Buckland Brewer Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Buckland Brewer Primary School Buckland Brewer, Bideford, Devon EX39 5LX

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. Inspectors are recommending the next inspection to be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Buckland Brewer Primary School enjoy school. They are polite, well mannered and respectful. They know what teachers expect of them. As a result, pupils listen carefully, work well with one another and are keen to share their ideas.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are ambitious for what all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve. However, this ambition for pupils is not yet fully realised through the curriculum. This is because leaders do not routinely check that the curriculum enables all pupils to know more and remember more over time. Pupils do not gain the essential knowledge they need and, consequently, do not achieve as well as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They know that adults will listen and help them with any worries that they have. Pupils say that bullying is rare. If it were to occur, they are confident that adults would deal with any issues quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the range of opportunities and clubs on offer to them, such as taking part in team sports with pupils from other schools. They value the opportunities they have for outdoor learning. They say that this helps develop their confidence and resilience.

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

Leaders have created a curriculum that is designed well. In each subject, they have considered carefully what pupils need to know and when they need to know it. However, they do not yet understand how well the curriculum is implemented.

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

In some subjects, such as physical education (PE), teachers check on pupils’ understanding well before moving them on to new learning. They use the information 10 January 2023

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they have to address any gaps in learning and to ensure that pupils’ knowledge builds on what they already know. For example, in PE, a video was used to show pupils the importance of body position in gymnastics. This helped pupils adapt their actions and improve their performance. However, in some other subjects, such as mathematics, some teachers do not routinely check what pupils know before starting new learning. As a result, pupils’ mathematical knowledge and understanding are not secure.

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Leaders have introduced a structured phonics programme. Staff benefit from the training they receive to enable them to teach phonics well. Children begin learning phonics as soon as they start school. Pupils read books that are well matched to the sounds they are learning. This helps them to gain confidence in their reading. Staff routinely check if pupils are keeping up with the early reading programme. If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to help them to catch up quickly. However, when pupils move on from the phonics programme, teachers do not check their reading skills with the same accuracy. This means that some older pupils read books that are not well matched to their abilities. This slows the progress they make and hampers their enjoyment of reading.

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Children in the early years settle into school life quickly. Leaders have designed a curriculum which makes clear the important knowledge and skills that children need. However, the implementation of this curriculum is inconsistent. Staff do not routinely plan activities which build children’s interests and knowledge over time. This hampers the progress that children make.

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Leaders identify and assess the individual needs of pupils with SEND quickly. Teachers and other staff use a range of approaches to ensure that pupils are supported well in lessons. As a result, these pupils learn the same curriculum as their peers.

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Pupils behave well and show positive attitudes towards their learning. They are considerate of others and play well during social times. Across the school, disruptions are rare.

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Leaders support pupils’ personal development well. Pupils understand the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. They talk confidently about different faiths and the importance of respect. Pupils develop their sense of character by raising money for charities.

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Governors have an accurate view of the school. They hold school leaders to account appropriately. Staff appreciate the way in which leaders support them and consider their workload. They are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff share a commitment to keeping pupils safe. Staff receive regular safeguarding training. This ensures that they recognise the signs of a pupil needing help. Leaders act swiftly to help pupils who may be at risk. 10 January 2023

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Governors regularly check the school’s safeguarding procedures. Leaders make suitable checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with pupils.

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The school has suitable policies in place to raise awareness among staff and parents about the dangers of sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not make effective checks on the implementation of the curriculum. As a result, they are not sure how well pupils learn. Leaders should ensure that systems are in place to check that the curriculum is being delivered effectively and pupils know more and remember more.  In some subjects, teachers do not check pupils’ learning well enough. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning which are not addressed or read books that do not match their reading ability. Leaders need to ensure that teachers check what pupils know and remember, and use this to inform future learning.  The early years curriculum is not implemented well enough. Teachers do not plan learning that is well matched to the children’s interests and builds their knowledge over time. This slows the progress they make. Leaders need to ensure that teachers implement the intended curriculum so that children in the early years are well prepared

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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 school to be good in February 2012. 10 January 2023

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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. 10 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10227055 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 February 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In April 2022, the school joined two other local village primary schools to create the Village Schools Partnership.  The headteacher, appointed in April 2022, is the headteacher of all three schools in the Village Schools Partnership.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The school's nursery is registered for two-, three- and four-year-olds. At the point of this inspection, there were no two-year-olds on roll.

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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 inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and a range of staff. 10 January 2023

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 The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke to a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the 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.  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 the school.  Inspector considered the views of parents and carers that were shared through Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text comments received from parents. The

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inspectors also reviewed the responses to Ofsted's online survey for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Mark Burgess, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sally Hannaford Ofsted Inspector 10 January 2023

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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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