencies to ensure the best for pupils and their families. 6 and 7 December 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not ensured that, in all subjects, the curriculum precisely identifies all of the important knowledge pupils need to know. As a result, in these subjects, pupils’ knowledge and skills are not building as securely as they might. Leaders should ensure that, in all subjects, it is clear exactly what pupils should know and be able to do.  Governors do not always hold leaders to account as rigorously as they could. As a result, not all aspects of the school’s provision are of the highest quality. Governors need to assure themselves that they have rigorous structures and processes in place to assess the quality of all aspects of the school’s provision effectively.

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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. 6 and 7 December 2022

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 January 2011, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This Church of England voluntary-controlled school is part of the Diocese of Lincoln. The last section 48 inspection of Anglican and Methodist schools took place in September 2017. This is an inspection of the school’s religious character.  The school offers wraparound care for pupils at the school.  School leaders do not make use of 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.  Inspectors held meetings with senior and subject leaders from the school. They met with three members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. They also met with the local authority school improvement partner. 6 and 7 December 2022

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 Inspectors met pupils to understand their views on the school.  Inspectors did deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at school documents and pupils’ work in computing, modern foreign languages and geography.  Inspectors considered the well-being and behaviour of pupils during lesson visits and around the school.  Inspectors viewed the website and looked at a number of policies and documents. They also considered the views of staff and pupils by looking at their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school improvement plan, school evaluation and school policies.

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 To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector checked the single central record of pre-employment checks and other safeguarding records. Inspectors also met with the designated safeguarding lead and spoke to staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Anne Maingay, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff His Majesty’s Inspector 6 and 7 December 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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